Koshi Rakuza Horai Tanabata Market

Held at the Horai-an plaza of the Taku Products Hall, at the foot of one of Japan's three great Confucian temples, this Tanabata festival and market gathers regional-revitalization coordinators and vendors offering food, crafts, live music and live painting. From dusk into night the plaza comes alive, culminating in a communal handheld-fireworks display coloring the summer sky. An easygoing, community-rooted evening event for families, it lets visitors spend a warm Tanabata night together with locals in the historic temple town.