Akita Kanto Festival (秋田竿燈まつり)
In the Akita Kanto Festival, over 10,000 paper lanterns light up the night. More than 1.3 million people come to get a glimpse of this magically beautiful midsummer night event. Perhaps the most incredible element of the festival is the sight of the lantern holders, who carry huge bamboo poles over 10 meters tall strung with innumerable lanterns, moving the base of their poles skillfully from shoulder to back to forehead in time with cries of Dokkoisho! Dokkoisho!. This stunning festival is considered one of the three greatest in the Tohoku region.
Akita-shi Akita City Akita-shi lamp street (AkitaArea)
Details
- Duration
- 2019/8/3-8/6 [Myogi-kai (noon-time kanto pole)]
[8/4-5] 9:00-15:40
[8/6] 9:20-15:00
[Night performance]
[8/3-6] 18:50 Start - Average attendance
- About1,300,000people
- Street stall
- Available
Information Sources: NAVITIME JAPAN
Access
Akita Areas

Famed for its sake and samurai, Akita prefecture offers quintessential Japanese culture in a non-touristy setting. Alongside the celebrated rice paddies and historical sites of the region lies dramatic natural scenery in the form of the rugged coastline of the Oga Peninsula and the Dakigaeri Gorge, best visited in autumn, when the leaves begin to change color.