Toyohashi Nōryō Matsuri

People from all walks of life from Toyohashi and nearby cities happily throng the Toyohashi Park to celebrate a long honoured tradition since the Taisho era (1912-1926), the Toyohashi Nōryō Matsuri (Toyohashi Summer Night Festival).  

Children enjoy playing the Kingyosukui (goldfish scooping) and game stalls that offer toy rewards. Most students and young couples go to enjoy the main attraction which is the Obake Yashiki (Haunted House). And like any other festival, salarymen get their feel of the festivities by cooling off with beers.

A variety of food is offered at the Yomise (night shops) - Ikayaki (grilled squids), Tori Karaage (chicken nuggets), Takoyaki (dumpling with diced octopus), Jaga Bata (boiled potatoes with butter), grilled corn, Turkish ice-cream, shawarma and other Japanese festival food.

This year, the organizers prepared donation boxes for the East Japan Earthquake Cause. For safety measure and disease prevention,  automatic external defibrillators and disinfectants are installed all throughout the festival grounds.

The Yomise run nightly from 5:00PM to 9:00PM every weekends for the whole month of June. To get there take the city tram from the Toyohashi station, take off at Toyohashi Kouen Mae and walk towards the park for approximately 3 minutes.