Held in spring (April 14-15) and autumn (October
9-10), the Takayama
Festival is ranked as one of Japan's three most beautiful festivals alongside Kyoto's Gion Matsuri and
the Chichibu
Matsuri.
A visit to Takayama must include this exhibition of
the Mikoshis or giant floats - The Float Hall is in Sakurayama hachiman, and
houses 11 floats for the fall Takayama festival. They rotate the floats 3 times
a year (March, July, and November) putting 4 on display each time.
The two festivals that happen in Takayama in the
spring and fall are actually completely different, happening in different areas
of the city and featuring completely different sets of floats. The spring
festival is conducted by the Hie Shrine, with autumn hosted by the Sakurayama
Hachiman Shrine. Each shrine weighs 2 1/2 tonnes and the group of 40 men carrying it are rotated every 10 minutes. 
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