Famous for its fine harbor and the Awa highway, which connects the harbor with Takamatsu and Tokushima, there’s a town in Higashikagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture called Hiketa that has flourished as a center of commerce since olden times.

During the Hiketa Hina Festival, more than 60 shops and houses display hina dolls on their door steps. Many of the dolls have been in families for generations, and visitors can stroll around the streets and look at them.

One of the best parts about the festival is the sheer variety of hina dolls.

These are Odairisama from the end of the Edo period (1603~1867). They look a bit different to today’s versions, don’t they?

Modelled on a palace room, this particular luxurious setting is called Godenkazari. As hina dolls are usually displayed on multi-tiered shelves or on simple flat ones nowadays, it’s really interesting to see how they did it in the olden days.

There are also some plain, simple hina dolls on display in front of buildings.

It was great to get to see such a wide variety of wonderful hina dolls. The Hiketa Hina Festival is held annually from the end of February to March 3rd.

Hiketa Hina Festival
Festival Period: Annually from the end of February to March 3rd
Address: The area around JR Hiketa station, Higashikagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture
Access: 40 minutes by car from Tokushima Airport. 80 minutes by car from Takamatsu Airport. 10 minutes walk from JR Hiketa station. 10 minutes walk from Hiketa bus stop, Okawa Bus Hiketa Line.

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Yumi Kobayashi