It's a Green Light for the Kawagoe Festival: A Sign It's Almost Here

One of the surest signs that the Kawagoe Festival is almost here isn't a float, a lantern, or even the growing crowds. It's the traffic signals.

While out this morning, I came across a work crew at the Nakachō intersection preparing the signals for this weekend's festival. This isn't the first time I've seen them preparing the traffic lights for the festival. But it is the first time I have actually witnessed the traffic lights being suspended in mid-air! I grabbed a quick video for the occasion: Youtube.

The preparations are more involved than simply turning the signal heads. Some traffic lights around the festival area can be swivelled, but others, including those at Nakachō, get replaced with temporary "kari-koti" signals for the duration of the festival. These changes help accommodate the towering festival floats as they make their way through the historic streets.

For many residents, the sight of workers handling the signals may be easy to overlook, but it marks the beginning of the final transformation of the city center. Seeing the preparations firsthand this morning made the arrival of the Kawagoe Festival feel much more real. It won't be long before the streets are filled with music, lanterns, and festival floats.