Taimatsu Akashi (Torch Festival)

Taimatsu Akashi (Torch Festival)

The 2026 festival will be held on 14 November, 2026.

With a history stretching back over 400 years, the Taimatsu Akashi torch festival in Sukagawa City is one of the three major fire festivals in Japan. As the night grows darker and the bonfires flare brightly here and there around the venue, groups of local junior high and senior high school students march through the town carrying 30 8-meter-long wooden torches called Hon-taimatsu, which they created by themselves, followed by a group of young men carrying the huge wooden torch called the Dai-taimatsu (10 meters long and weighing about 3 tons), and a group of women carrying a smaller wooden torch called the Hime-taimatsu (6 meters long and weighing 1 ton). These torches are carried to the top of Mt. Gorozan.

There is also a wooden frame depicting Sukagawa Castle and a group of samurai warriors. As the drummers from Oushu Sukagawa Taimatsu-Daiko Hozonkai powerfully beat their Taimatsu-Daiko drums, the torches and the wooden frame are lit with a sacred fire carried up by a group of runners from Nikaido Shrine. The whole mountain looks as if it is on fire. The combination of fire and the beating of the drums is reminiscent of the days in the Warring States period. Local students form chanting squads to cheer on their torch as it burns - this main section with the flaming torches takes around an hour.

In recent years, this traditional event has become well known as a participatory festival, allowing neighborhood associations, local elementary school pupils, and tourists to join the parade to Mt. Gorozan, each carrying a thin torchwood called a Sho-taimatsu (10 cm in diameter).

The schedule for festival has in the past followed this pattern:

11:00　Midorigaoka Park Grass Square

Food and drink corner

 

13:00-16:00     tette

Small torch making corner

Note: After making your torch, you can join the small torch procession at 17.15.

 

13:00-16:00     Taimatsu Street Sukagawa Shinkin Bank Head Office (Parking Lot)

Commemorative photo with warriors in armor

Free Sengoku Nabe (pork soup) while stocks last

Sale of agricultural products

Shizuoka City Specialty Products Corner

Taimatsu Akashi Historic Site and Battlefield Walk Meeting Point (15:15)

Karate demonstration

 

13:30-14:10     In front of Yoshida Clinic on Taimatsu Street

Torch presentation

 

14:00   Torch Street Miyasakicho area

Sukagawa First Junior High School torch parade start

 

17:30-17:45     Nikaido Shrine

Sacred fire offering ceremony (receiving the sacred fire to light the torch)

 

17:00 (scheduled)       Myoken Children's Park

Local organisations torch procession starts

 

17:15-18:00     Miharashibashi Parking Lot  

General torch procession starts

Please participate with small torches made at the small torch crafting corner.

Small torches will also be available for purchase (500 yen each, limited to 100)

 

18:00-19:45     Mt. Goro Special Stage

Taiko drum performances

 

18:30   Mt. Goro main festival area

The large torch and 20 main torches are lit in sequence.

Venue Details

Venue Details
Websitehttp://www.sukagawa-kankoukyoukai.jp/Event/page08.html(Automated translation available)
Contact

Sukagawa City Tourism Association

(+81) 248-88-9144

Best Season
  • Winter
ParkingAvailable (Spaces for close to 2000 cars around the venue)
Related infoMain torch is usually lit from 6.30pm
Access Details
AccessMt. Gorozan in Midorigaoka Park, Kuriyasawa, Sukagawa City, Fukushima Pref. 962-0866
View directions
Getting there

By Car: 10 min from the Sukagawa I.C. exit off the Tohoku Expressway

By Train: 10 min taxi ride from Sukagawa Station on the JR Tohoku Main Line

Fukushima Festival Guide

Nearby

The World Glassware Hall
Outdoor Activities

Ebisu Circuit

Ebisu Circuit is a multi-course motorsport facility in the hills above Nihonmatsu City. Rather than a single racetrack, it is a collection of separate courses built across a mountainside, connected by access roads and surrounded by forest. It was developed by Nobushige Kumakubo, a professional drifter who wanted a place dedicated to practice and grassroots driving. Over time, it became closely associated with drifting in particular, both domestically and internationally.The complex is divided into several courses, each with their own unique style and character. Kita (North Course) is one of the busiest areas, with cars running along a back section that brings car speeding past the spectator wall. Nishi (West Course), traditionally associated with grip driving, includes a short layout well-known for long drift trains.Higashi (East Course), usually a grip circuit, is opened for drifting during festival periods and also houses the main circuit office. The Touge (mountain pass) course winds through a narrower hilly section with tighter bends and noticeable elevation changes.Ebisu has also become a destination for overseas drivers. Many travel specifically to experience the different course layouts, enjoy the informal practice culture and chat with other drift enthusiasts. It is common to see privately owned cars ranging from lightly modified street builds to dedicated drift machines. The atmosphere during regular days is focused on driving rather than spectacle, with participants rotating through sessions and making adjustments between runs.Three times a year, the circuit hosts the Ebisu Drift Matsuri. The festival, typically held in spring, summer, and autumn, opens multiple courses for extended sessions over several days. Drivers move between tracks, often running late into the evening, and tandem drifting is a big attraction. Unlike formal competitions, the emphasis is on participation and meeting fellow drivers. For many visitors, the festival represents the most concentrated expression of Ebisu’s identity: a large group of drivers sharing the same mountain, rotating through its varied layouts, and focusing almost entirely on drifting. Learn more about the festival with our total guide.For visitors looking to experience drifting themselves, the Drift Taxi experience lets you ride as a passenger in a special drifting car while a professional driver speeds around the circuit. Booking and more information here.
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