murmurKuwana Ishidori Festival
Kuwana City · Around Kasuga Shrine (Kuwana Sosha)
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 confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Aug 1–2, 2026 （Ended） Preview day: town parade from around 18:00. Main day: floats set out at 16:30, Hanaguruma procession from 18:30
- 2027
- Jul 31 – Aug 1, 2027
- Usual timing
- Usually early August
- How the date is set
- The 1st Sunday of August The main day is the first Sunday of August, with a preview day on the Saturday before
- Venue
- Around Kasuga Shrine (Kuwana Sosha)
- City
- Kuwana City, Mie
About
Floats loaded with gongs and drums all strike up at once in Kuwana's summer festival, nicknamed "Japan's noisiest festival" and "the strangest festival in the land." It centers on Kasuga Shrine (Kuwana Sosha), and the din of the decorated floats rings through the whole town. On Saturday evening, the trial day, the floats parade through the city, and on Sunday, the main day, they travel along the old Tokaido and other streets to the shrine. Some floats carry carvings by Tatekawa Washiro Tomishige or ornaments by Takamura Koun, so it pays to look closely. Designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2007, it was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016 as one of the Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals. It is about a 20-minute walk from Kuwana Station. It's midsummer, so prepare for the heat.
Sources
- OfficialMie Prefecture Tourism Federation (Kanko Mie) www.kankomie.or.jp
- OfficialKuwana Ishidori Festival Preservation Society kuwana-ishidori.com
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.