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🏮 Sagami no Odako Matsuri

相模の大凧まつり

Sagamihara, Kanagawa (Sagami River Shinoiso District Riverbed Venue) · Every year on 4 May

Summer festival

232 days to go
Rooms around Sagamihara, Kanagawa fill up while the festival is on.

The Sagami O-dako Matsuri is held in the Shinoiso district along the Sagami River in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and is a traditional event taking place at four venues: Shindo, Katsuzaka, Shimo-Isobe, and Kami-Isobe. It has been passed down by the community, centered on the Sagami O-dako Cultural Preservation Society. It is a historic festival dating back to the Tenpo era (around 1830) and has long been preserved as a valuable cultural asset of Sagamihara. The highlight is the Yatsuma-dako flown at the Shindo venue. With a massive body measuring 14.5 meters square and weighing about 950 kg, it boasts the largest size of any kite flown annually in Japan. A title character selected each year through public competition is written on it, and its appearance floating in the sky is impressive.

Getting there

From Odakyu Line Sobudai-mae Station, take a bus (Dai-06 route bound for Isobe) and get off at Sobudai-shita Station, then walk 15 minutes; or from JR Sagami Line Sobudai-shita Station, walk 15 minutes. Access differs depending on the venue.