murmurKamezaki Shiohi Matsuri (Low-Tide Float Festival)
Handa City · Kanzaki Shrine, the seaside park and Owari Sansha Shrine, Kamezaki
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Handa Dashi Matsuri Preservation Society · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- May 3–4, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early May
- How the date is set
- Every year, May 3 – May 4 May be postponed in case of rain
- Venue
- Kanzaki Shrine, the seaside park and Owari Sansha Shrine, Kamezaki
- City
- Handa City, Aichi
About
On May 3 and 4 each year, the harbor town of Kamezaki in Handa, on Kinuura Bay, holds the festival of Kanzaki Shrine. Because the shrine's god is said to have landed here from the sea, the 5 floats of the town's neighborhoods are rolled straight down onto the beach at low tide and lined up in a row. Then comes the best part: young men wade in up to their waists and haul the floats back to land by rope. When a float bogged down in the wet sand finally starts moving again, the whole beach applauds. Up close, the floats are covered in fine carvings of unpainted hardwood, with karakuri puppets performing at the front and on top. Its traditions, kept for more than 300 years, earned it designation as a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2006.
Sources
- OfficialHanda Dashi Matsuri Preservation Society dashimatsuri.jp
- OfficialAichi Now (Aichi Prefecture official tourism site) aichinow.pref.aichi.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.