Home
Destinations
Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival

Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival
Central Area
Event
Autumn

Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival will be held on every year on the first Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of October. The highlight of the festival is the procession of festival floats which happens during the first evening.

7 large festival floats adorned with lanterns and filled with local people 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 Nihonmatsu Shrine.

The view of the 3000 lanterns which are attached to the floats burning against the night sky is one that shouldn’t be missed.

Venue Details

Venue Details
Website	https://www.city.nihonmatsu.lg.jp/page/page002784.html
Contact	Nihonmatsu Tourism Federation (+81) 243-55-5122 info@nihonmatsu-kanko.jp
Best Season	Autumn
Entrance Fee	Free
Event Recurrence	Festival takes place on the first Sat., Sun., and following Mon. in October

Access Details
Access	1 Chome-61 Motomachi, Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Pref. 964-0917 View directions
Getting there	By Car Nihonmatsu Station is 2 km from the Nihonmatsu I.C. exit off the Tohoku Expressway. 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.

Nearby

Outdoor Activities

Mt. Adatara

Mt. Adatara is actually made up of multiple active volcanoes that form a broad mountain. It last erupted in 1996. Poems in the book Chieko-sho by Kotaro Takamura (1883-1956) helped make the mountain famous. The summit of Mt. Adatara stands at an altitude of 1700 m, stretcheing about 9 kilometers in a north to south direction. Views of Mt. Adatara are lovely in and of themselves, but the views that visitors have of the surrounding area once they reach the summit are breathtaking. Chosen as one of Japan’s top 100 mountains, as well as one of the top 100 mountains for flowers, a viewspot at an altitude of 1300 m can be accessed by gondola lift. This means that it is relatively easy to climb even for beginners.On summer evenings, a light-up event inspired by the Milky Way and the flowers of Mt. Adatara is held, gracing those scaling the mountain by gondola lift with a spectacular view. In autumn, visitors are afforded a stunning view of autumn leaves making it a popular place for scenic momiji-gari (autumn leaf viewing). Kurogane-goya Mountain Lodge is a rest stop for visitors (it even serves as lodging for those on long hikes). Stay here overnight to sample the lodge's famous curry, which is reserved for overnight guests only. The lodge’s public hot spring facility uses naturally-sourced, cloudy hot spring water. Even if you aren’t staying, why not enjoy a quick dip to relax your muscles after a hike?

Outdoor Activities

Ebisu Circuit

Ebisu Circuit – revered as a drift racing paradise – is visited every year by lots of international tourists. Ebisu Circuit’s ‘Drift Taxi’ experience lets you ride as a passenger in a special drifting car while a professional Drift School Teacher speeds around the circuit!<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zrFcTy8wxmM" width="560"></iframe>

Outdoor Activities

Grandee Hatoriko Ski Resort

Grandee Hatoriko Ski Resort offers many runs with relatively gentle slopes allowing beginners and families to safely ski down from the top of the mountain. The main slope also has a snow park, allowing visitors to show off their best tricks and jumps. Waves, mini-kickers and other equipment can also be found on the courses letting you get a bit of practice during your runs. Grandee also offers two conveyor belt lifts, so even ski and snowboard beginners can improve quickly. The beginner area is also separated with a net, making it safe even for small children.

Arts & Crafts

Sukagawa Enobori Yoshinoya Workshop

Established in 1836, the Yoshinoya family has been continuing the production of Enobori banners using traditional techniques. Originally the family business was a kimono shop, however, the side business of painting Enobori banners began to grow until is eventually became their main business.These banners typically feature images of warriors and can be quite complex with their designs. They are made by painting on banners with a type of calligraphy ink.To create clean and uniform design, stencils are made from various materials to be used as a guide for the design. Once the basic design is painted with a stencil, you connect the lines and add fine details by hand.As a nod to a famous Sukagawa person, they began creating a design of Ultraman posing as a samurai warrior! You can try out the traditional banner making method explained above to create tote bags and small banners featuring a variety of samurai and Ultraman samurai designs.©円谷プロ

Discover Central Area

Event

Usokae Festival

At Usokae Festival, held in Iizaka Onsen Town, visitors buy lucky, hand-carved, wooden birds called ‘Usokae’. ‘Usokae’ translates as ‘changing lies’. Visitors who buy an Usokae bird must think of a ‘lie’ – i.e. something they don’t want to happen – which will in turn be changed to good luck to make sure that thing doesn’t occur by the birds by the end of the year. For example, you could think “I won’t pass my school exam” when you buy the bird, and by the end of the year, the bird will help you pass it! This is a unique local festival, and the hand-carved Usokae birds make very charming gifts too!

Event

Iizaka Kenka Matsuri (Iizaka Fighting Festival)

This is one of the three major fighting festivals in Japan and has a tradition three hundred years in the making. 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.

Event

Shirakawa Daruma Market

Shirakawa Daruma Market is held annually on February 11. On this date, the streets become lined for 1.5 km with stalls selling Daruma of all shapes and sizes. This lively, exciting market celebrates the culture and history of <a href="https://fukushima.travel/destination/shirakawa-daruma/38">Shirakawa Daruma</a> – a traditional doll which is characterised by having cranes for eyebrows, a tortoise for a moustache, beard made of bamboo, and pine and plum branches for cheeks, all of which make it a very auspicious item to keep at home.

Event

Adatara Illumination

From late July to late September, a magical world of illumination is created at the Adatara Kogen Ski Area using 2 billion light bulbs. Numerous romantic locations amidst the light display are created through ingenious creativity, such as the "Tunnel of Light" surrounding the ropeway, and the "Blanket of Shining Flowers" found at the mountain summit.

View All

Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival
Central Area
Event
Autumn

Venue Details

Share