Inside an Igloo in Yokote
If your trip to Japan falls sometime in mid-February, be sure to head over to the small city of Yokote in Japan's Akita prefecture, so you can witness the ethereal celebration that is the Kamakura Festival. And if your trip isn't in February, I suggest you change your flights immediately. Because this is one Japanese festival you wouldn't want to miss.
What makes the Kamakura Festival so special?
IGLOOS! The word 'kamakura' refers to rooms or houses carved out of snow. For the festival, numerous kamakura (a handful of large ones and hundreds of mini ones) are built at various spots around the city.
There are big igloos...
And little igloos...
Lots and lots of little igloos...
Despite all the work that must go into making these kamakura, the festival is held only two days of the year - Feb 15 and 16. Outside of those dates, the lovely city of Yokote falls quiet and quaint once again.
To keep the festival-goers well-fed, food stalls are set up right across the municipal hall. Great stop for larger-than-life scallops and melt-in-your-mouth yakiniku.
Each kamakura has an altar built to honor the Shinto water god. Guests who step inside will be served sweet rice wine and rice cake, usually by children, and in return they're expected to make a small monetary offering as they pray for good harvest and protection for them and the community.
Cozy as can be
It's a tradition that's been passed on from generation to generation for over 450 years. The snow may be thick, but the history is thicker.
Where to stay?
I highly recommend staying over with the very warm and super sweet Yamanuchi family near Jumonji station, a 12 minute train ride away from Yokote station. They drove us to the festival, lent us their snow boots, made sure my mom had a warm bath each night...You'll be hard-pressed to find more gracious hosts anywhere.
Homemade breakfast prepared with love
View from the room's balcony
You can book their private rooms at Airbnb
So how exactly do you get to Yokote?
To get to Yokote in about 4 1/2 hours from Shinjuku, you'll need to take the Akita Shinkansen at ÅŒmiya Station. Transfer to the JR Ou Line at Omagari Station, then get off at Yokote.
The trip is covered by the JR Tohoku East Pass, which gives you unlimited train travel within the region for 5 non-consecutive days for only 20,000 yen (19,000 if you purchase it overseas). This makes for the perfect excuse to add Yamagata to your itinerary. But as for what unique treasures you'll find there, I'll have to leave that for the next blog entry.
Infinitely lovely