🏮 Hita Gion Matsuri
日田祇園祭
Hita, Oita (Mameda Yasaka Shrine, Kuma Yasaka Shrine, Takeda Waka Hachimangu (Wakamiya Shrine), etc.) · Every year on the Saturday and Sunday just after 20 July
314 days to go
Rooms around Hita, Oita fill up while the festival is on.
The Hita Gion Festival is held in Hita City, Oita Prefecture, centered on three shrines: Mameda Yasaka Shrine, Kuma Yasaka Shrine, and Takeda Wakahachiman-gu (Wakamiya Shrine). It is a plague-prevention rite whose main yamahoko (festival float) events take place on the Saturday and Sunday after July 20 each year. In 1996 it was designated a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and in 2016 it was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage as part of the "Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals." The festival began about 500 years ago as a prayer to quell epidemics, and by around 1714 full-scale yamahoko floats were being built modeled on Kyoto's Gion Festival. In the Edo period, each town competed with floats reaching 12 to 15 meters in height, and decorations based on kabuki plays are still passed down today. During the main event, a total of nine yamahoko floats from the Mameda, Kuma, and Takeda districts parade, and a mikoshi (portable shrine) procession is also held. A week before, a "mikoshi washing" ceremony is held at the Mikuma River to wash the unpainted wooden mikoshi, and on the day before the main event, a "nagare-hiki" is performed to check safety. At the evening float event called "banyama," lit by lanterns, floats decorated with rear and front curtains parade to the accompaniment of the Hita Gion hayashi music played on shinobue flutes, drums, and shamisen.
Getting there
The nearest station is Hita Station on the JR Kyudai Main Line. About a 15-minute walk to the Mameda district. By bus, get off at the Hita Bus "Mameda" stop. Temporary parking is provided, but due to expected congestion, use of public transportation is recommended.
Don't miss Hita Gion Matsuri
Save a festival in the app and it reminds you a week before it starts. Over 1,000 more to browse by map and calendar.
Where to stay
Searches for rooms on Every year on the Saturday and Sunday just after 20 July.
Festival supplies
Browse on AmazonGetting there
Local specialities
Browse on meibutsu.jp →Festivals nearby
Horan En Ya
Bungotakada, Oita · Every New Year (dates set according to high tide times)
Shujo Onie
Kunisaki and Bungotakada, Oita · Every year on 7 January of the lunar calendar (Tennenji); Iwatoji and Jobutsuji alternate, held on the holiday nearest 7 January of the lunar calendar in odd years and nearest 5 January in even years
Shirahige Tahara Doburoku Matsuri
Kitsuki, Oita · Every year on 17 October
Nihon Dowa Sai
Kusu, Oita · Every year on 5 May
Wakamiya Hachimangu Hadaka Matsuri
Bungotakada, Oita · Every year in mid November
Hyotan Matsuri
Bungoono, Oita · Every year on 31 December
