murmurHakone Gora Onsen Daimonji-yaki
Hakone Town · Around Gora Station (Mt. Myojogatake)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Hakone Town Tourist Association · Last checked: Oct 11, 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 August
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Usually during the Obon period in mid-August; postponed to the next day in bad weather
- Venue
- Around Gora Station (Mt. Myojogatake)
- City
- Hakone Town, Kanagawa
About
On the night of Gora Onsen's summer festival, a huge fiery 'dai' character appears on the slope of Mt. Myojogatake. It is an Obon send-off fire, lit to comfort all spirits, whether or not anyone remembers them. The members of the Miyagino youth association spend 2 months preparing, cutting and drying bamboo grass on the hot mountainside and standing the bundles along the shape of the character. A single firework signals the lighting, and scattered flames slowly join up until the whole character burns. Daytime brings children's festival music, a brass band, a lion dance performed over boiling water and a memorial service, and at night the lighting is accompanied by aerial fireworks, star mines and a cascading Niagara display. You can even watch the mountain fire from a hot spring bath.
Sources
- OfficialHakone Town Tourist Association www.hakone.or.jp
- OfficialKanagawa Prefecture Tourist Association www.kanagawa-kankou.or.jp
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.