Suigō Sawara Festival Float Museum, Festival float museum at Yasaka Shrine, Katori, Japan.

The Suigō Sawara Festival Float Museum stands inside the grounds of Yasaka Shrine in Sawara, Katori. Two full-size festival floats are on permanent display, with their carved panels and large wheels, called hamma in Sawara, visible up close. From the second-floor windows visitors look down on the large dolls mounted on top of the floats.

The museum opened in 1995 in the grounds of Yasaka Shrine to display the festival floats of the Sawara Grand Festival, a tradition designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. The two floats kept on show are rotated, and the collection documents the float culture of Sawara's former merchant quarters.

The floats belong to the Sawara Grand Festival at Yasaka Shrine, held as the Gion summer festival and the autumn festival. Sawara Hayashi musicians accompany the floats with flute, drum and hand-bell music, and their instruments are explained in the second-floor exhibition room.

Visitors should be aware that gallery spaces fill up during peak hours, so arriving in early morning or late afternoon is recommended. The museum is easily accessible on foot from the shrine grounds and features clear directional signs throughout.

The museum includes a theater room with panoramic screens that show immersive views of the grand festival celebrations. Visitors can experience the lively energy and scale of the festivals through these recordings from multiple vantage points.