{"id":154729,"date":"2018-08-15T15:57:17","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T06:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitmatsumoto.com\/?p=154729"},"modified":"2018-08-23T22:07:07","modified_gmt":"2018-08-23T13:07:07","slug":"taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiko Festival in Matsumoto&#8217;s Neighbor City, Okaya"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 1280px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-154729-1\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_185722.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_185722.mp4\">https:\/\/visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_185722.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>A small city right next to Matsumoto, Okaya is home to a surprisingly massive taiko festival every year. Two days of festivities include yosakoi dance and taiko drum performances from both local and out-of-town groups. The speed and endurance of the drummers seemed almost unreal.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 1280px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-154729-2\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194640.mp4?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194640.mp4\">https:\/\/visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194640.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>I headed down to Okaya to see the main stage performances being held in the evening. The power and energy coming from the stage was palpable. Some of the performances involve over 100 drums, and many were accompanied by theatrics and pyrotechnics. Getting right up close to the stage, I could feel the vibrations wash over me. The excitement drew in the whole crowd, young and old.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-carousel-extra='{&quot;blog_id&quot;:1,&quot;permalink&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\\\/en\\\/culture\\\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\\\/&quot;,&quot;likes_blog_id&quot;:137862970}' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\" > <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 311px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"311\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 550px; height: 311px;\" data-original-width=\"550\" data-original-height=\"311\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/attachment\/20180814_185325\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"546\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"307\"> <img data-attachment-id=\"154739\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_185325.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1125\" data-comments-opened=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SCV31&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1534240405&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"20180814_185325\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_185325.jpg?fit=300%2C169&#038;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_185325.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&#038;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_185325.jpg?w=546&#038;h=307&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"546\" height=\"307\" data-original-width=\"546\" data-original-height=\"307\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"20180814_185325\" alt=\"20180814_185325\" style=\"width: 546px; height: 307px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 550px; height: 311px;\" data-original-width=\"550\" data-original-height=\"311\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/attachment\/20180814_193054\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"546\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"307\"> <img data-attachment-id=\"154757\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_193054.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1125\" data-comments-opened=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SCV31&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1534242654&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"20180814_193054\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_193054.jpg?fit=300%2C169&#038;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_193054.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&#038;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_193054.jpg?w=546&#038;h=307&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"546\" height=\"307\" data-original-width=\"546\" data-original-height=\"307\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"20180814_193054\" alt=\"20180814_193054\" style=\"width: 546px; height: 307px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 311px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"311\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 550px; height: 311px;\" data-original-width=\"550\" data-original-height=\"311\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/attachment\/20180814_194713\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"546\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"307\"> <img data-attachment-id=\"154766\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194713.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1125\" data-comments-opened=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SCV31&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1534243633&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.04&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"20180814_194713\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194713.jpg?fit=300%2C169&#038;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194713.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&#038;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194713.jpg?w=546&#038;h=307&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"546\" height=\"307\" data-original-width=\"546\" data-original-height=\"307\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"20180814_194713\" alt=\"20180814_194713\" style=\"width: 546px; height: 307px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 550px; height: 311px;\" data-original-width=\"550\" data-original-height=\"311\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/attachment\/20180814_202439\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"546\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"307\"> <img data-attachment-id=\"154775\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_202439.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1125\" data-comments-opened=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SCV31&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1534245879&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.04&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"20180814_202439\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_202439.jpg?fit=300%2C169&#038;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_202439.