Hokkaido · HokkaidoFestival
Hokkaido’s only “fighting lantern” festival sends seven-metre illuminated floats crashing into each other in a small town on the Rumoi Line.
Overview
The Numata Yotaka Andon Festival is held in Numata, a town of a few thousand people in central Hokkaido, and it is far larger than the town has any right to host. Giant illuminated lantern floats are paraded through the streets and then deliberately driven head-on into one another until one of them breaks.
The tradition arrived in 1977 from Oyabe in Toyama Prefecture, the home region of Numata’s original settlers, where the lantern rite goes back some 350 years. The 2026 edition is the 50th.
When and Where
The festival runs on the fourth Friday and Saturday of August, which in 2026 means 21 and 22 August. Listings give roughly 16:00–22:00 on the Friday and 13:00–22:00 on the Saturday, though the organisers do not publish fixed hours — treat these as provisional.
Everything happens in the town centre, on and around Hondori in front of JR Ishikari-Numata Station.
What to Expect
- Lantern floats up to about 7 m high, 12 m long and 5 tonnes in weight
- The kenka andon collision — floats rammed together until one gives way
- Hand-painted paper panels lit from within, best seen after dark
- A 50th-anniversary programme including a guest appearance by the Yakumo Dashi Gyoretsu
- A live stream of the 22 August programme on the festival’s official YouTube channel
Admission and Practicalities
Watching from the street is free. Paid grandstand seats at the station-front venue have been reported at roughly ¥600–¥2,300 plus a booking fee, with sales opening in mid-July — confirm directly with the organising committee, as this figure comes from a resale listing rather than the official site.
Free parking for around 2,000 cars is provided, and extra shuttle buses run from Fukagawa for the anniversary year.
Tips for Visitors
Come for the second night if you can only pick one — the collisions are the point, and they build through the evening.
Numata is about an hour from Asahikawa and two hours from Sapporo by car; the last trains on the Rumoi Line are early, so check them before committing to rail.
August evenings in central Hokkaido cool off quickly. Bring a layer.
Access and Map
| Dates | 21–22 August 2026 (4th Friday and Saturday of August) |
|---|---|
| Times | Fri approx. 16:00–22:00; Sat approx. 13:00–22:00 (provisional) |
| Venue | Numata town centre, Hondori / JR Ishikari-Numata Station area |
| Access | Approx. 3 min walk from JR Ishikari-Numata Station; approx. 5 min by car from Numata IC |
| Admission | Free to watch; paid grandstand seating reported |
| Official site | Numata Yotaka Andon Festival Executive Committee |
Source: Numata Yotaka Andon Festival official site
Image: Photo: 100yen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
