doing the first day of the Takayama festival

I thought that most of Takayama was booked already, but I have found a hotel that has a room for April 12th and 13th, so I could attend the Takayama Festival the morning of the 14th, and possible stay until about 3PM before heading for Tokyo. This means that I could go to the 9:30 AM display of the floats, the 11:00 AM Karakuri Performance, and the Mikoshi procession at 1PM, before leaving.

The last Limited Express leaves before the evening festival, and I will not have reservations for the night of the 14th.

My question is - Is it worth going to, knowing that you are not going to be able to stay for the night parade?

I will be able to visit Takayama on the 13th, and my guess is that that day will also have somewhat of a festive feel.

Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated. Thank You.

Is it worth going to, knowing that you are not going to be able to stay for the night parade?

I think that experiencing the daytime atmosphere of the festival is worth it. There is not much action, but people who do not necessarily need action will enjoy it a lot.

I will be able to visit Takayama on the 13th, and my guess is that that day will also have somewhat of a festive feel.

I don't think so. Events in Japan often start and end abruptly. That is also why only the 14th is difficult to book and none of the surrounding dates. Typically you will see preparations being done on the day before, and no trace left of the event the day after. I would not expect anything special for April 13. But I might be wrong.

Well, it sounds like what I've heard about buisnessmen who go out drinking after work. All the stops can get pulled out, and the next day at work, they will be back to normal.

I booked myself into Matsuyama on the 4th, expecting a festival, but I found out that their spring festival was on the 7th & 8th. That was to be my festival experience, and I am now looking for another. I have switched my reservations arond a bit, so that I am staying in Okayama on the 5th, 6th, and 7th, so that I can either go to Hiroshima, Matsue, or back to Matsuyama on any of those days.

Going to Takayama will knock out a day in Kamakura during the cherry blossums, and cut a day off my pilgrimage walk in Chichibu, so I am going to have to think about the tradeoff that I am about make.

Thank you, for the feedback, and if anyone else can give me their experience, knowing the tradeoff that I am making, I would appreciate your response to help me make a decision.