Yamagata's Nanyo Chrysanthemum Festival takes place from early October to mid-November every year at two venues: the Kumano Taisha Shrine precinct and the Nanyo Chuo Flower Park. This celebration of Japan's national flower comes with over 100 years of history, and the event is said to be the first festival that featured chrysanthemum dolls (known as kiku-ningyo) as part of their display. The chrysanthemum dolls are literally life sized dolls which are decked out with chrysanthemums as their "clothing" - it's an impressive sight to witness!
The dates for the two venues differ this year – the Kumano Taisha Shrine precinct event runs from October 6th until October 16th, and the Nanyo Chuo Flower Park event runs from October 17th until November 5th.
Getting there
The Kumano Taisha Shrine portion of the chrysanthemum festival is located around 16 minutes by car from the Nanyo Takahata IC on the Tohoku Chuo Expressway, and the Nanyo Chuo Flower Park venue is around 13 minutes from the same interchange.
