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Why Komatsu ?

Komatsu City sits upon the southwestern plains of Ishikawa prefecture. On one side lies the Sea of Japan, and on the other the sacred Mt. Hakusan. These natural resources contribute to the rich nature and have influenced the local history and culture. Symbolic of this culture are the living traditions of Kutani ceramics made from Komatsu stone, and children’s kabuki performed at yearly festivals.

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Next, we had an English tour led by local voluntee

Next, we had an English tour led by local volunteer guides! 🤗

Highlights included a visit to Motoori Hiyoshi Shrine, one of the festival organisers,
and close-up viewing of the hikiyama floats! 🤩

Thank you so much to our international friends for your enthusiasm and support 🥰
You are always welcome in Komatsu, and we hope for the chance to show you much more of what we love about this city 😘

We were overjoyed to have so many international fr

We were overjoyed to have so many international friends joining us in the Otabi festivities this year! 🤗

First, we got some help pulling the massive hikiyama floats to the venue 💪

It was so fast with everyone's help! Thank you for an energising start to the festival! 🥳
Otsukare❣️

✨Dazzling Hikiyama✨ When the hikiyama floats g

✨Dazzling Hikiyama✨
When the hikiyama floats glowed up, so did the festival mood 🤗

Looking back at these pictures still makes our eyes and hearts sparkle 🤩💖

Otabi Festival 2022, Thank You ❤️ The rain ne

Otabi Festival 2022, Thank You ❤️

The rain nearly called it off, but finally the skies cleared, and the hikiyama floats emerged 😌

Finally, the past 3 years of preparation for our city's beloved festival bore fruit 😌

Finally, our children were able to get the audience they deserved, upon the spectacular stages of the hikiyama 🤗

Thank you to all our locals who fought to make this happen through hard times 🥰

Thank you to all our visitors, including those who supported from afar, for lending our little actresses your eyes, ears and hearts 🥰

Thank you to the weather for letting us off and giving us blue skies when we needed it the most! 🌞

We hope the festival brought you all as much joy as it did us, and that we get to welcome you again next year, to an even bigger and livelier Otabi Matsuri❣️

🍡Savor Otabi🍭 Tomorrow's finally the day o

🍡Savor Otabi🍭

Tomorrow's finally the day of the festival! 🥳

We've received many inquiries about the yatai food stalls this year.
Yes, we totally get how yatai are a big part of any matsuri.

Sadly, for safety reasons, there will be no yatai street this year 😔
(there will be some within the grounds of Motoori Hiyoshi Shrine)
*Eating is not allowed at the festival venue where the floats are assembled, due to COVID-19 measures

Despair not however, as this is a chance to savor the festival in a sweeter way:
Through the medley of Otabi-related sweets specially crafted for the festival!
Why not go sweet-hopping while you're here? 😋

1) Otabi Dango
by @minowa_kashiho みのわ菓子舗
Fresh dango encasing azuki paste, generously powdered with the more fragrant Kyoto kinako, and wrapped in bamboo leaf to up the fragrance factor!
An Otabi-exclusive creation eagerly awaited for every year, by this 60-year-old wagashi shop just by Awazu Station.

2) Kabukky Monaka
by Yamagami Fukujudo 山上福寿堂
Crisp monaka in the shape of our mascot Kabukky! (yes Kabukky is meant to resemble the legendary Benkei who appears in many kabuki plays 😆)
Comes in 4 flavors: Matcha 🍵, Ichigo🍓, Chocolate🍫, and even granola made from Komatsu Barley 🌾!
The kind of stuff that's too cute too eat 🤣

3) Hikiyama Senbei
by @tokuda_seikado 徳田盛華堂
Hand-baked senbei biscuits imprinted with the iconic scene of Otabi Festival:
The spectacular assembly of the towering hikiyama floats! 🤩
Delicately sweet and eggy, we think it is as yummy as it is pretty! 😋

4) Kabuki Beer
@komatsu_urara souvenir shop
If you're not into sugar highs, of course there are other ways to get high 🍻
Made from Hakusan spring water and Komatsu barley, and dolled-up in kabuki makeup! 😍
Opt for the pink pale ale (with 100% Komatsu barley), or the blue sakamai ale blended with sake crafted from komatsu-cultivated sake rice!
(Please resist drinking at the venue however 😅)

The final dessert should of course be the visual feast of the hikiyama children's kabuki plays 😌

If you're coming this weekend to join us for the O

If you're coming this weekend to join us for the Otabi Festival, why not drop by the Yusenji Copper Mine Memorial Park to enjoy another aspect of Komatsu history and culture too? @yusenjidozanato

The origins of world-famous Komatsu Ltd., this area was formerly a lively mining town run by the corporation's founder!

