The festival is the largest event of the year in Kiryu. During the 3-day long event, more than 500,000 people from Gunma Prefecture and other parts of Japan visit the city. The major focus is Yagibushi folk dancing which takes place at various locations on the streets of downtown Kiryu. Traditional musicians sit on bandstands, around which festival-goers dance through the evening. The traditionally decorated streets are lined with stalls featuring various traditional festival foods and games, souvenirs, etc.
彦部家住宅, Hikobe-ke jūtaku
A fully restored Samurai residence dating back over 400 years. Hikobe direct descendants still live on the property. Declared a National Important History Site. One of the oldest private homes in the Kanto region.
桐生明治館
Built as the Gunma Prefecture Public Health Centre in 1878, it is a classic example of pseudo-Western architecture. Inside there are exhibition rooms and a coffee/tea shop featuring a nostalgic gramophone and music of the era.
桐生が岡動物園
Over one hundred exotic animals can be seen at the zoo, including lions, giraffes, zebras, flamingoes, and penguins.
有鄰館
Former warehouses converted to art galleries. Includes the Kiryu Karakuri Ningyo (Mechanical Doll) Theatre. From the Meiji to the Showa Era, the Tenmangu Shrine Festival featured various theatre performances of elaborately made mechanical dolls. These masterfully made dolls are a treasure of Japanese Performing Arts history
大川美術館, Ōkawa bijutsukan
The Okawa Museum of Art opened in April 1989 overlooking the city of Kiryu, a textile center. About 1,600 works of art have been collected over a period of 40 years by the museum's founder, Eiji Okawa. The museum, deceptively small on first notice, is built in stages on the hillside and provides its visitors with an amazing number of rooms to peruse its incredibly rich collection. Largest collection of works of art by Shunsuke Matsumoto and Hideo Noda in Japan. Other works of art by prominent artists from around the world.
絹撚記念館
One of the oldest buildings in Western-style architecture in the prefecture. Inside, local antiquities are displayed.