Daradara Festival

‘Daradara’ means ‘endless’—a name earned due to the extraordinary length of this traditional festival. While most shrine festivals go for 2 or 3 days, this one goes for 11 days—the longest of any traditional ‘matsuri’ in Japan.

Running from the 11th to the 21st of September each year, the festival happens at Shiba Daijingu located next to Shiba Park (not to be confused with the more photogenic Zojoji Temple). Although the festival spans 11 days, the main festival day is September 16th. Most years this means a procession of 20 mikoshi (portable shrines) through the surrounding streets, but as of yet there is no official confirmation of it happening for the 2016 festival.

(Greg Lane)