murmurMakabe Machiakari Jusan'ya Festival (Lantern Night)
Sakuragawa City · Around Makabe Denshokan, the Jimmu Tenno Yohaiden and Yamato-cho shopping street
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Sakuragawa City Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sat, Oct 10, 2026 （Ended） Lanterns lit 16:00–19:00 (pedestrian zone 14:00–19:00)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid October
- How the date is set
- Announced each year Every October; held in light rain, postponed in stormy weather
- Venue
- Around Makabe Denshokan, the Jimmu Tenno Yohaiden and Yamato-cho shopping street
- City
- Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki
About
Each October, Makabe in Sakuragawa, a town with a well-kept historic streetscape, hosts an evening of lights that calls itself Japan's tiniest festival. As the moon rises over the Tsukuba hills, the streets glow with lanterns made by local residents, giant lanterns, shadow pictures and stone lanterns, along with lanterns painted by children from Makabe Gakuen. It takes place around the Makabe Denshokan, the grounds of the Jimmu Tenno Yohaiden and the Yamato-cho shopping street, with the Makabe Rakuichi market for food and shopping, plus live music. Its 12th edition, in 2026, was joined on the same day by prayers at Goshokomataki Shrine, special goshuin stamps and events in the town's cultural-heritage buildings. It goes ahead in light rain and is postponed if the weather turns stormy.
Sources
- OfficialSakuragawa City Tourism Association www.kankou-sakuragawa.jp
- OfficialIbaraki Prefectural Tourism & Local Products Association (Visit Ibaraki) www.ibarakiguide.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.