We can see and hear several floats, "dashi," and traditional music "Ohayashi" played on it in Tsuchiura gion feasts (Tsuchiura city, Ibaraki pref. Japan). In Tsuchiura we can also enjoy more traditional demonstrations in "Kirara Matsuri" feast.
In japanese traditional feasts of shrines, "mikoshi," sacred palanquins are more popular than "dashi", and we can see them anywhere in season of feasts. It's a pity I couldn't taken photos at the Tsuchiura Gion feast.
The data, especialy sound data, are big. Each image data is about 30 kbytes and sound data over 160 kbytes which contains 20 seconds u-law sound. All photos and sounds but the title photo are taken on July, 28 in 1996.
You can also find a detailed guidance to enjoy Gion feast of Tsuchiura at "FLOATS OF TSUCHIURA AND ISHIOKA. It's excellent.
Gion feast is a feast of Yasaka shrines. Yasaka shrines are a shrines for a god "Gozu-ten'nou" and the most famous one (or the root of others) is in Kyoto. Similar to other prefectures, in Ibaraki Gozu-ten'nou was taken as the god for curing an epidemic disease, and when the disease couldn't be cured, the symbol in the shrine was flowed away. If the symbol was found by people living on the lower of the stream, they would build a new shrine for the symbol. This is said to be one reason why we have so many Yasaka shrines in southern Ibaraki area.
Formerly Gion feasts are held on 15th of June of the luna calendar, and in these days almost all feasts (in many case, even feasts other than Gion feasts) are held from the last Friday of July to the Sunday. On the first day a symbol (I don't know actualy what it is) of the god is put on "mikoshi," a sacred palanquins and carryed in parade from the shrine to a temporal place for the feast. the mikoshi is carried back to the shrine on the last day. In many cases the schedule is shortened to two or one days.
It is said that such temporal movement of a symbol is origined from a memory of the coming of the symbol. We have several Gion feasts in southern Ibaraki pref. which has ceremonies to put the palanquins into rivers, that suggest that the symbols come floating in the rivers a long time ago. Gion feast in Shimodate ( in which a palanquins of 2 tons is put into Gongyo-gawa river with a crane!) and a feast in Futto are the examples.
Floats are called "Dashi" or "Yamaboko" in japanese. In many Gion feasts such floats are seen. As to Tsuchiura, size of floats are middle, but the owners are really proud of them. Floats come from neighboring towns around the area of the feast and dances of gods of happiness and "Ohayashi" musics are played on them. "Ohayashi" is traditionaly original for each town and we can enjoy the differences. In Tsuchiura, the floats stop at each house on roads and cerebrate the family of the house with the dance and the music.