This Festival Only Happens Twice a Year in Japan

Here is how the festival goes

• Gojunko Procession: The deity of Hie Jinja Shrine, nicknamed as Sanno-Sama, is usually in the shrine and it only comes out for the two days of the Takayama Spring Festival. During those two days, Sanno-Sama travels around the city and hundreds of locals parade with it, playing music and performing to clean the streets of evil spirits. Experience this on the 14th of April when they take Sanno-Sama out of the Shrine and on the 15th of April when it returns to its original place.
• Gathering of the wooden floats: The famous wooden floats that are the centerpieces of the Takayama Festival only come out twice a year and this is one of those times. Those floats are called Yatai and they are extremely ornamented wooden structures, with striking colors and fabrics that make them so special that they have even been designated as tangible folklore cultural assets by the Japanese Government. 
• Karakuri Performance: Once the wooden floats come out to the streets of Takayama, some of them gather close to Otabisho Sanctuary and that is where you can see the famous Karakuri performance. It consists of several puppet performances on the floats, portraying traditional japanese tales and legends and attracting crowds to experience it every time. This performance happens in the morning and afternoon of both days of the festival.
• Night Festival (starting at about 18.30 on April 14th): This is by far the most beautiful part of the Takayama Spring Festival, when the 12 Yatai parade around the city, decorated with lanterns that light up as the sun goes down. TIP: get a good spot by the river, with a view to the Nakabashi bridge. That is what I did and seeing them come with all the bright lanterns with the sakura framing that view was one of the most beautiful experiences of my whole life.