Today, it has been converted into a beautiful nature sanctuary, through the hard work and passion of the local community.

If you're lucky, you might still be able to catch the lilac carpet of irises that transform the cedar grove into a magical woodland! (scroll to end for some ASMR)

Otherwise, there is always the giant chimney remains that always makes us feel like we're in an adventure movie 😋

Counting Down to Otabi Festival!🥳 📅14 May, S

Counting Down to Otabi Festival!🥳
📅14 May, SAT📅

Our long-awaited Otabi Festival is fast-approaching this Saturday!
We would really like to celebrate with as many of you as possible,
so a heads-up that there are still some spaces for our English Tour,
14 May (Sat) 2-3 PM.

👉Sign-up here if interested: https://tinyurl.com/OtabiTour2022👈

English guidance and reserved seating for the kabuki play is fully booked, but you may still be able to get tickets for free seating if you come down to the ticket counter at the festival venue at 12pm on the day. Up to 4 tickets for either sessions
can be claimed:
①Afternoon session 3pm - 5.45pm
②Night session 6pm - 8.30pm

Venue: Outside MIYOSSA Hikiyama Gallery
https://goo.gl/maps/ZiP5JtLTWBrMMMXVA
Tickets are free but first-come-first-serve!

More information here: https://www.explorekomatsu.com/news/otabi-festival-2022/

Also a heads-up that the Hikiyama Line-up and tour may have to be cancelled in the event of bad weather.
We will post updates as soon as possible in the event of cancellation.
Praying for good weather and the chance to welcome all of you! 🤗

After a 3-year wait, we finally managed to stage t

After a 3-year wait, we finally managed to stage the Japan Children's Kabuki Festival in Komatsu! 😌

So grateful and touched that our young performers finally got the audience they deserve 🤗

Here are just some of our favorite scenes. Just feel that passion and joy. We always forget that these are just little kids 💞

Happy Children's Day! 5 May is Kodomo no Hi! We th

Happy Children's Day!
5 May is Kodomo no Hi!
We think it's a day for everyone to celebrate the child in all of us 🤗

We'll be enjoying Children's Day the Komatsu Way. Admiring the graceful dance of carp streamers and wisteria at Rojo Park 🎏, a little tea break of kashiwa mochi and chimaki from @yukimatsu_7daime 🍵, and then...

A whole afternoon of children's kabuki plays at URARA Theater! @komatsu_urara 🎭
Yes! The Japan Children's Kabuki Festival in Komatsu is finally happening this year! 🥳
Plays by troupes from Toyama and Nara will be followed by the Komatsu classic of Kanjincho by our very own children 🥰
(☝️stay tuned to our stories for sneak peeks!)

Sakura on the Lawn When is comes to shibazakura i

Sakura on the Lawn

When is comes to shibazakura in Japan, the vast fields of pink phlox at Mt. Fuji might be the first that come to mind.
Here in Komatsu, our shibazakura spots come in much humbler patches, but we appreciate them no less 🥰
The way their delicate petals dot the ground, we certainly get why they're known as "lawn sakura" in Japanese 😌

Here are two of our favorite spots as beautifully captured by local flower connoisseur @floral_komatsu 😍
Both are community gardens lovingly tendered to by the local residents!

*Shibazakura season in Komatsu lasts from around late April to early May
*We know it's hard to resist admiring them up close, but be careful not to step on the flowers!

①NOAN (pics 1-3)
The community garden of nursing home NOA in Yawata-machi, which is also accessible to the public as an open garden! 🤗
Vivid pinks take centerstage here, with a stretch of over 6000 shibazakura stretching across 💗
We love laying back on the garden chairs and just soaking in the peaceful air 😌
Hours:
8:30-14:00, 15:30-18:00
*psst the garden comes abloom with a rainbow of roses in early June too!

