Pop Japan

Held in the city of Niihama, in Ehime Prefecture, this festival is a must-see every October in Japan, just in time for the kouyou or the autumn colors.

The main feature of the festival, probably also why the matsuri is named as such, is that they parade elegant floats in the shape of gigantic taiko or the traditional Japanese drums. There are around 47 neighborhoods from all over niihama who participate in the festivities. The matsuri is also known as the the Otoko Matsuri or the Men's Festival. This is because the floats are actually carried around by men and boys, starting from 16 years old.

Photo by WEB_OYAJI. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Tags: niihama, ehime prefecture, october, kouyou, autumn colors, matsuri, taiko, traditional japanese drums, otoko matsuri, men's festival