🏮 Washiko Sanjo Jinja Yomatsuri
鷲子山上神社夜祭
Nakagawa, Tochigi (Washinokosan Shrine) · Every year on the 3rd Saturday of November
Official site →68 days to go
Rooms around Nakagawa, Tochigi fill up while the festival is on.
The Washinokoyama Shrine Night Festival is a traditional festival held at Washinokoyama Shrine in Nakagawa, Tochigi Prefecture, on the evening of the third Saturday of November each year. It preserves forms and rituals from an old festival said to date back to the shrine's founding, and has been sustained by deep local faith. It is now held on the third Saturday of November to suit modern times, but the pious spirit of prayer from ancient times can still be experienced. The festival is divided into three parts: the Hongu Festival, the Sanbonsugi Festival, and the Gohonsha Festival. In the Hongu Festival, parishioners offer futamata daikon (forked radish) and shirozake (white sake); in the Sanbonsugi Festival, priests erect gohei (sacred staffs with paper streamers) on a court spread with arakomo (straw matting) and offer small rice cakes. In the Gohonsha Festival, baskets, banners, shirozake, small rice cakes, and boiled azuki beans are presented before the deities, praying for gratitude for the autumn harvest and for people's happiness. The highlight is the "shinjin kyoshoku" (shared meal of gods and people) that follows the Gohonsha Festival, in which all attendees partake of the shirozake, small rice cakes, and boiled azuki beans offered before the deities, sharing in the great authority of the gods. In recent years, lucky eggs are also distributed after the ceremony, making it a night that is solemn yet warm in its sense of connection.
Getting there
By car: about 40 minutes from the Tohoku Expressway's Yaita IC. Or about 30 minutes from the Nasu Kogen Smart IC. Parking available (temporary parking available during the event). By public transport: about 30 minutes by taxi from JR Karasuyama Line's Karasuyama Station. There is no bus.
Don't miss Washiko Sanjo Jinja Yomatsuri
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 3rd Saturday of November.
Festival supplies
Browse on AmazonGetting there
Local specialities
Browse on meibutsu.jp →Festivals nearby
Kanuma Imamiya Shrine Festival
Kanuma, Tochigi · Every year on the 2nd Saturday and Sunday of October (recently the weekend before Sports Day)
Yamaage Matsuri
Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi · Every year, 1–31 July (main festival period), with the main Yamaage performances on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the 4th week of July
Hijisai
Mashiko, Tochigi · Every 3 years, from the new moon to the full moon in September
Mashiko Gion Matsuri
Mashiko, Tochigi · Every year, 23–25 July
Kodomo Okowa Shiki
Nikko, Tochigi · Every year on 25 November
Nikko Toshogu Shunki Reitaisai
Nikko, Tochigi · Every year on 17 May
