murmurMaruoka Kojo Matsuri (Maruoka Castle Festival)
Sakai City · Kasumigajo Park (Maruoka Castle)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Sakai City · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Oct 10–11, 2026 （Ended） October 10 11:00–20:00 (eve festival), October 11 8:00–18:30
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid October
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held each October at Maruoka Castle
- Venue
- Kasumigajo Park (Maruoka Castle)
- City
- Sakai City, Fukui
About
Each October, Maruoka Castle in Sakai hosts an autumn festival meant to bring residents together and shape a town with its own character. This year's fifty-seventh edition coincides with the city's 20th anniversary and the 450th year since the castle was built, under the theme "This town, this castle, and the years ahead." Sunday is the big day: karakuri puppet floats tour the streets, and after a memorial service for the castle's past lords and a departure ceremony, the Echizen Maruoka samurai procession sets off. Archery and spear demonstrations, a display by the Maruoka domain's Arima matchlock corps and a mass dance follow. This year the children's procession returns after 9 years, with the city's 5-year-olds marching as little warriors, and the gun corps performs on the water basin west of Machiyori Market. The eve brings stage shows, food stalls, food trucks and a first singing contest. Entry is free.
Sources
- OfficialSakai City www.city.fukui-sakai.lg.jp
- OfficialFuku-e.com (Fukui Prefectural Tourism Federation) www.fuku-e.com
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.