murmurYanai Goldfish Lantern Festival
Yanai City · From JR Yanai Station to the White-Walled Townscape
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Yanai City (Yanai Goldfish Lantern Festival Council) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Thu, Aug 13, 2026 （Ended） 16:30–21:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid August
- How the date is set
- Announced each year
- Venue
- From JR Yanai Station to the White-Walled Townscape
- City
- Yanai City, Yamaguchi
About
This big summer event celebrates the Yanai goldfish lantern, a local folk craft, and is held to greet people returning home for Obon with a familiar piece of their hometown. The venue runs from JR Yanai Station into the white-walled old streets, where about 2,500 of the goldfish lanterns hung along the way are lit, bathing the walls in a soft glow. The main attraction is the goldfish nebuta floats, which move through the crowds sometimes boisterously, sometimes with stately pride, and the goldfish lantern dance by the Ryusenkai group is not to be missed. In 2026, Hirosaki Neputa floats traveled from Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture, where the goldfish lantern originated, to parade alongside Yanai's floats for one night only. Some events are cancelled if it rains.
Sources
- OfficialYanai City (Yanai Goldfish Lantern Festival Council) www.city-yanai.jp
- OfficialYamaguchi Prefectural Tourism Federation (Oidemase Yamaguchi) yamaguchi-tourism.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.