Yahiko Chrysanthemum Festival 2026: Japan’s Biggest Chrysanthemum Show

The showpiece is a panorama flowerbed built from thirty thousand small chrysanthemums, replanted to a new theme every year.

Overview

Yahiko Shrine, the first shrine of the old Echigo province, hosts the Niigata Prefecture Chrysanthemum Exhibition each November, known locally as the Yahiko Kiku Matsuri. In numbers of exhibitors and range of categories it is the largest chrysanthemum show in Japan.

Growers from Niigata and beyond bring work they have tended all year: single plants trained to carry hundreds of blooms, classical mid-size varieties, cascade forms and bonsai. It is a competition first and a display second, which is why the standard is so high.

When and where

The festival runs from 1 to 24 November every year, so in 2026 that is Sunday 1 to Tuesday 24 November, in the shrine grounds.

Traffic restrictions apply around the shrine from 10:00 to 15:00 on the busiest days, typically the first weekend and the second.

Getting there

Yahiko Station is about 50 minutes from Niigata on the JR Echigo line via Yoshida, and the shrine is a five-minute walk from the station. By car it is roughly 30 minutes from the Sanjo-Tsubame interchange, though parking near the shrine is restricted during the festival.

What to expect

A serious flower show in a beautiful setting.

• Three to four thousand pots exhibited and judged across multiple categories
• Ozukuri plants trained so a single stem carries hundreds of blooms
• A panorama flowerbed of 30,000 small chrysanthemums with a new theme each year
• Classical mid-size chrysanthemums, cascade forms and bonsai sections
• Momijidani in Yahiko Park, lit for autumn colour during the same period

Tickets and admission

Free. The shrine grounds and the exhibition are open without charge. The Yahiko Ropeway up Mount Yahiko is paid and worth adding for the view over the Echigo plain.

Access and map

Source: Yahiko Village official site
Image: Photo: くろふね / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0