②Road Park Nakaumi no Sato ロードパークなかうみの里
(pics 4-7)
The local go-to spot for shibazakura, found in the agricultural neighborhood of Nakaumi-machi 🌾
The patchwork of over 3600 pink, purple and white flowers are cared for by the Nakaumi conservation committee! 🥰
Just across the road is Kinoko no Sato, where you can purchase freshly harvested produce from the area or enjoy soft serve in unique flavors such as amazake yogurt or kinako kurogoma!🍦🤤

🏮Otabi Festival 2022🏮 🗓️14 May 2022 (S

🏮Otabi Festival 2022🏮

🗓️14 May 2022 (Sat)🗓️

Otabi Festival is finally coming back after a 3 year wait!! 💖
The pride and joy of Komatsu City, it is where you get to witness the rare sight of all-girls kabuki plays staged upon special festival floats called hikiyama!

All main events will take place at the square in front of Hikiyama Gallery MIYOSSA
(5 walk from Komatsu Stn)

1) Hikiyama Line Up
3:00pm – 8:30pm
The towering hikiyama floats, each owned by a neighborhood of Komatsu, will be assembled and illuminated at night! ✨

2) Children’s Kabuki Plays
Little actresses from two of Komatsu’s neighborhoods will be performing kabuki upon the hikiyama floats! 🥰
There will be two sessions:
①3:30-5:45pm & ②6:00-8:15pm
(the same two plays will be performed for both sessions)

❗️Ticket Reservation❗️
-Seats are free but ticketed
-Tickets will only be distributed on the day (14 May), at 12pm
-Ticket counter: main tent in front of MIYOSSA
-First-come-first serve, up to 4 tickets per person
-Choice of either the afternoon or night session
-There are also limited standing areas that can be entered freely
*You are encouraged to stay for the entire session as far as possible. If you leave midway, please return your ticket to the counter so someone else can take your seat.

For more details, check our latest article on the Explore Komatsu homepage! (link in bio)
Can’t wait to enjoy with everyone 😊

Secret Sakura Groves ② 🌸Yusenji Copper Mine

Secret Sakura Groves ②

🌸Yusenji Copper Mine Remains🌸

Also far out from the city center is this memorial park reborn from a former mining town @yusenjidozanato
(the birthplace of today's KOMATSU LTD 🏗️)

Sakura are just one of the many flowers that the locals have nurtured here:
A while before the weeping plum grove was in full bloom, and soon in early May, lilac irises will carpet the cedar groves 🌲
This hanami season, the sakura were accompanied by cheery daffodils! 🏵️
(Yes Kabukky & Pom Pom Purin are in on the secret too. You might just run into them 😋)

You'll find this natural sanctuary further down the road from @hanibegankutsuin (the one with a giant Buddha head)
DM us for the pin!

〒923-0063 Ishikawa, Komatsu, Ugawamachi

Secret Sakura Groves ① Tucked amidst the rich g

Secret Sakura Groves ①

Tucked amidst the rich greenery of Komatsu, there are some secret hanami spots that even many locals do not know of! 😮

Chancing upon these hidden groves is like finding your own private sakura garden 🥰
We almost want to keep them for ourselves, but it'd be a waste to be the only ones enjoying them, so we're generously sharing two of our favorite finds! 😋

🌸 Higashiyama Senbonzakura Garden
東山千本桜八重の園 🌸

Hidden deep behind the bamboo groves of Komatsu's Higashiyama area, a spot so secret you won't find it marked on the map! 🤯
(thankfully, it is right next to a mountain bike course that is marked, DM us for the pin!)

It was born out of a community effort to inject new life into abandoned land, and what makes it extra special are the rarer yaezakura (multilayered) varieties cultivated here that create a mosaic of pinks! 💗

You can drive through the bamboo groves to get there, or pass through while trekking the 12km “Tree Planting Festival Memorial Trail” connecting Lake Kiba and Ikoi-no-Mori Park 😎

〒923-0842 Ishikawa, Komatsu, Higashiyamamachi, ヲ1-1

(look forward to our other secret sakura reveal tomorrow! 😉)

Sakura X Waterfall We never get bored of this view

Sakura X Waterfall
We never get bored of this view and we hope neither do you 🥰

Sakura X Lake X White Mountain We'll let the pict

Sakura X Lake X White Mountain

We'll let the pictures speak for themselves 😌
Truly Lake Kiba at it's best 🌸🏔️🏞️

We recommend making it early for sunrise 🌄 or late for the lantern light-up till 9pm! 🏮

*Sakura tunnels are between Central (Chuo) and North (Kita) Zones, and lanterns are at Central Zone

Thank you @floral_komatsu for the light-up pics (swipe to end) 😍