murmurIwamurada Gion Festival
Saku City · Arajuku district and Iwamurada shopping street, Saku
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Iwamurada Shopping Street Association · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Jul 18–19, 2026 （Ended） Children's portable shrines are planned for Sunday, July 19
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid July
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year
- Venue
- Arajuku district and Iwamurada shopping street, Saku
- City
- Saku City, Nagano
About
The Arajuku district of Iwamurada in Saku bursts into life for two days in mid-July with this summer festival. It is the annual festival of the local Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine and is said to have started in 1398, which makes 2026 its 637th year. With the shopping street closed to cars, the main portable shrine carrying the deity is joined by three adult shrines and some 60 children's shrines. Bearers tip and shake the shrines wildly, and the excitement peaks with the Omizu-watashi, when water is hurled at the bucking shrines. There is no visitor parking, so come by train or bus.
Sources
- OfficialIwamurada Shopping Street Association www.iwamurada.com
- OfficialNagano Tourism Organization (Go! NAGANO) www.go-nagano.net
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.