Takayama Autumn Festival (Hachiman Matsuri)

The Hachiman Matsuri is the autumn festival of Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine, held on 9 and 10 October, and the counterpart to April's Sanno Matsuri. The shrine keeps eleven yatai, festival floats of lacquer, gilt and carved wood that are among the finest in Japan, and for the festival they are stood along the streets of the old town north of Yasukawa-dori, where the restored merchant houses make a fitting backdrop.

The 9th carries the weight of the programme. By day the floats are displayed and a procession of shrine officials, musicians and lion dancers winds through the town. At dusk comes the yoi-matsuri, when the floats are hung with paper lanterns and drawn slowly through the darkened streets. Karakuri puppet performances, in which mechanical figures atop the Hoteitai float perform an acrobatic transformation, take place twice a day at the shrine on both days. The 10th repeats the displays and the daytime procession but has no lantern parade.

Takayama is reached by limited express from Nagoya or by bus from Kanazawa and Matsumoto, and everything is within walking distance of the station. Accommodation in town is booked months ahead and October is already high season for the Japanese Alps, so decide early. Rain sends the floats back into their storehouses, which open their doors so you can still see them. Expect cold evenings and a smaller, calmer crowd than the spring festival.