The Hida area has two major festivals in April: the Takayama Spring Festival and the Furukawa Festival. Both showcase beautiful festive floats (yatai 屋台蔵) that are 3-4 stories high, gliding through ancient streets by day and glowing with lanterns by night. The Furukawa Festival differs in one major way—it cranks up the intensity with an energetic Okoshi-Daiko (起し太鼓) drum battle event.

The Takayama Spring Festival unfolds every year on April 14th and 15th, and we were able to attend for the past two springs. The first year, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The second year, the cherry blossoms wouldn’t reach full bloom until just a couple of days after the festival. The second year also brought the threat of rain, and the night procession was cancelled, disappointing many visitors.