murmurYahiko Lantern Festival
Yahiko Village · Yahiko Shrine and the village streets
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Niigata Prefectural Tourist Association · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Jul 24–26, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late July
- How the date is set
- Every year, July 24 – July 26 Eve festival, main lantern procession, then the closing rite
- Venue
- Yahiko Shrine and the village streets
- City
- Yahiko Village, Niigata
About
Yahiko Shrine's lantern festival, Yahiko no Hi-matsuri, is said to go back a thousand years and is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, the liveliest summer festival of the year, praying for good harvests and protection from disease. At night, big lanterns offered by groups from across the prefecture and small dengaku lanterns from local parishioners line up before and behind two portable shrines and travel through town. The lanterns are rammed and shaken against one another, hence the nickname "lantern pushing." Children carried on shoulders perform the sacred dances Kamiutagaku and Tenkenmai in front of the main hall, and the festival ends late at night. The main day also has a children's lantern push, fireworks and a torch parade down from the top of Mt. Yahiko; the eve brings folk dancing in the streets, and a closing rite the next day concludes the ceremonies. Yahiko Station is 5 minutes away on foot.
Sources
- OfficialNiigata Prefectural Tourist Association niigata-kankou.or.jp
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.