Hakata Okunchi Festival

About this event

Hakata Okunchi is an annual autumn festival held every October at Kushida Shrine in Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City. With a history of approximately 1,200 years, it is said to be a festival giving thanks for the autumn harvest. It is also sometimes introduced as one of Japan's Three Great Kunchi Festivals, alongside Nagasaki Kunchi and Karatsu Kunchi. The festival's biggest highlight is the "Goshinko Parade," where portable shrines (mikoshi) pulled by ox-drawn carts and a children's procession (chigo procession) march through the streets of Hakata. On October 23, the Autumn Grand Festival ceremony is conducted, and the Gokoku Hojo Market (Harvest Market) is also held within the shrine grounds. Unlike the bustling Hakata Gion Yamakasa in summer, you can experience the traditional festival atmosphere in a calm setting. The sight of the festival procession blending seamlessly with the townscape of Hakata, not just within the shrine grounds, is a unique charm of this festival. The chigo procession in which children participate conveys the warmth of a community-rooted festival. Kushida Shrine itself, the venue, is affectionately known as the grand tutelary shrine of Hakata, featuring many highlights within its grounds including the "Kushida no Icho" (ginkgo tree) said to be over 1,000 years old, and decorative Kazari Yamakasa floats on display year-round.

Venue

Kushida Shrine

1-41 Kamikawabatamachi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka 812-0026