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&#038;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_202439.jpg?w=546&#038;h=307&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"546\" height=\"307\" data-original-width=\"546\" data-original-height=\"307\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"20180814_202439\" alt=\"20180814_202439\" style=\"width: 546px; height: 307px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 311px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"311\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 550px; height: 311px;\" data-original-width=\"550\" data-original-height=\"311\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/attachment\/20180814_194713-2\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"546\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"307\"> <img data-attachment-id=\"154784\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194713-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1125\" data-comments-opened=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SCV31&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1534243633&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.04&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"20180814_194713\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194713-1.jpg?fit=300%2C169&#038;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194713-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&#038;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_194713-1.jpg?w=546&#038;h=307&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"546\" height=\"307\" data-original-width=\"546\" data-original-height=\"307\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"20180814_194713\" alt=\"20180814_194713\" style=\"width: 546px; height: 307px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 550px; height: 311px;\" data-original-width=\"550\" data-original-height=\"311\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/attachment\/20180814_204438\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"546\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"307\"> <img data-attachment-id=\"154793\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_204438.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1125\" data-comments-opened=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SCV31&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1534247078&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"20180814_204438\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_204438.jpg?fit=300%2C169&#038;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_204438.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&#038;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180814_204438.jpg?w=546&#038;h=307&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"546\" height=\"307\" data-original-width=\"546\" data-original-height=\"307\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"20180814_204438\" alt=\"20180814_204438\" style=\"width: 546px; height: 307px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div>\n<p>While some elevated seating was available with tickets purchased in advance, regular seating on giant blue tarps in front of the stage was first come, first serve. Fortunately, a lot of people seemed to be coming and going, giving others chances a chance to grab a seat. Be sure to bring your own cushion as the tarps are set on pavement! Food stalls lined the back of the spectator area, offering attendees treats including karaage (fried chicken) and kebabs. If you prefer, you can also bring your own food and drinks.<\/p>\n<h3>Access<\/h3>\n<p>Okaya is less than a 40 min train ride from Matsumoto Station. You can take either the local train or the Ltd. Exp. Azusa (or Super Azusa) \u2212 both offering direct access to Okaya Station. From Okaya Station, it&#8217;s just a 10 minute walk to the stage area. You&#8217;ll find other smaller performances along the way, too.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"..\/..\/course\/\">Browse other suggestions for your trip to Matsumoto in the summer<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-official sd-sharing\"><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><div class=\"fb-share-button\" data-href=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/\" data-layout=\"button_count\"><\/div><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/\" data-text=\"Taiko Festival in Matsumoto&#039;s Neighbor City, Okaya\"  >Tweet<\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A small city right next to Matsumoto, Okaya is home to a surprisingly massive taiko festival every year. Two days of festivities include yosakoi dance and taiko drum performances from both local and out-of-town groups. The speed and endurance of the drummers seemed almost unreal. I headed down to Okaya to see the main stage performances being held in the evening. The power and energy coming from the stage was palpable. Some of the performances involve over 100 drums, and many were accompanied by theatrics and pyrotechnics. Getting right up close to the stage, I could feel the vibrations wash over me. The excitement drew in the whole crowd, young [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-official sd-sharing\"><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><div class=\"fb-share-button\" data-href=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/\" data-layout=\"button_count\"><\/div><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture\/taiko-festival-in-matsumotos-neighbor-city-okaya\/\" data-text=\"Taiko Festival in Matsumoto&#039;s Neighbor City, Okaya\"  >Tweet<\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":154748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"spay_email":""},"categories":[5232],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/taiko_center.jpg?fit=1263%2C699&ssl=1","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v15.9.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Taiko Festival in Matsumoto&#039;s Neighbor City, Okaya | Visit Matsumoto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A small city right next to Matsumoto, Okaya is home to a surprisingly massive taiko festival every year. 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There is so much going on that I don't even have time to do it all! If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Culture Art&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/35774002420_93e0c42ff7_k-590x464-1-1.jpg?fit=590%2C464&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17248,"url":"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture-art\/matsumoto-castle-fest2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":154729,"position":1},"title":"A Day of Samurai, Kendo, Taiko, and More at the Matsumoto Castle Festival","date":"2017.11.10","format":false,"excerpt":"Every November on Culture Day, Matsumoto City puts on a huge city-wide festival that features all kinds of Japanese cultural goodies ranging from taiko drum performances to martial arts competitions, to the main event: the samurai parade around downtown! The samurai parade starts off in Matsumoto Castle's inner garden, where\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Culture Art&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/37585927814_a0eb951240_z-590x443-1-1.jpg?fit=590%2C443&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16969,"url":"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/culture-art\/notable-november-events-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":154729,"position":2},"title":"Matsumoto Castle Festival Guide and Other Notable November Events (2017)","date":"2017.10.24","format":false,"excerpt":"The biggest event in November is the Matsumoto Castle\/ Citizen's Festival on the third that features all kinds of cultural treats! Check out individual events below. You can also bookmark your favorites on our Facebook events page. Castle Festival and Citizen's Festival: Boys and Girls Kendo and Naginata Competition Students\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Culture Art&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/visitmatsumoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/taiko-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":76175,"url":"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/history\/fundoshi-muscled-buns-of-steel-big-drums\/","url_meta":{"origin":154729,"position":3},"title":"Fundoshi! Muscled Buns of Steel! Big Drums!","date":"2009.7.24","format":false,"excerpt":"That's right, it's time for the 22nd Annual Matsumoto Taiko Festival! Nineteen teams from all across Japan will be playing this weekend around Matsumoto Castle. 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