murmurOarai Anko (Monkfish) Festival
Oarai Town · Plaza in front of Oarai Marine Tower and the Oarai shopping streets
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Oarai Tourism 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 mid November
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held on a Sunday in November, the day after the Oarai Autumn Festival trade fair
- Venue
- Plaza in front of Oarai Marine Tower and the Oarai shopping streets
- City
- Oarai Town, Ibaraki
About
Oarai, known for monkfish (anko) in winter, holds this big town festival each autumn on the plaza in front of Oarai Marine Tower. The headline treat is monkfish soup at 300 yen a bowl, available in limited numbers through numbered tickets. On stage you can watch tsurushigiri, in which a whole monkfish is carved while hanging from a hook. There is a talk show with voice actors from Girls und Panzer, an anime set in Oarai, and the pedestrianised shopping street fills with food trucks and anime-wrapped cars. Tickets for monkfish hot pot at local restaurants are sold too. The day before, the Oarai Autumn Festival trade fair takes place on the same plaza, so it is easy to make a weekend of it. Organisers are the Oarai festival committee and the Oarai Chamber of Commerce.
Sources
- OfficialOarai Tourism Association www.oarai-info.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.