Utano Aki-Matsuri

This festival has history of more than one millennium. Once every year on the third Sunday of October, in order to visit Hayaakitsuhiko no Mikoto (male deity) of Udanomikumari Jinja Shrine, Hayaakitsuhime no Mikoto (female deity) of Sosha Mikumari Jinja Shrine rides a mikoshi (portable shrine) on the 12 km round-trip to his shrine with an entourage of tasseled spears, flower baskets, and mikoshi taiko drums. One of the most powerful sights during the festival is seeing the six taiko drum platforms - each weighing around one metric ton - marching in from every part of Utano district to be paraded around the shrine grounds with cries of, “Chosaya!”