Okunchi Festival
Nagasaki
First Day Of Festivities
I arrived in Nagasaki yesterday, I got here on Malaysian Airlines, (and the plane didn't fall out of the sky which was a bonus). I landed at the Nagasaki airport which it then took me about half an hour to get into my hotel which is right in the middle of the city.
Today when I woke up there was commotion every where and that was when I realised my hotel is right in the middle of where the celebrations are.
What happens?
Nagasaki Kunchi or Okunchi Festival as it is also known, takes place from October 7th - October 9th every year. Nagasaki Kunchi has been happening since 1634 and every year the preparations start in June on the 1st. There are towns that perform in Kunchi each year, these are called Odoricho, there are 59 Odoricho that are split into 7 groups that are to perform. There are three parts to a performance, the first being Honodori that features traditional Japanese dances. Hikimono is the second which has things like Kawafune and the Kujira-no-shiofuki. The third being Katsugimono which had Kokkodesho and Dragon Dance. There are many things that happen at these special festivals but these are the ones that I have seen today, I saw three out of seven Odoricho groups perform.