Otsu Festival 大津祭

Held just before Sports Day, the second Monday of October, visit the Otsu Matsuri and witness a colorful celebration of mechanical dolls, tanuki raccoon dogs, and the rich cultural history of the Otsu area.

The festival centers on the area around Tenson-jinja shrine, near Otsu Station.

Coming from Kyoto , take the JR Biwako line to Otsu Station, about ten minutes away. The walk to the shrine will take you about five minutes.

The Otsu Festival, along with the Hiyoshi Taisha Sanno Festival and the Nagahama Hikiyama Festival , is one of Lake Biwa's three great events. These festivals started to celebrate the prosperity of the city.

Thirteen beautifully decorated hikiyama floats are paraded around town. What's unique in Otsu is that these floats display karakuri mechanized dolls, a tradition that is said to have inspired Japan's modern love for robots. Festival participants also hand out chimaki rice cakes for good luck.

Be sure to keep an eye out for tanuki, the clever "raccoon dog" often seen in statues outside bars and izakaya. Here, the tanuki is a centerpiece for the festivities. As the story goes, in 1596 a salt vendor joined the Otsu Matsuri parade wearing a tanuki mask. He danced every year until he couldn't dance anymore. Ever since, the parade has been led by a karakuri tanuki doll.