There are two festivals happening at Mount Tsukuba this weekend.
Mount Tsukuba Gama (Toad) Festival
Sunday, August 6 from 10am to 5pm around Mt. Tsukuba Shrine, at the peak of Mt. Tsukuba, and Tsutsujigaoka
Tsukuba Tourist Association web page on Mount Tsukuba Gama Festival
Mount Tsukuba Tanabata Festival
Saturday, August 5 from 10am to 10pm (cable car will keep running until 10pm), Tanabata illuminations will be from 5:30pm to 10pm at the peak of Mt. Tsukuba
Sunday, August 6 from 7pm at Mt. Tsukuba Shrine: Gakaku (ancient Japanese music) performance, tea (maccha) service (weather permitting)
Tsukuba Tourism Association web page on Mount Tsukuba Tanabata Festival
I have never been to either of these festivals, so I can’t offer any opinions. If you click on the websites above, you will be able to see some pictures. If anyone has been to either (or both) of these festivals, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought.
The Tsukuba Shrine is a beautiful one any time of the year and it should be especially so with festival decorations. The altitude might make a refreshing change from the heat as a bonus.
This information, plus the one below by RrFish, is really helpful, esp. if you have a restless 19-month-old kid.
In the July 2000 issue of Alien Times, there’s an article on Mt. Tsukuba, which provides an introduction to the place. The URL is as follows:
http://www.alientimes.org/pmwi.....untTsukuba
You might want to check it out.
Oooops… the URL was cut. Here’s its entirety:
http://www.alientimes.org/pmwiki/
pmwiki.php?n=Main.ATrekToMountTsukuba