🏮 Wasshoi Hyakuman Natsumatsuri

わっしょい百万夏祭り

Kokurakita, Fukuoka · The 3rd Saturday and Sunday of September

Summer festivalMikoshiTraditional performing arts

5 days to go
Rooms around Kokurakita, Fukuoka fill up while the festival is on.

The Wasshoi Hyakuman Natsu Matsuri is held around Kokura Kita Ward in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, along Komonji-dori and around Katsuyama Park, and is a citizen-participation summer festival representing Kitakyushu. From 2025 onward it is held over two days, the third Saturday and Sunday of September, and each year more than 1.5 million visitors come from inside and outside the city. It is organized by the Wasshoi Hyakuman Natsu Matsuri Promotion Association, centered on the Kitakyushu Junior Chamber International and the Kitakyushu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The festival's predecessor was Matsuri Kitakyushu, which began in 1973 with the aim of unifying the former five cities (Moji, Kokura, Wakamatsu, Yahata, and Tobata), and it was reborn as the Wasshoi Hyakuman Natsu Matsuri in 1988 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the formation of Kitakyushu City. The name carries the meaning of citizens joining in a circle and sharing the feelings of a million citizens. Highlights include the Natsu Matsuri Daishugo, where traditional festivals from each district of Kitakyushu gather in one place; the Hyakuman Odori, in which about 10,000 people from local companies and citizen groups dance; and the Wasshoi YOSAKOI Kitakyushu, which uses naruko clappers. Fireworks are launched at the finale.