Noboribetsu’s final event of the summer, the Hell Festival, has finally come! After the opening ceremony at noon in Sengen Park, students from the local junior high school performed the Bear Dance. In this dance, accompanied by a whistle and a drum, the hunter and the bear meet on the mountain and gradually become friends. The brave hunter dancing with the bear is the real highlight of this dance.

At 6pm, the President of the Noboribetsu Tourism Association took the stage in front of Dai-ichi Takimotokan to announce the festival proceedings. The town was filled with people waiting for the parade to begin.

Enma, the King of Hell who comes to the festival each year, is ready!

The Demon Dance began at 7:30pm. There was also a costume dance contest, and we are always impressed at the creative costumes we see each year. The Kitsune no Yomeiri (Fox’s Wedding) team wore unique and authentic costumes.

During the dance, I also spotted a nice family wearing costumes. Her cute little girls are wearing yukata (summer kimono) printed in a pretty yagasuri pattern that resembles arrow feathers.

Takimaru-kun from Dai-ichi Takimotokan also joined in and was, I must say, a top dancer. I felt nervous at first to dance around so many people, but he was quite inspiring as were the other people. Soon, I was dancing freely, and it was awesome!

The Devil Dance and fireworks took place on Sunday. It was also amazing! The weather was sunny, and many people joined Takimaru-kun after they had a lovely bath.

Shuri-chan, who was also staying at Dai-ichi Takimotokan, also joined the demons for this special occasion! We hope you enjoyed the Hell Festival!