This is a premium experience to view the “Kokura Gion Taiko Festival (Main Event)” from special seats.
You will watch the spectacular Kokura Gion Taiko Festival from special viewing seats beside the judges’ stand. Furthermore, an alumnus of the Kokura Gion Taiko Preservation and Promotion Association will provide a detailed commentary on the festival’s highlights.
Furthermore, the “Kokura Castle Tea Ceremony Experience” offers a rare opportunity to witness an authentic tea ceremony performed before your eyes – a practice seldom found nationwide. You can also savour the local culture through the unique Kokura experience of “Kakuchi (standing bar) culture”*.
*Kakuchi is a “local experience offering a taste of everyday Japan”.
‘Kakuchi’ is a uniquely Japanese cultural practice where one enjoys alcoholic beverages directly within a liquor shop.
Unlike tourist-oriented izakaya, it presents the everyday lives of local residents.
Blending in with office workers after work and regular patrons, travellers naturally become part of the town.
Kakuchi is not only a place to drink but also to experience the atmosphere of everyday Japan.
It offers an encounter with the authentic Japan not seen through tourism alone.
【Schedule】
15:00 Meet at JR Kokura Station (Guide will meet you)
15:00 Walk to next location
15:20 Stroll through Kokura Castle Garden & Tea Ceremony Experience
16:20 Walk to next location
16:30 View the competition from special seats beside the judges (with commentary from Preservation Society alumni) (drinks included)
17:00 Walk
17:15 Experience a unique Kitakyushu “kakuchi” drinking spot
17:45 Disband on site
