murmurOtariya Winter Night Festival at Utsunomiya Futarayama Shrine
Utsunomiya City · Utsunomiya Futarayama Shrine
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
- Tue, Dec 15, 2026 Bonfire of old charms 8:00–20:00 (accepted until 18:00) / 17:00 dengaku dance offering / 17:30 procession through town
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid December
- How the date is set
- Every year on December 15
- Venue
- Utsunomiya Futarayama Shrine
- City
- Utsunomiya City, Tochigi
About
Known affectionately as Otariya, this night festival at Utsunomiya Futarayama Shrine tells the people of Utsunomiya that the year is ending; it is held twice a year, as the winter rite in December and the spring rite in January. The evening ceremony includes dengaku dances, a city-designated cultural property, and a portable shrine travels through town. The festival is said to have begun with the move of the shrine's deity from Arao-zaki, where the lower shrine stands, to its present site on Usugamine, and because the rite was performed at night it was called watari-yo, crossing night, which slurred over time into Otariya. During the day, old charms and lucky items are burned at the fire site east of the main hall, and many visitors come to bathe in the smoke, believed to protect the household, ward off illness and prevent fires.
Sources
- OfficialTochigi Prefectural Tourism and Local Products Association (Tochigi Tabi Net) www.tochigiji.or.jp
- OfficialUtsunomiya Futarayama Shrine futaarayamajinja.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.