I think that one of the best experiences I will have had in Japan will be seeing the Matsuri festival at Furukawa, which ushers in the Spring amidst much noise and celebration over the course of two days.
The centrepiece of the festival is the Okoshi Daiko, happening late in the evening of the 19th to early in the morning on the 20th April, involving a large drum parading through town waking up the residents to inform them that spring has arrived. At the start of this procession, everybody congregated in the main square of the town, under flickering firelight to watch the young men of the village (who had previously been running around with small drums attached to the middle of large poles) set off. Before the procession started, these groups of young men were chanting, drumming, and jumping onto the tops of the poles to the encouragment of the crowds. There was a lot of comptetion going on as each group tried to outdo the others in the number of people they could get on the pole, the quickness they could jump up, and the cheers they could get from the crowd. It was really quite amazing to watch, and I know that there is no way I could have done what quite a few of them made look effortless. (It was clear that it wasn't totally effortless though as quite a few were unable to jump on the pole and had to be helped up - quite often ending in with everyone on the floor)
The procession of Yatai floats, gorgeously decorated in red with intricate carvings and pictures lit up by lanters, was also a highlight - they were accompanied by the sound of flutes from the children of the village as they went along. The next day there were also performances carried out on the second floor f three of the floats - two puppet shows and a kabuki performance, which were really interesting to watch.
All in all it was a fantastic two days, and something I am really happy to have seen. It also made me see through the stereotype of the reserved Japanese, as they were anything but!
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