murmurOkinawa Zento Eisa Festival
Okinawa City · Koza Sports Park Stadium and around Goya Crossing
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Okinawa Zento Eisa Festival Executive Committee · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sep 4–6, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early September
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Every year on the first weekend after Obon on the lunar calendar (Friday to Sunday)
- Venue
- Koza Sports Park Stadium and around Goya Crossing
- City
- Okinawa City, Okinawa
About
The biggest eisa festival in Okinawa is held in Okinawa City over three days, starting on the first weekend after the lunar Obon holiday. Friday is the street parade, when youth groups dance through the streets around Goya Crossing. Saturday belongs to Okinawa City's own youth associations, and on Sunday groups chosen from across the prefecture perform at Koza Sports Park. Sanshin, song, booming drums and powerful drumstick work carry the crowd along, and at the end everyone joins in kachashi dancing before fireworks close the night. Some 300,000 spectators come over the three days. The festival started in 1956 as an eisa competition celebrating the founding of Koza City and took its present name from its 22nd edition.
Sources
- OfficialOkinawa Zento Eisa Festival Executive Committee www.zentoeisa.com
- OfficialOkinawa Zento Eisa Festival Executive Committee www.zentoeisa.com
- OfficialOkinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau (Okinawa Story) www.okinawastory.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.