Hamamatsu Kite Festival

The Hamamatsu Kite Fesitval is held every year in May in Hamamatsu City [wiki], in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan. Usually Japanese festivals involve a portable shrine known as a “omikoshi” or dance, but occasionally there are festivals with completely different themes, like this one.

Unfortunately this year it was cloudy throughout most of the day, and it was even drizzling rain in the morning. Grey skies, lots of kites, lots of energetic festival people ready to enjoy the day nevertheless.

The kites are huge. It’s exciting to see a team of four or five guys working to get one off of the ground. I have heard that there are other places in Japan that have kite festivals with even larger kites, but this is the only kite festival I have ever experienced.

All the guys decked out in their festival garb. If you’re not in Japan, you can get a similar festive happi coat from the J-List online store.

Even dogs wear them.

Just look at the number of strings attached to that thing. Hefty.
Also, when the kites are coming down, which they do often, the team is always sure to catch them before they crash to the ground and become damaged. The kites crash often, because the festival is sort of a kite competition, where teams try to tangle the other kites strings and bring them down. The actual kite “battle” isn’t as intense as one would expect, and I don’t think a clear winner is ever determined.

There is a theme trumpeted throughout the entire festival by buglers not unlike these poncho-clad kiddies here.

You can hear the music of the Hamamatsu Festival in this YouTube clip posted by someone I don’t know.

This guy is getting a lift from the one of the younger generation to get a better angle on his groups kite.

Cheering on one of the kite fliers.

The strings for the kids are, of course, extremely long, so they are wound on these large reels.

That guy has an excellent beard.

Youth on top.

This one is in for repairs.

Lots of pics. Go to Hamamatsu!

I have another food related Hamamatsu post in the works as well. Stay tuned.

- Harvey