murmurShiobara Onsen Traditional Hot Spring Festival
Nasushiobara City · Yuppo no Sato in Shiobara Onsen, Shiobara Hachimangu Shrine and Motoyu Onsen
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Tochigi Prefectural Tourism and Local Products Association (Tochigi Tabi Net) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sun, Sep 27, 2026 （Ended） Water-drawing rite 11:00; procession 13:20; dividing ceremony 14:20
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late September
- How the date is set
- The last Sunday of September Last Sunday of September every year
- Venue
- Yuppo no Sato in Shiobara Onsen, Shiobara Hachimangu Shrine and Motoyu Onsen
- City
- Nasushiobara City, Tochigi
About
Shiobara Onsen holds this traditional hot-spring festival to pray that its waters keep flowing generously. In 1659, Motoyu, regarded as the birthplace of Shiobara Onsen, was buried by earth and its spring dried up; the story goes that when the lord and local people prayed at the hot-spring shrine, the water came back. Following that tale, the town began sharing Motoyu's water with the hot-spring shrines of each district, in gratitude for the springs and for Shiobara's prosperity. On the day, sacred water drawn at the Motoyu source is first offered at Shiobara Hachimangu, the guardian shrine of Shiobara. A procession in old-style costume then makes its way through the hot-spring town to Yuppo no Sato, a footbath park, where the water-dividing ceremony takes place and local children dance as shrine maidens.
Sources
- OfficialTochigi Prefectural Tourism and Local Products Association (Tochigi Tabi Net) www.tochigiji.or.jp
- OfficialShiobara Onsen Tourism Association www.siobara.or.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 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.