Fun for adults and kids alike! Home festival ideas to capture the lively spirit of a Japanese matsuri
Triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have probably found fewer opportunities to fully enjoy themselves outdoors or spend time in crowded places.
There are plenty of fun things to do at home, but lots of kids still look forward to festivals and fair-style events.
However, sometimes festivals aren’t held, or it’s difficult to go where there are crowds.
In times like these, why not host an at-home “Ennichi” fair that you can enjoy with family and friends? Prepare classic festival-style foods and games, and have fun with attractions that are every bit as appealing as the real thing! It’s not just for summer—doing it for your child’s birthday, for example, is sure to make them happy!
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[Fun for adults and kids alike!] Home festival ideas to capture that matsuri vibe (31–40)
Goldfish scooping
Goldfish scooping is a classic at summer festivals, where your technique with the delicate poi is put to the test—how do you scoop a goldfish with such a tricky tool? Since preparing real goldfish is hard to manage, I recommend floating mascot toys that look like goldfish in water and having people scoop those instead.
If you vary the mascots’ size and weight, participants can enjoy the strategy of which “goldfish” to target and how to move.
Rather than giving the mascots themselves as prizes, it might be better to change the prize based on how many they scoop.
cotton candy
With its fluffy look and texture, cotton candy really accentuates the fun, bustling atmosphere of a festival, doesn’t it? How about using a dedicated machine to make your own cotton candy at home, letting people imagine the excitement of a festival along with the delicious taste? At festivals, you usually just buy and eat what’s already made, so a big perk of doing it at home is that you can enjoy the whole process from making it to eating it.
And if you use hard candies instead of just granulated sugar, you can add colors, so trying your hand at creating your own original cotton candy might be a great idea.
Wani Wani Panic
Wani Wani Panic is a simple, fun game you’ll always find at arcades.
All you do is whack the crocodiles that pop out of the holes with a hammer—but even adults can’t help getting hooked.
Let’s hand-make a Wani Wani Panic set and enjoy it at a home festival! You can make the crocodiles from milk cartons, the base from cardboard, and the hammer from a milk carton and a toilet paper roll.
It uses a mechanism where pulling and releasing the string attached to the crocodile makes it pop out with a snap, which kids are sure to love.
If the mechanism is too tricky to build, you can simply move the crocodiles by hand.
shaved ice
Shaved ice has become a craze these days, no matter the season.
Kids and adults alike love it! If you have children, there’s a good chance you’ve got a shaved ice machine at home, right? Having those Styrofoam cups with the “Festival” character on them would make it even more exciting.
Prepare a few types of syrups and let everyone pour on as much as they like—this dream setup is sure to be a hit.
Enjoy flavors and all-you-can-pour syrup in a way you can’t at a shop—because it’s a make-believe festival at home!
Strikeout
It’s the familiar game you often see on TV, where you try to throw a ball with force and punch out a target.
You can adjust the difficulty by changing the target size, the distance, and the type of ball used.
The fun of this game is watching the target pop out cleanly when the ball hits it, so focus on that aspect when making your own.
An ideal setup for strikeout would be a sturdy outer frame that isn’t affected by impacts, with lightweight targets attached to it that the ball can punch through.
Fun for adults and kids! Home festival ideas to enjoy the matsuri vibe (41–50)
Photo spot
Why not preserve your special memories in photos? With that in mind, I suggest creating a photo spot.
You can make it however you like—craft a festival sign with a bamboo screen or hang some paper lanterns.
Using a wall or similar surface as the background helps the photos pop.
Of course, taking pictures with a smartphone works, but disposable cameras or instant cameras like a Cheki add great atmosphere.
And since you’re taking photos anyway, I hope you’ll put some thought into your outfits too.
Beigoma (spinning top)
How about incorporating traditional Japanese games into your booths for a school or cultural festival? For example, with beigoma, people of all ages can play together.
Beigoma is a game where you spin small iron tops without axles on a platform and compete to see whose top keeps spinning the longest.
Since several people spin their tops on the same platform, the tops naturally collide.
Staying on the platform without being knocked off is another key to winning.
Because of this, there are several ways to wind the string for beigoma.
It’s likely to create a friendly atmosphere where everyone teaches each other how to wind the string and shares tips on throwing.