Katsuura Big Hina Matsuri: Dolls on Shrine Stone Steps

From late February until 3 March each year, the small fishing town of Katsuura on the Pacific coast of Chiba Prefecture fills with hina dolls, the ornamental figures traditionally displayed for the Girls' Day festival. Around ten thousand of them appear across the town, in shrines and temples, in shop windows and even at the post office. The signature sight is the stone staircase of Tomisaki Shrine, sixty steps rising from the harbour, covered from bottom to top with tiered rows of dolls. Under a pale February sky, the red, gold and white figures climb toward the ridge, with the port and the open sea spread out behind them.

Sixty Steps of Dolls

Tomisaki Shrine sits on a rise just back from the harbour, and its approach is a single straight flight of sixty stone steps. During the festival the whole staircase is draped in scarlet felt and lined with tiered doll displays. Looking up from the bottom, the faces overlap layer upon layer until they seem to continue into the sky; turning around at the top, you look out over the doll heads to the roofs of Katsuura and the ocean beyond. The figures are not sealed behind plastic, which is why, at the first sign of bad weather, local volunteers appear from nowhere and clear the entire staircase at astonishing speed. That fragility is part of the appeal. After dark the staircase is lit, and the display takes on a completely different character.

A Whole Town as One Display Stand

Tomisaki Shrine is only the beginning. About six hundred dolls are arranged at the gate of Kakuoji temple, and more appear at Takiguchi Shrine in the Hebara district. Along the street where the morning market is held, fishmongers and shopkeepers set out figures of their own, so that a glance sideways while buying fish can leave you eye to eye with an imperial doll couple. Treating the entire town as a single tiered stand is what makes this festival distinctive. The morning market carries on as usual through the period, and the natural plan is to wander from dolls to market stalls and then to lunch.

Seven Thousand Dolls from Tokushima

The festival began in 2001. Through a network linking the various places in Japan named Katsuura, the town received about seven thousand hina dolls from Katsuura in Tokushima Prefecture. Dolls stored locally and others donated from around the country were gradually added, and the total displayed has now grown to roughly ten thousand. Hina dolls are notoriously difficult to part with and equally difficult to keep, and here a whole community took on that problem and turned it into an annual event. Two decades of that patient work are what produce the staircase you see today.

Tips for Visiting

The staircase is sometimes restricted to one-way movement, so expect to go with the flow rather than doubling back. Weekday mornings are the calmest time to look properly. The steps face into the light for much of the day, so afternoon or the illuminated evening hours are kinder for photographs. Because the shrine involves a real climb, visitors with limited mobility or very young children may prefer the temple gate and the shopping street displays, which are at street level. February wind off the sea is cold, so dress for it.

Getting There

Katsuura Station on the JR Sotobo Line is the nearest station, and Tomisaki Shrine, Kakuoji temple and the morning market street are all within walking distance. Since the venues are scattered through the town centre, walking from the station is the simplest approach, and signs guide visitors between the sites during the festival. The streets around the venues are narrow and busy through the period, so public transport is the easier option.

Practical Information

• Dates: From late February to 3 March every year
• Main venues: Tomisaki Shrine (Hamakatsuura 1, Katsuura City), Kakuoji temple (Izumi 1297), Takiguchi Shrine (Hebara 1921), and the morning market street
• Number of dolls: About 10,000 across the town
• Enquiries: Katsuura City Tourist Association, 0470-73-2500 (8:30 to 17:15)
• Access: Walking distance from Katsuura Station on the JR Sotobo Line
• In rain: Outdoor displays are taken in when it rains
• Official website: https://www.katsuura-kankou.net/bighina/

* Dates, details and prices are subject to change. Please check the official website before you go.

(Sources: Katsuura City Tourist Association official website, Katsuura City official website)