murmurUbagami Daijingu Togyosai (Esashi Float Festival)
Esashi Town · Ubagami Daijingu Shrine and the streets of Esashi
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Esashi Town (tourism portal) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates not confirmed
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early August
- How the date is set
- Every year, August 9 – August 11
- Venue
- Ubagami Daijingu Shrine and the streets of Esashi
- City
- Esashi Town, Hokkaido
About
Said to date back some 380 years, this is known as the oldest festival in Hokkaido and is designated by Hokkaido as an intangible folk cultural property. It began as a lavish summer thanksgiving in Esashi, a town grown rich on herring, once the season's catch was in. Over three days, thirteen ornate floats called yama, including the Jingu-yama, built in the Horeki era (1751–1764), decked with warrior, Noh, bunraku and kabuki figures and trailing streamers and brocade banners, are pulled through town to the sound of Gion-style festival music, escorting the shrine's portable shrine. The first day brings the opening rite, the second the procession through the lower town, and the third the procession through the upper town, keeping alive the memory of Esashi's herring boom.
Sources
- OfficialEsashi Town (tourism portal) esashi.town
- OfficialEsashi Town (tourism portal) esashi.town
- Reference道内最古の祭り、にぎやかに 江差町、約３８０年の歴史（共同通信）｜熊本日日新聞社 kumanichi.com
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.