murmurKakezuka Festival
Iwata City · Kifune Shrine and the Kakezuka district
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Iwata City · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Oct 17–18, 2026 Eve festival on October 17, main festival on October 18
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid October
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Usually a Saturday and Sunday in mid-October (eve festival and main festival)
- Venue
- Kifune Shrine and the Kakezuka district
- City
- Iwata City, Shizuoka
About
Held in autumn at Kifune Shrine in Kakezuka, Iwata, this festival prays for safety at sea. Kakezuka's harbor prospered as a trading port from the Edo period into the Meiji era, and the festival carries that heritage forward. The thing to see is the parade of lavish floats, lit by paper lanterns, moving through the streets to graceful Kyoto-style music; the float music is an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Shizuoka Prefecture. On the eve, floats gather at the shrine starting late in the afternoon, and on the main day they assemble there twice, morning and evening, while the portable shrine also makes its procession. Get off at the Kakezuka bus stop, about 25 minutes by bus from JR Iwata Station; the festival is right there.
Sources
- OfficialIwata City www.city.iwata.shizuoka.jp
- OfficialIwata City www.city.iwata.shizuoka.jp
- OfficialIwata City Tourism Association kanko-iwata.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.