murmurYokote Kamakura Snow Festival
Yokote City · Around Yokote city center (including the City Hall plaza)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Yokote City · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Feb 13–14, 2026 （Ended） Confirmed from the official annual schedule and Akita Sakigake Shimpo’s notice for that year
- 2027
- Feb 12–13, 2027
- Usual timing
- Usually mid February
- How the date is set
- The 2nd Friday of February Since 2026, held on the second Friday and Saturday of February (previously on fixed dates)
- Venue
- Around Yokote city center (including the City Hall plaza)
- City
- Yokote City, Akita
About
Kamakura is a Little New Year tradition in Yokote honoring the god of water, with a history said to stretch back some 450 years. Inside each snow hut stands a small altar, and children call out to passers-by in the local dialect, inviting them in to pray to the water god and offering sweet amazake rice drink and rice cakes. Originally people left coins for the water god and prayed for family safety, thriving business and good harvests. The custom grew over centuries from the samurai district's sagicho fire rites, the merchant district's practice of honoring the water god in snow hollows beside the town wells, and children's snow play. The German architect Bruno Taut visited in 1936 and praised its beauty. Since 2026 the festival has been held on the second Friday and Saturday of February.
Sources
- OfficialYokote City www.city.yokote.lg.jp
- Date checkAkita Sakigake Shimpo www.sakigake.jp
- Reference社説：かまくら会期変更 市民の参加促す契機に｜秋田魁新報電子版 www.sakigake.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.