Dai Chochin Matsuri

I was excited hearing about the Dai-Chochin Matsuri (Dai=big and Chochin=Lantern). The description of the festival sounded awesome and i had high expectations. Unfortunately it wasn’t as advertised and rather a bit disappointing. Lanterns that don’t glow aren’t fun watching!

Quote from the Japanese national tourist website:

The most exciting scene of the festival is when gigantic 1-meter tall candles are lit inside the enormous chochin lanterns. As soon as the candles are lit, the colorful motifs of famous Japanese myths, etc. depicted on the chochin lanterns appear, creating a world of fantasy. This is truly a moment of Japanese myths and old folktales being passed down through the generations. Spectators also experience a pleasant sense of excitement as if witnessing a historic scene.

That “colorful motifs happening as soon as the lanterns are lit” effect was sorely missed and i didn’t get the pictures i was hoping for when taking my camera on that 3 1/2 hour car trip from Osaka to Isshiki.

The festival is held each year on 26th and 27th of August in the Suwa Shrine in Isshiki (South of Nagoya, the automotive business capital of Japan). The festival dates back about 450 years and i wish they had broken with tradition and use electric floodlights by now instead of candles (or a combination of both). The festival has potential to be truly beautiful and i guess it really was in old times. But nowadays you have all the lights from surrounding foodstalls and it unfortunately completely kills the mood of this festival.

Transport: Come by car (or use a taxi)! If you own a PhD degree in public transport and don’t mind challenges then you might want to try this one: About 10 minutes’ walk from Mikawa-Ishiki bus stop. Mikawa-Ishiki bus stop is about 20 minutes or so from Nishio Station on the Meitetsu Bus bound for Mikawa-Ishiki Station. Nishio Station is about 50 minutes from Meitetsu Nagoya Station on the Meitetsu Nishiosen Line.

Website: The official website is here. And JNTO also has something about it in English.