Watching hotels in Chichibu, Nagatoro, Kumagaya and Kawagoe for the Chichibu Night Festival (Dec 2–3).
Watched nights: Dec 2–3. Base: Chichibu Stn. This event is watched on demand: tap resume on the page to start it, and the instant a highly-rated hotel frees up (a cancellation), Aki alerts you with a one-click Rakuten Travel booking link.
The Chichibu Night Festival — one of Japan's three great float festivals alongside Kyoto's Gion and Takayama — draws 200,000–300,000 people over Dec 2–3. The Dec 3 climax pairs ornate float processions with winter fireworks late into the night, so day-tripping is hard and demand concentrates on lodging. Chichibu is a mountain town with very few rooms, and the main night sells out across the city early.
Rooms for the main night (Dec 3) sell out months ahead. Cancellations surface around last-minute free-cancellation deadlines, and widening to Kumagaya or Kawagoe on the Chichibu Railway and Seibu Line opens up more options.
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