Tsuzawa Yotaka Andon Festival: Special spectator seating with delicious festive food as impressive lanterns clash

Held in Oyabe City, Toyama Prefecture, this will be a first for the Toyama fighting lantern floats!
Sales are limited to 50 spectator seats, which offer an up-close view and complimentary meal

Held every year on the first Friday and Saturday nights of June, the Tsuzawa Yotaka Andon Festival is a historical festival that originated in the Edo period (1603–1867). During this event, illuminated lantern floats assembled from dengaku lanterns, dashi floats, and hanging lanterns crafted with bamboo and washi paper are paraded through the streets at night to the sound of taiko drums and cheering. The main attraction of the festival is the Toyama fighting lantern floats: giant lanterns that are 7 meters high and 12 meters long. The lanterns crash fiercely into one another, and the goal is to break the opponents floats.

Special up-close spectator seating has been made available to watch this powerful clash of lanterns. This unique experience also comes with a meal and beverages, including local sake. The second floor of the Oyabe Tsuzawa Andon Fureai Hall, located near where the clash is set to take place, will be decorated as a dedicated space for this two-day event, allowing visitors to take in the view at their leisure.

Visitors can also tour the town with an interpreter and guide in addition to the lantern float parade. Experience the area firsthand as you learn about the festival and the local community.

Workshops will be held to create lantern art by reusing parts of the lantern floats that have broken off in the collisions. These lantern floats were created especially for the festival, and they are filled with the passion of its participants. While the broken pieces originally would have been incinerated, they are instead recycled for the workshop where they will be transformed into one-of-a-kind artworks that you can take home with you.