2026 Johana Mugiya Festival: A Full-Day Course
This one-day course centers on the Johana Mugiya Festival (城端むぎや祭), where the whole town keeps alive the Gokayama folk song “Mugiya-bushi” through dance (September 20, 2026, in Johana, Nanto City, around Johana Betsuin Zentokuji Temple and the Johana Traditional Performing Arts Hall Johana-za). By day, stroll through Johana, a town of silk and hikiyama floats: learn about the craftsmanship behind the floats, registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, at the Johana Hikiyama Kaikan; sample local flavors at Michi-no-Eki Johana; and quietly walk the dignified grounds of Zentokuji Temple. After an early dinner in front of Johana Station, the area around Zentokuji Temple and Johana-za becomes the festival stage from evening. The sight of dancers in low-brimmed sedge hats moving to the melancholic Mugiya-bushi is full of the atmosphere unique to this mountain town.
Schedule
A museum introducing the Hikiyama Festival, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Take a break at a roadside station lined with local vegetables and Nanto specialties
Preview the night festival's stage by day at a dignified main hall connected to the Kaga domain
A slightly early dinner in front of the station before heading to the venue
An autumn tradition of dancers in sedge hats moving to the melancholic Mugiya-bushi
Photos6
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