Shinjo Matsuri 2026
Twenty towering yatai floats - hand-built from scratch every year and dressed as scenes from kabuki and legend - parade the streets of Shinjo each August 24-26. This 260-plus-year-old UNESCO-listed float festival reaches a milestone in 2026: its 270th staging.
When · Where
- When
- 2026/08/24 15:00 – 2026/08/26
- Where
- Central Shinjo (streets around Shinjo Station) and Mogami Park / Shinjo Castle grounds (Togawa Shrine), Shinjo（Horibata-cho, Shinjo City, Yamagata 996-0088 (Togawa Shrine / Mogami Park) and the central festival streets）
- City
- Across Japan
- Getting there
- Shinjo Station is the northern terminus of the Yamagata Shinkansen (Tsubasa), about 3.5 hours direct from Tokyo (it is also a JR Ou and Rikuu Line hub). The floats and festival streets are right beside the station, and Togawa Shrine and the Shinjo Castle grounds (Mogami Park) are a 10-15 minute walk away.
- Price
- Free
- Organizer
- Shinjo Festival Executive Committee (新庄まつり実行委員会)
Good to know for visitors
- Getting there
- Shinjo Station is the northern terminus of the Yamagata Shinkansen (Tsubasa), about 3.5 hours direct from Tokyo (it is also a JR Ou and Rikuu Line hub). The floats and festival streets are right beside the station, and Togawa Shrine and the Shinjo Castle grounds (Mogami Park) are a 10-15 minute walk away. Open directions in Google Maps ↗
- Booking & entry
- Free to attend — details on the official page (button above).
- Language
- Mostly in Japanese — a translation app on your phone helps.
- Good for
- culture seekers
Highlights
- Twenty elaborate yatai floats, rebuilt from scratch every year by neighborhood teams to depict kabuki plays, folk tales and historical episodes, roll out on the Yoi-matsuri evening of the 24th and in a full daytime procession on the 25th
- A UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (the 'Shinjo Matsuri float event', inscribed in 2016 among Japan's 33 float festivals) and a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, held since 1756
- 2026 is a landmark year - the 270th festival and the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Shinjo domain - so expect an especially grand mikoshi procession of some 200 costumed samurai and priests on the 25th
Background & story
The Shinjo Festival began in 1756 (Horeki 6), when the domain's lord Tozawa Masanobu held a shrine rite and encouraged his people - reeling from a crop failure - to lift their spirits with a festival for Tenmangu shrine. It grew into a three-day event tied to Togawa Shrine (24th), Tenmangu (25th) and Gokoku Shrine (26th). The float event was inscribed by UNESCO in 2016 as one of 33 'Yama, Hoko and Yatai' festivals and is a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
Good to know
The floats look completely different by day and night: catch the illuminated yatai on the Yoi-matsuri evening of the 24th, then return for the full 20-float daytime procession on the 25th. Shinjo Station puts you right in the middle of it; if you want a seat, buy a reserved grandstand ticket in advance from the official site.