murmurGujo Odori (Gujo Dance Festival)
Gujo City · Gujo Hachiman castle town (venue changes nightly)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Gujo Hachiman Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Jul 11 – Sep 5, 2026 （Ended） Generally 20:00–22:30 (until 23:00 on Saturdays and some nights; all-night dancing on August 13–16 until dawn)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid July
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Around thirty nights from mid-July to early September; the schedule is announced each year
- Venue
- Gujo Hachiman castle town (venue changes nightly)
- City
- Gujo City, Gifu
About
For about 30 summer nights, the castle town of Gujo Hachiman dances the Gujo Odori, a bon dance with some 400 years of history. The venue changes every night, and it is often called the longest-running bon dance in Japan. This is a dance to join rather than watch: travelers and locals share the same circle. There is no dress code, though a yukata and geta sandals fit the old streets nicely. There are 10 dances to learn, among them Kawasaki and Harukoma. The tradition is said to have spread after a lord of the castle brought village dances into town and urged people of every rank to dance together. During Obon, the all-night dancing keeps going until dawn breaks in the east. It was inscribed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022.
Sources
- OfficialGujo Hachiman Tourism Association www.gujohachiman.com
- OfficialGujo Hachiman Tourism Association www.gujohachiman.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.