murmurKikuma Festival (Okoma no Hashirikomi Horse Run)
Imabari City · Kamo Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Imabari City · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Oct 17–18, 2026 Oct 17: parade leaves Kamo Shrine at 10:30 / Oct 18: horse runs from about 8:30 to 11:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid October
- How the date is set
- The 3rd Sunday of October The horse run is on the third Sunday of October, with a parade the day before
- Venue
- Kamo Shrine
- City
- Imabari City, Ehime
About
On the third Sunday of October, Kamo Shrine in the Kikuma area of Imabari holds a horse run in which young boys race along the shrine approach at full gallop. The riders, called norigo, sit on horses dressed in festival saddles and trappings and charge up the roughly 300 m course as the crowd shouts "Hoiya, hoiya!" The runs start in the morning and are repeated until just before noon. The day before, the horses and riders tour the town in a parade, leaving Kamo Shrine and returning around midday. The rite is an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Ehime Prefecture. Drivers can park at Kikuma Junior High School, Kikuma Elementary School or the multipurpose ground of Midori no Hiroba Park.
Sources
- OfficialImabari City www.city.imabari.ehime.jp
Last checked: Oct 11, 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.