The spring festival 'Okaeri Festival' of Fujitsuka Shrine. Its origins date back 700 years, and it is said to have taken its current form around the mid-Edo period when it flourished thanks to the Kitamaebune trading ships. The gilded mikoshi (portable shrine) sets off from the shrine led by trumpet players in formal hakama attire, 13 floats representing the pinnacle of Mikawa Buddhist altar craftsmanship, and lion dancers warding off evil, and parades through the town. On the first day it departs from Fujitsuka Shrine and arrives at Takahama Otabisho, spending the night there, and on the second day's night departs from the Otabisho, passes through the 'Okaeri' streets of the town, and returns to Fujitsuka Shrine before dawn the following morning.
