By IPPEI YAOITA/ Staff Writer
July 12, 2023 at 18:29 JST
A parade of massive floats called "Yamahoko Junko" is held in the streets of Kyoto as part of the annual Gion Festival in July 2022. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
KYOTO--Tourism officials here are offering premium seats for 400,000 yen ($2,870) each that provide an up-close view of the traditional Gion Festival’s massive float parade on July 17.
The Kyoto City Tourism Association hopes to attract well-heeled visitors, mainly from overseas, in a first-of-its-kind attempt.
Sales began on June 19 and dozens of seats have already been reserved.
“We would like to make this an opportunity for people to learn more about the festival, along with Kyoto’s history and culture,” said an official of the association. “We are generally receiving many reservations.”
The 84 premium seats will be set up at the Kawaramachi-Oike intersection, one of the sections where participants perform the “tsuji mawashi,” or rotating the huge floats 90 degrees.
Spectators in the seats can get a close look at the float procession, called “Yamahoko Junko,” and the turns during the Saki Matsuri (the first climactic part of the Gion Festival) on July 17.
The premium seats are furnished in a Japanese style with tatami mats, legless “zaisu” chairs and “zabuton” cushions, and parasols can provide shade from the scorching summer sun.
Spectators in the seats can enjoy the festival while listening to explanations via an earphone guide, drinking beverages that include sake and eating “obanzai” (traditional Kyoto-style dishes).
Offering such seats is part of the Gion project to provide foreign tourists with opportunities to experience Kyoto’s traditional culture and to raise funds for the continuation of the Gion festival and the restoration of the floats.
The project was adopted by the Japan Tourism Agency to attract foreign tourists, whose numbers fell due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the premium seats, packages that include watching the floats and listening to “ohayashi” festival music on the day of the procession and the previous day are being sold with prices ranging from 100,000 yen to 500,000 yen per person.
Many festivals around the country are offering special and expensive seats to wealthy foreign tourists.
For example, the Aomori Nebuta Festival to be held in Aomori city in August is offering VIP seats priced at 1 million yen.
The Awa Odori dance festival scheduled in Tokushima city in August is selling premium spectator seats for 200,000 yen each.
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