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Kyodo

Balancing the need to attract visitors while preserving traditional rituals is an ongoing challenge for Japanese communities where local festivals are valuable assets that bring much-needed tourist spending.
But sometimes it comes at a cost to culture.
This seems to be especially true for a Shinto shrine whose centuries-old annual celebration for deities has become a massive festival attraction for the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, a city already straining under its tourist load.
Causing further angst is the relatively new practice of selling premium seating for people willing to pay for uninterrupted views of the festival’s showcase parade while being served food and drinks.

Similar practices are trending across Japan as local organisers of festivals hope to cash in on foreigners with deep pockets who want the experience of a lifetime.
When the special tickets were sold at Kyoto’s famed Gion Festival, the head priest of the Yasaka Shrine, which oversees the month-long extravaganza in July, was critical of the concept, especially the serving of alcoholic drinks.
Arguing that the deeply religious festival “is not a show” but a sacred event, the 65-year-old priest, Akiyoshi Nomura, threatened to resign from the board of directors of the Kyoto City Tourism Association over the alcohol issue.
Nomura was defending the long and important history of the shrine’s festival that is said to have started in the Heian period (794-1192) as a purification ritual during an epidemic. Later, it turned into an annual Shinto festival to welcome and bid farewell to gods and goddesses, according to the Kyoto city office.
The Gion Festival has grown over the centuries to be one of the largest, most well-known festivals in Japan. Its showcase event, the Yamahoko float procession parade – designated in the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage list – alone drew roughly 140,000 people to watch along its route on July 17, 2024, according to Kyoto police.

The decision to introduce exclusive seats shows the lengths to which Japanese municipalities feel they need to go to ensure the survival of their festivals, many of which are rooted in the tradition and legacies of Shintoism or indigenous faiths, as depopulation also poses challenges.
Locals have been searching for ways to keep their traditional events alive, or just revive them to a point where they can emulate some of their past glories.
The promoters of the Aomori Nebuta Festival, a summer fire festival in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori, were some of the first to introduce premium seating. They had an idea to offer VIP box seats for up to eight people at the festival known for nightly parades of giant illuminated floats.
They received strong interest when they initially put the seats on sale at the 2022 festival for 1 million yen (US$6,300) per box. The packages have continued to be sold, with the price increased to 1.1 million yen in 2024.
[The trend of premium seats] may lead to a backlash if the traditions that have been carefully preserved are damaged
Yoshihiro Sataki, professor of tourism, Josai International University
The Awa Odori Dance Festival in Tokushima prefecture, western Japan, followed suit in 2023 by launching premium tickets for gallery seats priced at 200,000 yen per person, including those reserved specifically for overseas travellers.
The seats gave unobstructed, close-up views of oncoming performers in the renowned late-summer dance festival with a 400-year history. However, it was later determined that the temporary seating structure failed to meet legal building standards, prompting organisers to refund ticket fees and discontinue the service.
The Aomori and Tokushima festivals offered speciality food and drinks, including sake and other alcoholic beverages. In addition, the ticket holders were given access to experts who gave insights about the performances.
The Gion Festival in Kyoto joined the bandwagon in 2023 and offered premium tickets for 400,000 yen per seat for the Yamahoko float procession parade.
A total of 84 premium seats were set up in 2023 and 60 for 2024 at an intersection in the heart of the western city.

From the vantage point, tourists could watch floats spinning 90 degrees through the sweat and power of human effort. They were also given multilingual audio guides to supplement their experience.
The tug of war between tourism and tradition surfaced shortly before the 2024 event, when priest Nomura protested in reaction to the Kyoto tourism association’s plans to serve alcohol for the premium-seat package, this time at a reduced 150,000 yen price tag. His opposition and threat to resign made national headlines.
After the association apologised for “not providing a clear explanation” about serving alcohol, it promised to serve only soft drinks at the 2024 festival.
“It was uncomfortable for me to see spectators drinking alcohol as if they were watching a show [in 2023]. We agreed that we wanted to make a better Gion Festival,” said Nomura, who ultimately compromised and remained on the board.

The association respected the shrine’s demand that traditional rituals be honoured but noted that offering premium seats is still in consideration for 2025 and beyond, albeit without an alcohol service.
An association official stressed the significance of “staying true to tradition”.
“We have to push forward with our work to deepen understanding of the festival while also respecting rituals,” the official said.
Tourism experts point out the importance of maintaining a delicate balance when holding festivals.
Yoshihiro Sataki, professor of tourism at Josai International University, which has campuses in Togane and Tokyo, said the idea to offer premium seats came from a “mixture of a decline in festival participation and growing inbound tourism”.
He noted that many festivals struggle with funding because of a lack of participants and rising security costs and, hence, are focusing on how to improve their economic benefits.
However, he warned that the latest trend “may lead to a backlash if the traditions that have been carefully preserved are damaged”.
“It’s crucial to be thoughtful of the feelings of local residents who have handed down the traditions for generations,” he said.


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Special seats giving premium views of festivals in places such as Kyoto, aimed at foreigners, stoke debate about tourism’s impact on culture


Special seats giving premium views of festivals in places such as Kyoto, aimed at foreigners, stoke debate about tourism’s impact on culture.


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