murmurSayama Irumagawa Tanabata Festival
Sayama City · From the plaza at Sayamashi Station west exit along the Tanabata-dori shopping street
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Sayama City · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Aug 1–2, 2026 （Ended） Day one 12:00–21:00 (fireworks 19:30–20:00); day two 12:00–20:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early August
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held on the Saturday and Sunday closest to August 6 and 7
- Venue
- From the plaza at Sayamashi Station west exit along the Tanabata-dori shopping street
- City
- Sayama City, Saitama
About
Ranked among the three great Tanabata festivals of the Kanto region, this is Sayama's summer festival. Roughly 100 Tanabata decorations made by shops, businesses and residents crowd the route from the civic plaza at the west exit of Sayamashi Station through the Tanabata-dori shopping street. Most are made by hand by the people who hang them, and by custom they capture the events and mood of that year. Because they compete on quality, the decorations stay hidden until the festival. They are made mainly of paper, and a charm against evil hangs from the end of each, a feature not seen at other Tanabata festivals. The first night has a fireworks show of about 2,000 shells, the second day has Awa Odori dancing, and you can vote for the decoration you like best. The festival is said to go back to the Edo period; it used to be held on August 6 and August 7 and now falls on the closest Saturday and Sunday.
Sources
- OfficialSayama City www.city.sayama.saitama.jp
- OfficialSayama City Tourism Association (official festival site) tanabata.sayama-kanko.jp
- OfficialSayama City Tourism Association www.sayama-kanko.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.