murmurChichibu Night Festival
Chichibu City · Chichibu Shrine and central Chichibu
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Chichibu City (Chichibu Kanko Navi) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Dec 2–3, 2026
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early December
- How the date is set
- Every year, December 2 – December 3 Eve festival on December 2, main festival on December 3 every year
- Venue
- Chichibu Shrine and central Chichibu
- City
- Chichibu City, Saitama
About
The grand festival of Chichibu Shrine is counted with Kyoto's Gion Matsuri and the Takayama Festival among Japan's three great float festivals. At its heart are two kasaboko and four yatai floats, all National Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties, hauled through the streets to festival music. December 2 is the eve, and on December 3 all six floats come together. The peak is the journey from just after 7 p.m., when the floats leave the shrine, until they reach the otabisho resting place around 10 p.m., with plenty of fireworks overhead. Records show the festival was already held in the Kanbun era of the Edo period, giving it more than 350 years of history, and because silk markets were once held alongside it, it is also called the silkworm festival. It was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016.
Sources
- OfficialChichibu City (Chichibu Kanko Navi) navi.city.chichibu.lg.jp
- OfficialChichibu Tourism Association www.chichibuji.gr.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.