UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage! Inuyama Festival

13 enormous antique floats, standing up to 3 stories tall, navigate their way through the streets during this festival. Mechanical doll performances also take place to the beat of music set by flutes and taiko drums.
In the evening, 365 paper lanterns are lit on the floats as they navigate through the streets lined with blooming cherry blossoms.

The floats parade through the town, so you can see the festival from just about anywhere, but the main event area is in front of Haritsuna Shrine (at the Inuyama Castle Square), where the floats will all gather.
The Inuyama Festival is registered as an important intangible fold cultural property and as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage event.

The highlight of the festival is seeing men lift and change the course of the floats, which weigh upwards of 5 tons! This spectacle is called “donden.” The sight of these powerful men showing off their strength is quite the display! Another must-see is the musical performance of local children riding on the floats.