Kangen Festival Tours and Travel

Special feature on Japanese festivals and seasonal customs

Join Club Tourism for Festival Tours from April to November in 2024! With a tour conductor, you'll be well supported! We offer recommended tours to festivals across the country. It's easy to search and book tours.

Tohoku Area

Kanto / Koshinetsu Areas

Hokuriku Area

Tokai and Kinki Area

Shikoku Area

San'in San'yo Kyushu Okinawa area

Festivals in San'in San'yo, Kyushu and Okinawa areas

Kangensai (Hiroshima Prefecture)

At the World Heritage Itsukushima Shrine
Dynamic Heian picture scrolls

Since ancient times, aristocrats in the capital have floated boats on ponds and rivers to enjoy the elegant entertainment of orchestral music.
Taira no Kiyomori, who built Itsukushima Shrine, transferred this custom to the shrine and had it carried out as a religious ceremony to appease the gods rather than as a pastime.
The Gozabune boat carrying the sacred object leaves the main shrine, passes under the large torii gate, passes by Hotateiwa on the opposite bank, and arrives at Jigozen Shrine, where gagaku music is played and a religious ceremony is held. The boat then passes by Nagahama Shrine, Omoto Shrine, Hitasaki, and Kyakujinja Shrine before returning to the main shrine.
It is an elegant festival unique to Miyajima, surrounded by the sea, reminiscent of a dynamic Heian period picture scroll, unfolding majestically on the Seto Inland Sea rather than on a river.