The Numata Festival brings together a Gion festival dating back to the Edo period and a trade festival; its processions and the city’s architectural history each offer a distinct focus. Seasonal fruit-picking opportunities are another attraction. For planning a trip, these can be divided into three themes: festival culture, historic buildings and park history, and harvest activities, whose seasons help determine the best time to visit.
A Festival with Two Traditions
Held in downtown Numata, the Numata Festival brings together the Suga Shrine’s Gion festival, which dates back to the Edo period, and the Numata Matsuri Shōkōsai trade festival. The festival features processions with lavishly decorated floats known as “Mandō.” Another distinctive feature is the “Tengu mikoshi”: a portable shrine bearing a large Tengu mask, carried exclusively by about 300 women. The festival thus brings shrine culture and a trade festival together, while its processions have their own distinctive features. If you are planning your trip around the festival, check the latest event dates.
Architectural History and Historic Buildings
The former western residence of the Kume family is one of Japan’s earliest examples of a concrete residential building. It also incorporates the Secession style, an art movement that emerged in Western Europe in the late 19th century. The building offers a glimpse of a different architectural history from that of the city’s older houses and churches.
Among the surviving Christian church buildings in Gunma Prefecture, the former Numata Church is older than all but Nakuta Church (1887) and Shimamura Church (1897). Its former memorial hall was built in 1914 and registered as a cultural property on April 21, 1998. It was used as the “Sekiguchi Kō Kirie Museum” until August 2006; this former use does not indicate that it currently functions as a museum.
The former Ubukata House tells a different kind of domestic history: the merchant’s house dates from the late 17th century, was designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan on June 17, 1970, and was moved to its present location in Numata Park in Numata City in 1973. The former residence of the Toki family also reflects the history of the domain: its western section was built by descendants of the last feudal lord of the Numata Domain.
Castle Grounds and Numata Park
Numata Castle was built in 1532 by Akihiro, the 12th head of the Numata clan of the Miura line, over a period of about three years. Parts of the former main bailey, the outer bailey, and the second and third baileys are located in Numata Park. Part of the outer bailey lies on the grounds of Numata Elementary School and Numata Girls’ High School. The surviving sections of the castle show how the traces of the site are spread across different locations.
Numata Park also has stone statues of Sanada Nobuyuki and his wife, Komatsu-hime. The park is home to about 200 cherry trees, and the old Edo-higan cherry tree Goten-zakura is its landmark. The park thus brings castle remains and historic figures together with a collection of trees distinguished by one especially notable tree.
Seasonal Fruit Picking
Numata City offers seasonal fruit-picking opportunities, from cherries in early summer to strawberries in winter, though the harvest dates vary by fruit. At Someya Apple Orchard, visitors can pick seasonal apples and eat them on site; availability depends on the season.
The timing to consider therefore depends on whether you are planning a festival trip or a fruit-picking visit: for the festival, check the latest event dates; for fruit picking, the relevant season is what matters. Specific harvest times may vary.
Discover more destinations: Tomioka, Kiryu, Isesaki, Annaka, Tone District, Minakami, Maebashi, Kawawa.
For the broader travel guide: Gunma Prefecture.
