Miss Morioka Makes a Special Appearance — The Iwate Sansa Festival Comes to Taipei Main Station

Tourism Center / Taipei Report

Japan’s most famous summer festival in the Tohoku region can be experienced live in Taipei this weekend. As one of the top five summer festivals in Tohoku,the Iwate Sansa Festivalis not only a massive celebration that attracts over 30,000 participants annually, featuring performances by various groups that take over the streets, but it also holds a Guinness World Record for the largest number of taiko drum performances in the world. This weekend, it will take place at the North Second Gate Plaza of Taipei Main Station, where performance teams from Iwate Prefecture in Japan will showcase their talents. Beautiful Miss Morioka will make an appearance, delivering graceful dances accompanied by powerful taiko drums and melodious flutes, spreading an atmosphere full of enthusiasm.


▲ Performance teams from Iwate Prefecture in Japan, featuring beautiful Miss Morioka. (Photo / Provided by Iwate Prefecture Government, Japan)

Dancers dressed in dazzling, colorful horse costumes imitating the movements of horses, combining lively choreography with traditional folk music — the “Chagu Chagu Umakko” is a festival dance rich in the local character of the Tohoku region. It is said that the southern part of Iwate Prefecture produces excellent “Nanbu horses,” originating from farmers’ gratitude toward the horses that helped with farming. Every year, 100 horses are adorned with bells and paraded from the Kichikake Suga Shrine in Takizawa Village all the way to the Hatsumori Shrine in Morioka City, creating the distinctive chagu-chagu sound of the bells along the way.


▲ The Morioka Sansa Dance. (Photo / Provided by Iwate Prefecture Government, Japan)

Event Dates: September 14 (Sat) – 15 (Sun), 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Stage Performance Times: 12:30 / 14:00 / 15:30 / 17:00
Event Location: North Second Gate Plaza, Taipei Main Station