The Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival is held yearly on the first Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of October. The 2025 festival was held on Saturday 4th, Sunday 5th and Monday 6th.
Check the Nihonmatsu Tourism Association website for route maps of the lantern floats.
The highlight of the festival is the procession of festival floats during the first evening. Seven large festival floats adorned with lanterns and filled with locals playing taiko drums make their way through the streets of Nihonmatsu City, filling the streets with festival music as they move. The final destination for the floats is the Nihonmatsu Shrine.
The festival traces its roots back to 1643, when Niwa Mitsushige became the lord of the Nihonmatsu clan. Believing that fostering religious piety was a core tenet of strong government, Lord Niwa had Nihonmatsu Shrine built the following year, and opened its gates for anyone in the domain to visit. It’s said that in the first festival, the young people of the town carried a portable shrine (mikoshi) through the streets - in an era where there was a strict class system in place, encouraging widespread religious fervour in this sense was a progressive approach.
As a result, historians say the local people came to greatly love and respect their lord, and before long the festival grew into a magnificent spectacle including dancing, huge drumming floats and hanging lanterns. The tradition has continued to this day, where the beautiful illuminated floats rolling through the streets is the backbone of an important yearly event for local people.
| Website | https://www.city.nihonmatsu.lg.jp/page/page002784.html |
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| Contact | Nihonmatsu Tourism Federation (+81) 243-55-5122 |
| Best Season |
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| Entrance Fee | Free |
| Related info | 2025 Dates: October 4 (Saturday), 5 (Sunday), and 6 (Monday). Held every year on the first Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of October. Day 1: The day when you can see all seven lantern floats lined up together. Day 2: The day when the lantern floats are scattered throughout the town. Day 3: The day when the lantern floats are divided into groups of three and four around the town. *Please be aware that you cannot see all seven together on Day 2 & Day 3. |
| Access | 1 Chome-61 Motomachi, Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Pref. 964-0917 View directions |
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| Getting there | By Car Nihonmatsu Station is 2 km from the Nihonmatsu I.C. exit off the Tohoku Expressway. Since some streets are barricaded off during festival time, and parking lots get full quickly, we recommend taking public transport to the festival. By Train From Tokyo: Take the Tohoku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Koriyama, then change to the Tohoku Main Line heading in the direction of Fukushima. Get off at Nihonmatsu Station. This journey takes around 90 minutes. From Sendai: Take the Tohoku Shinkansen from Sendai to Fukushima. Change to the Tohoku Main Line, heading in the direction of Koriyama Station and get off at Nihonmatsu Station. This takes 50 minutes. There is also a highway bus from Sendai which takes around 70 minutes to reach Nihonmatsu Station. Useful Links |
The only Japan Racing Association racecourse in the Tohoku region. Enjoy the excitement of the seasonal races held during Spring, Summer and Winter, as well as the traditional Tanabata Prize in July. The racecourse also has other areas for enjoying yourself, including a children's play area and athletic facilities, making it a great place to come with the family.
The Bandai-Azuma Skyline is one of the top cycling routes of Japan! The route brings cyclists through dense green forests to volcanic terrain and sweeping views of Fukushima city and the volcanic peak of Mt. Kofuji, or “Little Fuji”. In autumn this course is warmed by vibrant autumn leaves, that make for a magical ride! Fukushima has routes for cyclists of all levels! Click here for more information about Cycling Courses and Events in Fukushima! (Click here to read our blog about cycling the scenic Bandai-Azuma Skyline!)
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The 2025 festival took place from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th October, 2025. The main event, featuring the clashing of the stalls, took place on the Saturday 4th, starting around 20:30, at Hachiman Shrine in Iizaka Onsen.One of the three major fighting festivals in Japan, the Iizaka Fighting Festival has a tradition three hundred years in the making. It's said that Iizaka's annual harvest festival was beset by young men bashing floats against one another to prolong the festivities, and over time this became a core part of the event. This festival is so vibrant that throughout the town you can hear the beat of Japanese drums like an earthquake as huge floats crash together in battle. Hachiman Shrine becomes the main stage for the festival, after the floats are paraded around the streets.The main day of the festival, in which the floats clash in front of the shrine, takes place on the Saturday, and is the only day to see the main showpiece of the festival. Although the action starts at 8.30pm, many people choose to go to the shrine much earlier, since the shrine grounds get very busy once the floats enter.
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