All-Okinawa Lion Dance Festival

Uruma City · Fourth Enclosure, Katsuren Castle Ruins

Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.

Check dates on the official website ↗

Uruma City · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026

Dates

Dates confirmed with official sources

2026
Oct 10–11, 2026 (Ended)
Eve event (Katsuren Castle Sky Lantern Festival) on the Saturday, main festival on the Sunday
2027
Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
Usual timing
Usually early October
How the date is set
Announced each year
Dates are announced each year by the organizers; an eve event followed by the main festival
Venue
Fourth Enclosure, Katsuren Castle Ruins
City
Uruma City, Okinawa

About

Lion dancers gather in the fourth enclosure of the Katsuren Castle Ruins in Uruma for this festival. The dances, long kept alive as guardians of their communities, can be watched up close. The main day of its 38th edition brings together groups from Uruma and from Haebaru, Ginoza, Yaese and Urasoe. The night before, the Katsuren Castle Sky Lantern Festival sends lanterns into the sky against the backdrop of the castle ruins; it is a fully ticketed event. With no parking near the venue, visitors use temporary parking lots and shuttle buses. The festival executive committee organizes it with the Uruma City Board of Education and the Okinawa Times as co-hosts, aiming to share the appeal of lion dancing, preserve and develop the tradition and support the local area.

Sources

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.

Download on the App Store Android (Google Play): coming soon