Takayama Yatai Kaikan Tours and Activities

See Takayama's famed festival floats at Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan. This grand space, also known as the Takayama Float Exhibition Hall, houses four resplendent floats, each decorated with intricate weavings, carvings and metal adornments.

The tradition of building floats, known locally as yatai, dates back several hundred years. The floats are used during the traditional biannual festivals of Takayama. Visit in fall or spring when the floats are carried through the streets during a ceremony that was first established after a bubonic plague ravaged the city in the 18th century. The careful detailing and beautiful craftsmanship of the floats was intended to appease the gods and end the plague.

Explore the exhibition hall where four of these yatai are majestically illuminated behind protective glass walls. Many of these floats are centuries old and have been further decorated and added to in the years since they were first built. Inspect their carved wooden frames and the gilded metalwork adorning them. Most yatai feature a combination of lacquerwork and embroidered drapery decorating the tiers above the base. Each yatai is carried on a cart and lit up by chochin lanterns during parades.

Note the unusual karakuri puppets atop the floats. These marionettes are made from wood, silk and woven cloth. During festivals, they are operated from within the float using strings and push rods.

English speakers can take a self-guided tour of the hall with a free bilingual audio guide. Learn about the origins and culture of Takayama's festivals and the craftspeople who created the yatai.

Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan is located next to the Sakurayama Hachiman-gū Shrine, which serves as the epicenter for the biannual festivals. The spring festival is held on April 14 and 15 each year, while the autumn festival takes place on October 9 and 10.

Find the Takayama Float Exhibition Hall at the northern end of Takayama's old town, approximately 20 minutes’ walk from central station. The hall is open daily and charges admission.