Seihakusai: Noto Peninsula’s must-see Golden Week festival (3-5 May)
Note: Due to the 2024 Noto Earthquake, the 2024 rendition of Seihakusai is currently cancelled. For more updates, visit Ishikawa Prefecture’s official tourism website.
The quiet city of Nanao (七尾) in Ishikawa’s Noto Peninsula is normally an unassuming place off the beaten tourist track.
But come 3-5 May during Golden Week, it transforms into a lively destination as Japan’s largest floats take to its streets in the Noto’s biggest festival, Seihakusai (青柏祭).
What is Seihakusai?
(Video credit: Ishikawa Prefecture Tourism League)
For over 1,000 years, Seihakusai has been the main festival in the Noto to pray for peace, health, and good harvest.
Recognised as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, the festival centres around three massive Dekayama (でか山 “big mountain”) floats, which are the largest in Japan at 12m high, and with wheels 2m in diameter.
Built by three districts—Uomachi (魚町), Fuchumachi (府中町), and Kajimachi (鍛冶町)—the floats are entirely handmade and constructed without the use of nails.
After months of building, the completed Dekayama are decorated with each district’s emblems and topped with life-sized dolls depicting a scene from a kabuki play. They are dedicated to the gods at Otokonushi Shrine (大地主神社 Ōtokonushi jinja) where the festival originated, and pulled through the streets accompanied by music, chanting, and excited cheers over three days.
What to do at Seihakusai?
Pull the Dekayama floats
Grab the rope and pull the float with everyone else! (Image credit: Anna Wong)
Seeing as each float weighs 20 tons, a lot of muscle power is needed to move the Dekayama, which is why festival-goers are welcome to grab the ropes and help pull the floats! It is quite an exhilarating experience that I recommend everyone to try at Seihakusai.
Working as a team with all involved, it takes combined effort pulling in time to chants to get the mammoth float moving. But once it does, it quickly picks up momentum and you could find yourself running in front of the float to cheers of “wasshoi” (わっしょい) all around!
Do note that for safety, wearing open-toed shoes or high heels are not allowed when pulling the Dekayama, so be sure to wear covered shoes.
Catch tsuji-mawashi
Lifting the Dekayama, setting the wheel, turning it, and lifting to lower the float (Image credit: Anna Wong)
Another highlight is when the Dekayama make their right-angled turns, a feat known as tsuji-mawashi (辻回し), which anyone can also help to pull.
The team in charge first lifts up the Dekayama on a pivot and lowers a fifth perpendicular wheel into place. With a pull of the ropes, the Dekayama are swiftly turned 90-degrees before being lifted again to remove the middle wheel.
What is most impressive is that the whole process is done using only wooden beams, ropes, and manpower to lift the huge float. If you are close enough, you can even see the people under the float putting the wheel in place.
Have a look inside the Dekayama
Climbing up the Dekayama is marginally easier than climbing down (Image credit: Anna Wong)
You can also climb under, and up, the Dekayama when they are stationary at one of their stops to get a literal inside look at the makings of the floats. The more daring and agile can climb up the network of ropes and beams to come face to face with the kabuki dolls at the top.
Admire all three Dekayama floats
The picture everyone takes at Seihakusai (Image credit: Anna Wong)
The most popular stops are when all three Dekayama can be seen together, which happens only a few times during the festival.
You can find out when this happens by checking the festival information at the city’s website, or find a rough schedule in English from this pamphlet. Knowing the schedule and route can also help you to figure out when and where the turns will take place.
What else is on?
Performances and the pre-festival doll viewing (Image credit: Anna Wong)
Like most Japanese festivals, you can find plenty of food and game stalls along the street. There are also various performances like dances, singing, and taiko drumming, and fringe events like tea ceremony and exhibitions going on.
On 2 May, the day before the festival, the dolls to be placed on top of the Dekayama are displayed at various locations around the city for visitors to get a close up look. Like the Dekayama, these life-sized figures are newly made each year by local craftsmen.
Getting to Nanao
High spirits are needed to pull such huge floats through small streets (Image credit: Anna Wong)
To get to Nanao, you can take a local train or the Limited Express Noto Kagaribi (能登かがり火) from Kanazawa Station (金沢駅 Kanazawa eki) to Nanao Station (七尾駅 Nanao eki).
From there, you can walk to the festival which extends down the street in front of the station. To find the Dekayama, check the schedule to see where they are at, or just follow the shouts and cheers.
Although the festival runs for all three days of Golden Week, a lot of the time is spent moving the floats. Unless you want to help pull the floats for long stretches, I recommend going on the last day on 5 May when they travel down the main street and many performances are on. This way, you will also have time to visit other parts of Ishikawa, catch other Golden Week events, and make the most of your time here. You can even make the festival a day trip from Kanazawa.
And once you join Seihakusai, you will have bragging rights for having pulled the biggest floats in Japan!
Seihakusai (青柏祭)
Festival period: 3-5 May annually
Address: Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture
Nearest station: Nanao Station
Access: Take the local train or the Limited Express Noto Kagaribi from Kanazawa
Tel: +81-767-53-8424
Note: Due to the 2024 Noto Earthquake, the 2024 rendition of Seihakusail is currently cancelled. For more updates, visit Ishikawa Prefecture’s official tourism website.
Header image credit: Anna Wong
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