I can't quite believe we're getting up just after dawn on a Sunday morning for an event that doesn't start till lunchtime. But our Japanese friends all assured us we'd regret it if we didn't arrive early.

After all, this is no run-of-the-mill event: It's the centuries-old Mibu no Hana Taue Matsuri annual rice-planting festival at Chiyoda in Hiroshima Prefecture.

In 1976, the Hana Taue, as it's known, was officially designated a National Folk Culture Asset. Then, in 2011, Unesco awarded it Intangible Cultural Heritage status — and "Lonely Planet" has dubbed it one of the most spectacular Shinto festivals in Japan.