A new festival, “Kojimako ENNICHI,” has been held in Kojima since last year (2023).
This festival is a popular event that drew more than 10,000 visitors last year, despite it being its first year. We heard that the second Kojima ENNICHI would be held in 2024, so we went to see it for ourselves.
The information presented was current when this article was published in August 2024. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is Kojimako ENNICHI?
Kojimako ENNICHI was held for two days, Saturday, August 10 and Sunday, August 11, 2024, at Kojima Sightseeing Port.
Organized by the Kojimako ENNICHI Executive Committee and the Seto-Ohashi Sightseeing Boat Association, this festival is a new event that only began last year (2023).
For five hours each day, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., there was plenty to see, including a gathering of food trucks and stalls, cruise ships setting sail, and fireworks lighting up the sky.
The venue on Sunday, August 11
When we arrived at the venue at around 4:30 p.m. on August 11, it was already bustling with visitors, despite the sun still being strong.
The stalls offered a wide range of options for visitors of all ages, from treats for children, such as fishing for sweets, to unusual delicacies like game meat. We also spotted visitors with pets, perhaps because it was an outdoor event.
Tickets for the festival’s main attraction, the “Night Cruise,” sold out in the queue before they even went on sale, so we couldn’t board. But we still enjoyed the festival on land, and would like to share the experience through photos.
Festival food from the stalls
When you think of a festival, you think of food from the stalls.
We were hungry, so we started with chicken broth pho from villaga chaya.
It’s hard to find places in Kurashiki where you can casually enjoy pho, and I’d been following villaga chaya’s pop-up announcements on social media, so this was the long-awaited chance to finally try their pho. Its mild flavor made it easy to enjoy even for people who aren’t used to the distinctive spices and cilantro of Southeast Asian cuisine.
I also wanted a cold drink to go with my meal, so I got a homemade lemonade squash from Okonomiya. At festivals, drinks typically cost 500 yen or more, but Okonomiya’s homemade lemonade squash was just 350 yen. It was reasonably priced, yet rich and luxurious, with pieces of lemon pulp.
Sipping this refreshing drink in the sea breeze gave me a welcome moment of cool relief.
The pho wasn’t enough to fill me up, so I went looking for some meat.
Drawn in by the word “game,” I ordered a venison steak from Donguri, a restaurant specializing in aged meat and game, and a herb sausage from Cafe&Bar FLAGO, which serves locally sourced food in the Bikan Historical Area.
Both the distinctive sweetness of the venison and the sausage packed with the savory flavor of herbs were as thick and juicy as they looked.
As I was wondering what to have for dessert, I ran into a friend at the venue. “The shaved ice shop I went to earlier was great—they communicated with us, even though we’re hard of hearing, by writing things down!” they recommended, so I headed to Mireido.
Just as my friend had said, they repeatedly pointed to the menu to make sure I understood, since I’m hard of hearing too, and I was able to order comfortably. The shaved ice looked adorable, and the ice itself was wonderfully fluffy.
The “Milk Coffee” flavor I ordered also had coffee jelly inside, making it a novel kind of shaved ice whose flavor continued to change even after the ice melted.
Actually, I’ve always avoided festival shaved ice because it’s hard and I get tired of the flavor partway through. But Mireido’s shaved ice didn’t give me brain freeze, and I could enjoy its variety of flavors and textures to the very end. It was the kind of shaved ice that made me think, I want to have this again.
After that, as I walked, I found myself telling other friends I met, “Mireido is great because they’re considerate toward people with hearing impairments, and their shaved ice is so fluffy. I recommend it!”
Stage performances that local people look forward to
The stage program ran from just after the festival began until after the fireworks ended.
The children who attend a local dance school had been practicing for this day and put on an impressive dance performance, complete with makeup and hair extensions.
An older local resident cheerfully headed toward the stage, saying, “I’m taking part in the karaoke contest that starts later.”
Although this is a new festival that only began last year, the stage performances showed how people of all ages are enjoying it.
Fireworks shine even brighter in this port town
One of the reasons I decided to attend the festival was hearing that “Kojimako ENNICHI apparently has fireworks.”
That said, the official information did not disclose whether there would be fireworks. Apparently, fireworks were launched at the end of the second day in 2023, but this year, they were even launched on the first day. I had met up with my friends and their families, and the preschoolers were looking forward to the fireworks, so personally, I really hoped they would go ahead.
Around 8 p.m., fireworks were also launched at Brazilian Park Washuzan Highland, but from Kojima Port, they were only visible in the distance. Just as I thought, “Maybe that’s it for tonight…” around 8:30 p.m., fireworks were launched from a boat out at sea.
At Kojima ENNICHI this year, fireworks were visible over the port on both days. The fireworks bursting in the sky were beautiful, of course, but so were their reflections on the water. I watched, applauding without even realizing it.
From the Writer
When we think of festivals in port towns, we tend to imagine ceremonial events honoring the gods of the sea.
However, Kojimako ENNICHI, which only began in 2023, was a large-scale yet welcoming festival where visitors could savor food from modern-style stalls and food trucks, enjoy fireworks unique to a port town, and watch local people having a lively, friendly time on stage.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Kojimako ENNICHI, a new festival that has only just begun in Kojima, develops in the years ahead.
Kojimako ENNICHI 2024 Information
| Name | Kojimako ENNICHI 2024 |
|---|---|
| Date | August 10 (Sat.) and 11 (Sun.), 2024 4:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. |
| Location | 3-23 Kojima Ekimae, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Admission (tax included) | Free admission |
| Website | Mukuji-maru Official Instagram |
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