murmurMeoto Iwa Great Sacred Rope Replacement (Futami Okitama Shrine, December)
Ise City · Futami Okitama Shrine and the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Mie Prefecture Tourism Federation (Kanko Mie) · 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 December
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year The December one of three yearly rope replacements (May, September, December); the date is chosen each year from mid-December weekends according to the tides
- Venue
- Futami Okitama Shrine and the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks)
- City
- Ise City, Mie
About
In mid-December, the great sacred ropes joining the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks) at Futami Bay are replaced with new ones, the last of 3 changes made each year. In the morning, priests and young volunteers untie the old ropes; after a rite in the shrine hall, the freshly purified ropes are carried out to the rocks by parishioners to the spirited rhythm of kiyari work songs. Visitors on the approach can take part by passing the rope from hand to hand. There are 5 ropes, each about 35 m long and weighing around 40 kg. The rocks are regarded as a torii gate for worshipping the sunrise and the Okitama sacred rock, linked to the deity Sarutahiko, which lies about 700 m offshore. The date is picked from the mid-month weekends according to the tides, so it changes every year. It is about a 15-minute walk from Futamiura Station on the JR Sangu Line.
Sources
- OfficialMie Prefecture Tourism Federation (Kanko Mie) www.kankomie.or.jp
- OfficialFutami Okitama Shrine futamiokitamajinja.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.
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.