Living & Working in Ishikawa, Japan
Courtesy of Drachenman
Finally, an excuse to bring your flip-flops out of hiding! If you’re sticking around Ishikawa this Golden Week come on out to Uchinada Beach, just 15 minutes from KZ station, on May 3rd and 4th (Thursday and Friday) for this exciting daytime event.
The Uchinada World Kite Festival is in it’s 23rd year (last year was cancelled due to tsunami concerns), and it is the first event to re-open the Uchinada Beach area after winter – lots of fun, food, and sun to be had! If you’ve not been to this festival yet, I recommend it. The kites themselves are enormous! They seem more the size of a hot-air balloon than a kite and the people that fly them come from all over the world. The stunt kite competition is also very impressive, with teams of up to eight pilots flying their kites within inches of each other and performing all manner of figures and formations in the air while somehow narrowly averting disaster.
There will be cheap Japanese kites for sale, festival attendees are encouraged to try their hand at flying their own tako!
Read on for schedule and transportation info:
PEACEFUL WORLD KITE FESTIVAL
23RD WORLD KITE FESTIVAL IN UCHINADA 2012
Every year, on a sandy white beach lined with Japanese pines looking out over the Japan Sea, the World Kite Festival unfurls itself with grandeur in Uchinada. Twenty four years ago, in 1988, it started out as the Japan Sea Kite Festival, but since then, its reputation has expanded both domestically and internationally, and now every year it attracts kite lovers from all over Japan and the world. This year, during Golden Week, come on over to the Uchinada coastline, and join in the festivities!
Time Schedule
| May 3rd, Thursday | 10：00～ | · Opening ceremonies
· Sports Kite Competition (Individual) · Children’s Kite Competition (Team/Individual) |
| 12：30～ | Awards Ceremony (Children’s Kite Competition) | |
| 13：00～17:00 | Japanese kite flying (open to all) | |
| 18：00～ | Welcome Reception (Uchinada Culture Hall)
· Refreshments, Attractions, Kite Auction |
|
| May 4th, Friday | 9：00～ | Reception and Participant Registration (Main Tent) |
| 9：30～ | Opening Attraction / Opening Ceremonies | |
| 10：00～ | · Kite Flying Festival· International Kite Flying Festival
· Japan Sea Kite Flying Festival · Uchinada Kite Contest · 50th anniversary kite · Sports Kite Competition (Group Division) · Sports Kite Trial Lesson · Photo Contest (sponsored by the Uchinada Photography Association) |
|
| 15：00～ | Awards Ceremony and Closing Ceremonies |
What: 23rd Annual World Kite Festival
When: May 3rd and 4th, 2012
Where: Uchinada Beach
Directions: Trains to Uchinada Station depart every 24 minutes from the downstairs platform at Kanazawa Station 17 min/310yen. Walking out of Uchinada Station just go uphill (left), it’s a straight shot to the beach, about a 10 minute walk.
Upcoming Events
Amazing giant colorful sea creatures flying through the skies. I’d love to be there.
Reblogged this on Canoe Communications's Blog and commented:
An interesting read about this festival. What’s up in May? Kites
May is a popular month for kite festivals all around the world.
There is the famous Uchinada World Kite Festival May 3-4, 2012, with amazing giant skies filling the skies. I’d love to see this one.
There are other ones taking flight this month.
Atlantic Coast Festival
Bodega Bay Castle and Kite Festival
Great Lakes Kite Festival
Pinarella di Cervia International Kite Festival
Morcambe Kite Festival
Weymouth Beach Kite Festival
This year I’ll try to catch a kite festival in the Midwest. May is a popular month to launch your kite and make it soar.