murmurIkaho Festival
Shibukawa City · Ikaho Stone Steps, Ikaho Shrine and the Tokutomi Roka Memorial Museum
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Shibukawa City · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sep 18–20, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid September
- How the date is set
- Every year, September 18 – September 20 Originally Ikaho Shrine's grand festival on September 19–20; after the war, September 18, the anniversary of writer Tokutomi Roka's death, was added
- Venue
- Ikaho Stone Steps, Ikaho Shrine and the Tokutomi Roka Memorial Museum
- City
- Shibukawa City, Gunma
About
This is the grand festival of Ikaho Shrine, which sits at the top of Ikaho Onsen's famous stone stairway. It was traditionally held on September 19 and 20, and after the war September 18, the death anniversary of Meiji novelist Tokutomi Roka, was added as the Roka Festival, making it three days long. On the 18th there is a memorial tea gathering and service, and that evening children's festival music and the breaking open of a sake barrel launch the celebrations. On the 19th, the shrine's support group carries the main mikoshi up the steps to the shrine. On the 19th and 20th, look out for the taru-mikoshi, built by hand each year from sake barrels and four logs, which young men of the town shove and jostle up the steep steps. Watching from the side of the stairs, you feel the heat of it.
Sources
- OfficialShibukawa City www.city.shibukawa.lg.jp
- OfficialIkaho Festival Executive Committee (Shibukawa Ikaho Onsen Tourism Association) www.ikaho-kankou.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.