The content in this article was kindly contributed by Mark Christensen.
Fukuoka Prefecture is home to many lively and exciting festivals and events. JET Participants and locals alike love to join in on celebrations. There are too many amazing events to list in full, so here is a list of our recommendations:
Fukuoka City
Hakata Dontaku Port Festival
When: 3-4 May
Where: Around Hakata Ward
Boasting an attendance of over 2 million people every year, Dontaku is a festival taking place over a few days in early May. Stages are set up all around Fukuoka City to celebrate in music, culture, and performance. The festival culminates with a parade that goes from Gofuku-machi to Tenjin.
Hakata Gion Festival
When: 1-15 July
Where: Around Hakata Ward
Noted as one of Japan's most exciting festivals, the Yamakasa Festival spans over two weeks and features large floats are carried around Fukuoka City. The festival comes to a head in the early morning hours of July 15th, when teams carry their intricately crafted 10m tall floats down the street at full speed. Designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Event, it is worth seeing at least once while you're here on the JET Programme.
Hojoya
When: 12-18 September
Where: Hakozaki Shine, Higashi Ward
Hojoya is a festival held over one week in mid-September at Hakozaki Shrine in Fukuoka's Eastern District. One of the three largest festivals in Fukuoka, event goers can expect to feast on an array of festival foods from over 500 food stalls lining the streets for over 1km from Hakozaki Shrine's main gate. The festival celebrates the blessings of nature and living beings, as well as to pray for health and the success of business.
Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament
When: Early November
Where: Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Hakata
The final tournatment in the National Grand Sumo Tournament schedule, witness a fantastic display of culture by watching a profesional competition for Japan's national sport. Contestants are established wrestlers from Japan and beyond, and this two-day event gives you a great chance to watch Sumo firsthand.
Fukuoka AJET runs an event to this tournatment every year and will co-ordinate acquiring tickets, as this event sells out in minutes! Be sure to sign up with FAJET for a strong chance at bagging a ticket.
Softbank Hawks Baseball
When: March through October
Where: Fukuoka PayPay Dome
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks is the professional baseball team of Fukuoka and has one of the most energetic fangroups in the country. Stadiums can be packed with fans cheering, singing, and releasing a sea of yellow balloons into the air of a successful match. Baseball in Japan is highly prized, so check it out if you get the chance!
Fukuoka AJET organises a group outing to watch a SoftBank Hawks game once a year. If you want to go with your JET friends from around the prefecture, make sure to sign up to FAJET's event!
Kitakyushu City
Tobata Gion Yamagasa
When: Fourth weekend of July
Where: Around Tobata Ward
Tobata Gion Yamagasa festival is held Friday-Sunday on the fourth weekend of July, and it is probably the most famous festival in Kitakyushu. During the daytime, huge floats are decorated in traditional gold and silver cloths and paraded through the streets. But at night, the cloths are switched out for hundreds of lanterns on these 12-tiered, 10-metre tall floats. Saturday night is the peak of the festival, where these 2.5 ton floats are raced down the street to the sound of the taiko drums.
Wasshoi Hyakuman Natsumatsuri
When: First weekend of August
Where: Kokura-kita Ward
The Wasshoi Hyakuman Natsumatsuri stems from the celebration of Kitakyushu as a municipality and ordinance-designated city, and now is Kitakyushu's largest festival with around 1.5 million attendees each year. The main event of the festival is the Hyakuman Odori where 10,000 people partake in a parade of yosakoi dance, joyously dancing in synchrony in groups. Every year, a group of JETs and friends practice together and join the parade to have an amazing time! The festival ends in a fireworks display on the final evening.
Kanmon Strait Firework Festival
When: 13th August
Where: Nishikaigan, Mojiko, Kitakyushu (alternatively, Aruka Port area, Shimonoseki)
Held over the Kanmon Straits - the sea between Kyushu and Honshu - this festival has boasts an audience of about 1.2 million people: 60% on Mojiko side and 40% on Shimonoseki side. Streets are lined with food vendors as people grab a patch of open land to watch the beautiful display of 6,500 fireworks launched to music from both sides of the straits, leading to a fireworks battle like no other!
Yanagawa City
Yanagawa Ohina-sama Water Parade
When: Penultimate Sunday in March
Where: Yanagawa City
Yanagawa - the Venice of Kyushu - is famous for the canals snaking through the city, and they are used to put a unique spin on the yearly Hina Matsuri that celebrates girls. The city and canals are decorated with sagemon for the occasion, but the main event is when the riverboats holding about 200 girls and their mothers, all brightly dressed in their best kimono. Don’t forget to explore the rest of the festivities Yanagawa has to offer!
Omuta City
Omuta Daijayama Festival
When: 4th weekend of July
Where: Omuta City
What started as a farming community praying to a dragon-like water god and agriculture god for good harvests has morphed into Omuta’s most famous celebration. These days, the festival consists of large dragon floats, called Ojayama, parading through the streets. Parents are encouraged to place their young children in the dragon’s mouth for a “bite”, which will bring good health for the next year. Following the floats, large groups of dancers create a parade of about 10,000 people! About 350,000 people flock to Fukuoka’s southernmost town to witness this piece of unique culture.
Dazaifu
Onisube
When: January 7th
Where: Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine
On January 7th, Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine hosts a special festival to drive out misfortune and bring luck. At the Shrine, various characters representing Oni, Oni defenders, and Exorcists carry sacred flames to a shrine and do a ritual exorcism of a building. Teams representing the exorcists create fires outside of a shrine building and fan the smoke inside, while the two opposing teams hide inside but hack down the walls. Eventually, the Oni are bound up and the bystanders are allowed to pick up broken pieces of the shrine as good luck wards.
Outside Fukuoka Prefecture
Nagasaki Lantern Festival
When: January 22nd – February 5th
Where: Nagasaki Chinatown
Located in Nagasaki’s Chinatown, the Nagasaki Lantern Festival, which normally takes place over 15 days, displays over 15,000 lanterns and numerous lit displays dedicated to the Lunar New Year.
During the event, one can enjoy parades, dances, and a wide variety of food booths!
