murmurUesugi Snow Lantern Festival
Yonezawa City · Matsugasaki Park area
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Uesugi Snow Lantern Festival Executive Committee (Yonezawa Tourism Convention Association) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Feb 14–15, 2026 （Ended） Preview lighting from 17:30 on Fri Feb 13; Feb 14: memorial rite from 17:00, lanterns lit from 17:30; Feb 15: lanterns lit from 17:30
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid February
- How the date is set
- The 2nd Saturday of February Held on the second Saturday of February and the following Sunday, with a preview lighting along the shrine approach on the Friday before
- Venue
- Matsugasaki Park area
- City
- Yonezawa City, Yamagata
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About
Every February, the old Uesugi castle town of Yonezawa glows with candlelight set into snow. On the second Saturday of February and the following Sunday, around 200 snow lanterns and some 1,000 small snow lamps are built across the Matsugasaki Park area and lit at dusk. The festival began in 1978, when a memorial tower of snow was built and lights were offered for those who died in the Pacific War; the snow tower and its memorial rite are still carried on today. Colorful candle zones, food booths serving local specialties such as Yonezawa ramen and beef skewers, and a stage program round out the evenings. The lanterns along the shrine approach get a preview lighting on the Friday before. In 2027 the festival celebrates its fiftieth edition.
Sources
- OfficialUesugi Snow Lantern Festival Executive Committee (Yonezawa Tourism Convention Association) yukidourou.yonezawa-matsuri.jp
- OfficialUesugi Snow Lantern Festival Executive Committee yukidourou.yonezawa-matsuri.jp
- Referenceイベントスケジュール｜上杉雪灯篭まつり yukidourou.yonezawa-matsuri.jp
- Reference第50回上杉雪灯篭まつり開催します！ yukidourou.yonezawa-matsuri.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.