murmurKoyasan Aoba Matsuri
Koya Town · Mount Koya (main street around Kongobuji Temple)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kongobuji Temple (Koyasan Shingon Buddhism head temple) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Mon, Jun 15, 2026 （Ended） Confirmed from the official annual schedule and Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun (Kyodo News)’s notice for that year
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid June
- How the date is set
- Every year on June 15
- Venue
- Mount Koya (main street around Kongobuji Temple)
- City
- Koya Town, Wakayama
About
On June 15, the whole of Mount Koya turns out to celebrate the birthday of Kobo Daishi, the monk revered locally as O-Daishi-sama. The Aoba Matsuri is the townspeople's own birthday party for him, and the mountain community makes a full day of it. The big event is the afternoon Hanamido procession, which parades down Koyasan's main street joined by dance and taiko groups that come from across Japan; visitors can jump in on the day. In the morning, a birthday service for the founder is held in the Great Lecture Hall of the Koyasan Daishi Kyokai.
Sources
- OfficialKongobuji Temple (Koyasan Shingon Buddhism head temple) www.koyasan.or.jp
- Date checkKumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun (Kyodo News) kumanichi.com
- Reference高野山、空海の生誕祝う 華やかに「青葉まつり」（共同通信） kumanichi.com
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.