Yosakoi came from Kochi; Sendai took it, added its own rules and turned it into the city’s autumn festival.
Overview
The Sendai Michinoku Yosakoi Festival is the Tohoku region’s largest yosakoi event, now in its 29th edition. Teams dance with naruko clackers to arrangements that mix traditional and modern music, competing in contest categories as well as performing freely.
Unlike a single-stage event, it is spread across the city centre: six stage venues plus a street parade, all linked by the subway, so the whole downtown works as the festival site.
When and where
The 2026 festival is on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, running 10:00 to 20:30 on the Saturday and 09:30 to 20:30 on the Sunday, with start times varying by venue. It goes ahead in rain.
Venues: Kotodai Park, Nishiki-cho Park, the Sendai Ryokusaikan in Aobayama Park (two stages), Asuto Nagamachi Mori no Hiroba Park, the Datelium space in the JR Sendai East Gate Building, and the Jozenji-dori parade on 11 October only.
Getting there
Sendai is 90 minutes from Tokyo on the Tohoku Shinkansen. Venues sit along the subway Namboku and Tozai lines – Kotodai-koen for the main stage, Kokusai Center for Aobayama, Nagamachi-Itchome for Asuto Nagamachi – and a one-day subway pass is the efficient way to move between them.
What to expect
Continuous performance across two days, free to watch.
- Seven venues in total: six stages plus the Jozenji-dori parade
- Contest performances judged by panel, with public judges also recruited
- The 2026 theme is issho ni narasou – let’s sound them together
- Paid grandstand tickets sold in advance for the main venues
- Jozenji-dori, a zelkova-lined avenue, as the parade route on the Sunday
Tickets and admission
Free to watch from the public areas. Paid viewing seats were sold in advance from 20 August to 7 October 2026 through a ticket agency. Merchandise and food stalls are cash and card.
Tips for visitors
Base yourself at Kotodai Park and dip into the other venues rather than trying to see everything. The Sunday parade on Jozenji-dori is the single best hour if you only have one. Sendai’s gyutan restaurants are busy on festival weekends, so book dinner or eat early.
Access and map
| Dates | 10-11 October 2026 (29th edition) |
|---|---|
| Venue | Kotodai Park, Jozenji-dori and five other sites, Sendai |
| Access | Sendai subway; Kotodai-koen station for the main venue |
| Admission | Free; paid grandstand seats sold in advance |
| Official site | Sendai Michinoku Yosakoi Festival |
Source: Sendai Michinoku Yosakoi Festival official site
Image: Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Crown of Lenten rose assumed (based on copyright claims). / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
