Matsumoto’s yearly display of colorful koinobori (carp streamers) is up and flying on the Metoba River!

In Japan, koinobori are put up around April in celebration of Children’s Day on May 5th. If you are walking around residential areas, you might see houses with a couple of koinobori hoisted up a tall pole representing that household’s children. Or, like the carp streamers along the Metoba River, some cities put up big public displays of koinobori to add to the festive atmosphere of the Golden Week holidays.

To find the Metoba River koinobori, just head toward Matsumoto Castle along the main road and you’ll spot them from the bridge near Nawate Street (see map below). There are over 70 individual koinobori here!

To get a closer look at the individual carp streamers, there are stairs just down stream from the bridge that allow you to get down to the riverbank. From there you can see the intricate details of each fish.

Enjoy! You can use the map below to see the location of the koinobori and the stairs down to the river ^^

P.S. The Yamabe Winery and farmers market also have several koinobori hanging directly over the parking lot: