The Nagahama Hikiyama Festival Museum (長浜市曳山博物館) was built specifically to display and preserve the hikiyama — the colossal gilded floats used in the city's famous April festival. Of the twelve floats in the city's collection, two are always on show in the main hall, rotated annually so that each float can be fully seen up close over time. The scale of these objects is striking: each stands several metres tall, sheathed in gold leaf and lacquerwork, with intricate carvings and silk curtains.
The floats carry miniature kabuki stages on their upper decks, fully fitted with curtains, trap doors, and mechanical props. The museum explains how child actors — some as young as five — rehearse for months and then perform classical plays to audiences crowded along the festival route. Even outside festival season, the museum does a good job of conveying the atmosphere through video recordings of past performances and detailed displays of costumes and props.