Written by Catrina Sugita

Admire the vibrant dragon and pheonix boat parade at Shiogama's Port!

One of the Three Great Boat Festivals in all of Japan takes place here in Shiogama, less than 30 minutes from downtown Sendai! On the evening that precedes the main festival, Matsushima Bay's night sky will light up and sparkle with a large fireworks display.

The main festival takes place on Marine Day, a Japanese national holiday. The celebrations open in the early morning at Shiogama Shrine, where people dressed in white carry the 1 ton heavy omikoshi (portable shrine) down the steep stairway. At mid-day, the festival makes its way to the sea-front with an extravagant boat parade featuring fishing boats waving large flags alongside the spectacularcolorful dragon and phoenix boats. Finally, the omikoshi is carried back through the streets of Shiogama, all the way up to Shiogama Shrine.

Discover the city of Shiogama by follow the procession and admiring the boat parade either on land, or on a sight-seeing boat!