murmurNagasaki Lantern Festival
Nagasaki City · Central Nagasaki, including Shinchi Chinatown, Hamanmachi, the Kanko-dori arcade and Chuo Park
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Travel Nagasaki (Nagasaki City official tourism site) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Feb 5–21, 2027 Lanterns lit 17:00 to 22:00 (from 12:00 at the Shinchi Chinatown and Hamanmachi venues)
- Usual timing
- Usually in February
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held around Chinese New Year; dates are announced each year
- Venue
- Central Nagasaki, including Shinchi Chinatown, Hamanmachi, the Kanko-dori arcade and Chuo Park
- City
- Nagasaki City, Nagasaki
About
This winter festival began as the Spring Festival that the people of Nagasaki's Shinchi Chinatown held for Chinese New Year, and it was enlarged in 1994. In keeping with the Chinese custom of hanging lanterns for the Lantern Festival, about 15,000 colorful lanterns and large figures brighten the city center, from Chinatown to the Hamamachi and Kanko-dori arcades. Colors change by area: yellow around Megane Bridge, and pink along the Dozagawa River, where the lights reflect on the water. Look out for the Emperor's Parade, where a richly costumed procession surrounds the palanquins of an emperor and empress; the Mazu Procession, which reenacts Chinese sailors carrying the sea goddess Mazu to a Chinese temple; and the dragon dance. Around Chinatown you can snack as you stroll, with treats such as braised pork buns.
Sources
- OfficialTravel Nagasaki (Nagasaki City official tourism site) www.at-nagasaki.jp
- OfficialNagasaki Prefecture Tourism Association (Nagasaki Tabinet) www.nagasaki-tabinet.com
Last checked: Oct 10, 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.