Iwate "Hanamaki Festival" with over 430 years of history: The world's largest portable shrine parade is a must-see!

  • Iwate
  • Sightseeing
Flickering Flames Floating on the Float of a Floating Float
Hanamaki City, located in the center of Iwate Prefecture, holds the Hanamaki Festival every year on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with the second Saturday in September as the main day. The festival, which has a history of over 430 years, offers many attractions, including the world's largest number of portable shrines and gorgeous wind floats. Let us introduce you to the charms of the Hanamaki Festival, which makes Hanamaki City even more colorful in autumn!

Hanamaki Festival boasts a history of over 430 years

The "Hanamaki Festival" is held for three days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with the second Saturday in September as the middle day of the festival every year in Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture. The festival has a history of more than 430 years, and you can enjoy the world-record portable shrine parade, the beautiful gas-lit floats, the traditional deer dance and Kagura Gongenmai dance, and the elegant Hanamaki Bayashi dance, among other powerful festivities. The festival will be held for three days from September 12 (Fri.) to 14 (Sun.), 2025.
Furyu floats parade through the city

Hanamaki Festival Schedule for 2025

Day 1】9/12(Fri.)
・15:00〜16:00 Floats and portable shrines will be freely operated
・16:10〜16:20 Greetings from Chairman of Hanamaki Festival Executive Committee
・16:20〜17:40 Kagura Gongenmai Performance
*In case of rain on the day, the dance will be performed from 16:20 at Manabi Gakuen.
17:40-18:30 Mikoshi Parade
・18:30-20:00 Float Parade
・20:00-21:00 Gunbai Kagaribi Shika Odori
*In case of rain on the day, the event will be canceled.





In case of rain on the day of the festival, the performance will be held at Manabi Gakuen from 16:10.
17:40-18:50 Float parade
・18:50～19:10 Mikoshi parade at Toryazaki Shrine
・19:10～21:00 General Mikoshi parade

【Day 3】9/14(Sun.)
・15:00～15:10 Greetings by the Chairman of Hanamaki Festival Executive Committee
・15:10～16:50 Float parade
（Uemachi - Toyosawacho - Futaba-cho - Fubari-cho - Odori 2-chome - Oodori Uemachi ~ Toyosawa-cho ~ Futaba-cho ~ Odori 2-chome ~ Odori 1-chome ~ Hanamaki Station)
・15:40～16:40 Hanamaki Bayashi Dance
*The event will be held rain or shine, but will be cancelled in the event of heavy rain.
16:40-18:00 Mikoshi Parade
・18:00-19:30 Float Parade
・19:30-20:00 Ote Jime
・20:00-21:00 Free float and portable shrine parade
Hanamaki Festival 2025 flyer (1)
Hanamaki Festival 2025 flyer (2)

Highlights of the Hanamaki Festival at a glance

Powerful Deer Dance Performance

Shishiodori is one of Iwate's representative local performing arts. It is designated as an intangible folk cultural asset by Iwate Prefecture, and is said to be a dance to pray for peace in the region and the banishment of evil spirits. The costumes are characterized by the use of real deer antlers and black long hair of horses as hair, and the dancing is accompanied by beating of drums.

≪Deer dance schedule≫
●September 12 (Fri.)
20:00-21:00 Group dance bonfire deer dance
●September 13 (Sat.)
16:40-17:40 Deer dance performance
*If it rains on the day, the dance will be performed from 16:10 at Manabi Gakuen.
Powerful deer dance

Furyu float parade

The "Furyu Floats" are acetylene gas lit floats with a characteristic flickering flame. More than 10 groups will participate in the parade, and their 13-meter-high floats will parade through the city to the sound of Hanamaki-bayashi, a traditional Japanese folk dance. In the night parade, the floats float magnificently in the flames of acetylene gas.

≪Schedule of the float parade≫
●Friday, September 12
18:30-20:00
●Saturday, September 13
17:40-18:50
●Sunday, September 14
①15:10-16:50
(Uemachi - Toyosawa-cho - Futaba-cho - Fukibari-cho - Odori 2-chome - Odori 1-chome - Hanamaki Station)
②18:00-19:30
Furyu Floats Floating in Fluctuating Flames

Hanamaki-Bayashi dance

On the third day of the festival, Sunday, September 14, from 3:40 p.m. to 4:40 p.m., a hand dance will be performed to the tune of Hanamaki Bayashi, which consists of a large drum, small drum, flute, and shamisen. The Hanamaki-bayashi dance is characterized by the fact that the dancers dance forward without staying in one place, making the parade a spectacular sight to behold.
Elegant Hanamaki-bayashi dance

The world's largest parade in terms of the number of portable shrines performed at the venue

The portable shrines first appeared in the Hanamaki Festival, which boasts a long history, about 100 years ago in 1927. At that time, there were many sake breweries in Hanamaki City, and mikoshi made from sake barrels were carried. Even today, the traditional barrel mikoshi is carried along with the mainstream miya mikoshi, allowing visitors to feel close to the history of Hanamaki City. The parade is so powerful that it has even set a world record for the number of mikoshi performed at a single venue.

≪Schedule of Mikoshi Parade≫
●September 12 (Fri.)
17：40～18：30 Mikoshi Parade
●September 13 (Sat.)
①15：00～16：10 Children's Mikoshi Parade
②19：10～21：00 General Mikoshi Parade
●September 14 (Sun.)
16：40～18：00 Mikoshi Parade
Powerful parade of portable shrines

A historical picture scroll that has continued for more than 430 years

The Hanamaki Festival has a history of more than 430 years. Traditional Hanamaki culture is in full bloom throughout the festival, including the beautiful, flaming, and elegant Hanamaki Bayashi dance, the world-record-breaking number of portable shrines, the ancient Deer Dance and Kagura Gongenmai dances, and the graceful Hanamaki Bayashi dance. The Hanamaki Festival is filled with the desire to pass on Hanamaki's proud traditional performing arts to the future, and we invite you to come and see it for yourself!
For more information on the Hanamaki Festival, click here

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