The only thing better than attending an authentic Japanese village festival is actively joining in the dancing, songs and celebrations with the residents, and that’s what our lucky participants will do! Each traveler will become a Matsuri-festival performer in the annual Sawara Grand Festival.
About Sawara
SAWARA, an old wealthy merchant town is in Eastern Chiba Prefecture. Sometimes called a “Little Edo” because of the many attractive, historic stone, timber and tile-roofed shops and fireproof storehouses; known as “kura”, dating from the Edo-Period (1603 to 1868) which line the beautiful willow tree-lined Ono River. This river flows through the center of town beneath picturesque bridges before joining the Tone River which flows eastward to the Pacific Ocean. Sawara was also the home of the famed polymath, Ino Tadataka, a former merchant, village leader and astronomer who created Japan’s first accurate modern map which was completed in 1827. Sawara grand festival is one of the UNESCO-recognized intangible cultural assets of Japan.
About Eighty Days
Japan’s ancient streetscapes and natural environment have managed to maintain their beauty to the present day by coexisting with their inhabitants. But this ancient coexistence is beginning to fray. The Japanese countryside is now dotted with abandoned houses, and without young people to pass them down to, it’s cultural traditions face a crisis of succession. At the same time as Japan’s population has continued to fall, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan has increased five-fold in the last six years. We here at Eighty Days saw this as an opportunity to harness the power of Japan’s growing number of tourists to make a contribution to Japan’s regional revitalization efforts.
AloJapan.com