murmurAll-Japan Goldfish Scooping Championship
Yamatokoriyama City · Kingyo Square (Yamatokoriyama City General Park Gymnasium)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Yamatokoriyama City · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sun, Aug 23, 2026 （Ended） Doors open 8:30
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late August
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year In recent years held on the third Sunday of August (fourth Sunday when the month has five Sundays)
- Venue
- Kingyo Square (Yamatokoriyama City General Park Gymnasium)
- City
- Yamatokoriyama City, Nara
About
Yamatokoriyama's national goldfish scooping championship treats the classic festival game as a serious sport, and it has become a fixture of the city's summer. Official referees, all local volunteers, watch for fouls and count each competitor's catch. Outside the hall, local product fairs, food stalls and a goldfish scooping corner for kids keep non-competing families busy too. A Nara Prefecture qualifier comes before the national event. The first championship, held on August 27, 1995 at the Sannomaru Kaikan gym, drew 696 entrants from around Japan, and since the fifth edition it has been held at Kingyo Square, the multipurpose gym in the city's general park.
Sources
- OfficialYamatokoriyama City www.city.yamatokoriyama.lg.jp
- OfficialYamatokoriyama City www.city.yamatokoriyama.lg.jp
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.