Japan goals: Wara Art Festival

I went to visit a local, small "wara art" display in Saitama Prefecture today. It reminded me that one of my personal "Japan goals" is to visit the famous Waraji Matsuri, or Wara Art Festival, in Niigata. I don't want to tie myself to a specific time frame for this, so I won't set that goal for 2026, but it is somewhere I would like to visit during my time in Japan.

Wara Art is art made from 'wara' rice straw. Niigata is known for its rice so it makes sense they have lots of rice straw! And its great to see them put it to good use. They build enormous animals and creatures from leftover rice straw and display them in  Uwasekigata Park in Nishikan ward of Niigata City. They also sell local produce on site during the period of the festival, which is typically from late August to late October.

The photo in this post is just of the small display in Saitama Prefecture. Hopefully one day I will have photos to share from Niigata's Wara Art Festival. Have you ever been to the Wara Art Festival in Niigata? Or any other wara/ straw art festivals anywhere in Japan?