murmurNago Whaling Boat Festival
Suzuka City · Iino Shrine, Nago-asahi-machi, Suzuka
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Mie Tourism Federation (Kanko Mie) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Oct 10–11, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid October
- How the date is set
- The 2nd Saturday of October The second Saturday and Sunday of October each year
- Venue
- Iino Shrine, Nago-asahi-machi, Suzuka
- City
- Suzuka City, Mie
About
During the autumn festival of Iino Shrine in Nago, Suzuka, a whaling-boat float tours the streets and a papier-mache whale is finally harpooned. The event mimics an old way of hunting whales that strayed into Ise Bay, using it to carry many prayers to the gods. The wooden float, Tennomaru, is about 5.8 m long and adorned with gold leaf and dragon carvings. It is hauled along to whaling songs and drums, and when the singing peaks, young dancers drive harpoons into the whale on its bow. No one knows exactly how it started, but it is said to have been part of the Tenno festival on August 1 in the early Meiji era. It stopped after 1966, came back in 1991 after 25 years, and was named an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Suzuka City the next year.
Sources
- OfficialMie Tourism Federation (Kanko Mie) www.kankomie.or.jp
- OfficialNago Kujirabune Preservation Society www.instagram.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.