Festival details

Huge amounts of confetti are thrown from eight majestic floats in downtown Toyota City while men scream out "Oisa!" in celebration during the Koromo Festival. One of the great festivals of the Mikawa region, in which Toyota lies, the festival is said to have its roots in the Edo period, with its current form catalyzed in the Meiji period. The festival takes its name from the current city of Toyota's previous name: "Koromo".

The Koromo Festival spans two days, made up by the preceding Rehearsal Festival and then the full-fledged Main Festival. During the Rehearsal Festival, the eight floats parade around their respective towns. At night, citizens from the eight towns pray for a bountiful harvest with lit lanterns in hand, and circle the shrine's premises seven times.
On the following day during the Main Festival, the parade floats come together at Koromo Jinja Shrine, and with fireworks as the signal to commence the festivities, absurd amounts of paper confetti are showered from the floats as they depart for a procession around the city. The confetti showering down from the eight floats designated tangible folk cultural properties of Aichi Prefecture is simply surreal in its beauty and something definitely worth going out to see.

The highlight: Eight impressive parade floats
The festival's eight parade floats are designated as prefectural and municipal tangible folk cultural properties. The floats themselves are constructed using cypress, oak, rosewood, ebony, and other such woods as the surface materials. The elaborate main curtains use embroidery techniques found in Buddhist alter cloths. Carvings on the floats are performed by numerous famous artisans.

Festival schedule

Rehearsal Festival
5:00 am Purification ceremony at Koromo Jinja Shrine and Japanese taiko drum performance in the downtown area
9:00 am–12:00 pm Parade float procession around three towns in the Jumoku area and around towns in the downtown area
1:30 pm–4:00 pm Parade float procession around the Jumoku area (from 2:30 pm) and around five towns in the downtown area (1:30 pm–4:00 pm)
7:00 pm–9:00 pm Prayer for a bountiful harvest and ceremonies at Koromo Jinja Shrine
12:00 am Late-night Japanese taiko drum performance in the Jumoku area

Main Festival
9:00 am Gathering of seven floats at former castle gate (intersection in front of Toyota Shinkin Bank's main location)→transfer to front of Koromo Jinja Shrine→former Higashi Town float awaits other floats to the east of the shrine
9:30 am Ceremony in front of Koromo Jinja Shrine
10:00 am Parade float procession in shrine premises
10:30 am Lion dance / Religious rites (in shrine premises), representative/guest religious rites (Main Hall), and Shinto dance performed by young girls (Worship Hall)
11:10 am Kita Town's religious dance (shrine precincts)
12:30 pm–3:30 pm Shrine / Portable shrine procession (around various towns)
4:00 pm Eight parade floats procession
4:35 pm Parade floats' return to their hometowns (from intersection in front of Toyota Shinkin Bank's main location)
7:00 pm–7:30 pm Fireworks (from banks of Yahagi River)