Festival Report: Kawagoe Million Lights Festival

The Kawagoe Million Lights Festival was on the last weekend of July. For the first time in years, it was on for two days. It was always on for two days before the pandemic, but after the pandemic changes were made, and until last year (2025) it was just a one-day festival. Most years I am away when this festival is on, but there have been a few times over the years that I have been able to attend, including this year. I attended on the Saturday.

My overwhelming impression: it was too hot! And because Seibu Pepe Department Store closed at the start of this year, there was nowhere to escape the heat in the area around Hon-Kawagoe station. Seibu Pepe was always where I would duck in to for a bit of chilled air when the heat got too much! There were some large industrial fans on the street, about 300 meters apart, but you can't stand in front of them indefinitely, so they only offered a very short-lived, temporary relief.

Apart from the heat, I did enjoy watching the dance performances, including yosakoi, soran bushi, awa odori and loach scooping! There were a lot more dance performances than in the years I previously attended. I also got to see some ohayashi and festival floats, but I didn't get to see any of the portable shrines. The 'yatai' food stalls were done differently than in previous years, with less around Hon-Kawagoe station and less at Renkeiji than in the past.

To be honest, if I could have avoided the festival on such a hot day, I would have, but I actually had to be there because my daughter was in the festival and my husband was working at it (in my place). I am glad I went, but the heat did take away from the experience unfortunately.