murmurNushima Hachiman Shrine Spring Festival
Minamiawaji City · Nushima Hachiman Shrine and the town and shore of Nushima Island
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Awaji Island Tourist Association · 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 May
- How the date is set
- Every year, May 3 – May 4
- Venue
- Nushima Hachiman Shrine and the town and shore of Nushima Island
- City
- Minamiawaji City, Hyogo
About
Watch a danjiri float plunge straight into the sea at this rousing spring festival on Nushima, the island just south of Awaji. Nushima Hachiman Shrine holds it every May 3 and 4, and when the excitement peaks, the float goes into the water as a prayer for safe voyages and big catches, a wild streak that recalls the island's days as a base for a naval clan. In the past there was no road for the floats and the portable shrine, so they traveled mostly through the sea, and the festival was timed to the spring tides of May 3 and 4 on the old lunar calendar. The shrine is said to date from 1436, when a spirit of Iwashimizu Hachimangu in Kyoto was enshrined here; it keeps 13 votive paintings of island life and a rare reversed compass offered on its ceiling. Nushima Kisen ferries reach the island from Habu Port in about 10 minutes.
Sources
- OfficialAwaji Island Tourist Association www.awajishima-kanko.jp
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.