The Chichibu Night Festival (Chichibu Yomatsuri, 秩父夜祭) never moves: it's always December 2 and 3. In 2026 that's Wednesday, December 2 for the eve (Yoimiya) and Thursday, December 3 for the main day (Taisai). Both fall midweek, so if you can spare only one day, the real question is which.
It's the annual festival of Chichibu Shrine (秩父神社) in Saitama, about 80 minutes from Ikebukuro by limited express. Along with Kyoto's Gion Matsuri and the Takayama Festival, it's considered one of Japan's three great float festivals.
If you know yatai as food stalls, note that in Chichibu the word means a float. Four yatai roll through town on December 2 and all six floats (two kasaboko and four yatai) on December 3, with fireworks both nights.
My short answer: on your first visit, go on the 3rd. It's the only day all six floats come out and the only night with the big fireworks show. Just don't build your plan around the famous Dango-zaka slope pull. In 2025, the area around the slope was closed to the public all evening.
December 2 is the calmer day (in 2025 the floats and fireworks wrapped up around 8 p.m.). December 3 is the full show, but that year the last limited express to Tokyo left less than 30 minutes after the fireworks ended.
Chichibu closes out the season in our Guide to Japan's Autumn Festivals.
Chichibu Night Festival 2026 at a glance
Item | Details |
|---|---|
Dates | Wed, Dec 2, 2026 (Yoimiya, eve) / Thu, Dec 3, 2026 (Taisai, main day) |
Where | Chichibu Shrine (1-3 Banba-machi, Chichibu, Saitama) and central Chichibu |
Nearest stations | Chichibu Station (Chichibu Railway), 3-min walk to the shrine / Seibu-Chichibu Station (Seibu Chichibu Line), 15-min walk |
Fireworks | Usually both nights (2026 times and shell counts not yet announced) |
Paid seats | Evening of Dec 3, ¥4,000 per seat (sales dates and method due Oct 10) |
Contact | Chichibu Tourism Association, +81-494-21-2277 |
As of September 23, 2026, the festival timetable and traffic map for this year haven't been published. Unless noted, the times below are from the 2025 festival.
December 2 (Yoimiya): the calmer day
On December 2, the four yatai (Miyaji, Kamimachi, Nakamachi and Motomachi) stick mostly to the main streets. Highlights include the floats' visits to Chichibu Shrine, close passes between two floats and hikiodori dances.
In 2025, the floats were out from noon to about 4:30 p.m. (some started in the morning) and again from 6 to 8 p.m. The tourism association's guide also said you might get a chance to pull a float's rope during the day. That evening, 370 shells went up between 7 and 8 p.m., a mix of single bursts and rapid-fire barrages.
December 3 (Taisai): the main day
On December 3, all six floats come out: the two kasaboko (笠鉾), Nakachika and Shitago, plus the four yatai. In 2025, the daytime procession ran from 9 a.m. to about noon, with a few floats out until around 4 p.m. The evening procession set off around 6 p.m., heading for the Otabisho (御旅所), the plaza where the floats gather at night.
December 3 also features yatai shibai, kabuki performed on a float. The host float changes each year; in 2025, Nakamachi hosted the performance at 10:40 a.m.
Here's how the evening of December 3 has run in recent years. Times are from the 2025 program, except the Dango-zaka pull, which comes from the 2023 and 2024 schedules.
- Around 6 p.m.: the sacred procession leaves Chichibu Shrine
- 6:45 p.m.: the kasaboko and yatai follow
- 7:30–9:55 p.m.: fireworks show (4,100 shells)
- About 8 to 9:45 p.m.: the floats are hauled up Dango-zaka (団子坂), one at a time, into the Otabisho
Dango-zaka is the steep slope up to the Otabisho. Crews haul each float up by rope, with the fireworks going up behind them.
The catch: on December 3, 2025, the area around Dango-zaka and the Otabisho was closed to the public from 5:30 p.m. until around 10:30 p.m.
The 2025 map marked two spots for watching the floats on the 3rd, labeled 屋台・笠鉾の見やすい場所 ("good places to see the floats"). One was marked for about 5 to 7 p.m., the other (on a sidewalk) for about 7 to 9:30 p.m. Find them on the 2025 festival area map (PDF, Japanese); the 2026 version isn't out yet.
The fireworks launch from Hitsujiyama Park (羊山公園), and in 2025 the area around the launch site was off-limits on both nights. The suggested viewing areas were in front of Seibu-Chichibu Station, a stretch of Route 140 near the station and a designated area in the Chichibu City Hall parking lot.
December 2 or December 3: how to choose
Dec 2 (Yoimiya) | Dec 3 (Taisai) | |
|---|---|---|
Floats | 4 yatai | 2 kasaboko + 4 yatai |
Daytime procession (2025) | Noon to about 4:30 p. | 9 a. |
Fireworks (2025) | 7–8 p. | 7:30–9:55 p. |
Dango-zaka pull (2023–24 schedules) | None | About 8 to 9:45 p. |
Paid seats (2026) | None announced | 5–10:30 p. |
The 3rd wins on almost every row. The Chichibu Tourism Association's 2025 guide also recommended seeing the floats in daylight and again after dark, when they take on a completely different character.
Both days are crowded. About 248,000 people came over the two days in 2025, and the city's festival Q&A warns that the walk from the station to the shrine takes longer than usual.
Still, the association described December 2 as the day to enjoy the floats up close at a relaxed pace. If crowds wear you out, or you want an early train back, the 2nd is your day. In 2025 a limited express left Seibu-Chichibu at 8:45 p.m. (arriving Ikebukuro 10:17 p.m.).
If you can, stay in Chichibu on the night of the 3rd so you can see the fireworks and the evening procession through to the end without checking the clock.
On a day trip, arrive by about 10 a.m. on the 3rd to catch the daytime procession. After dark, watch the floats from one of the marked spots and the fireworks near Seibu-Chichibu Station, then ride home on a limited express you booked in advance.
Paid seats on December 3: worth ¥4,000?
For 2026, the Chichibu Tourism Association plans to set up paid seating inside the Otabisho, in front of Chichibu City Hall, from 5 to 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 3. The seats are assigned folding chairs. Each costs ¥4,000 including tax, plus a separate ticket-shipping fee. Sales are handled by the Yao Travel Salon on the 5th floor of Yao Department Store (矢尾百貨店) in Chichibu.
The sales start date and how to buy will be posted on the association's website on Saturday, October 10. The notice also warns that the details could change significantly once the festival program is finalized.
In 2025, the ¥3,000 "B" seats were sold two ways: 200 at the Yao Travel Salon counter from October 30 to November 4 (cash only, up to four per person), and 150 by postcard lottery (postmarked October 20–23, drawn November 1). Both options are difficult to use from abroad, so if you're flying in, don't count on a seat unless the October 10 notice offers another way to buy.
You couldn't choose your spot in 2025, and the association noted that views of the floats and fireworks would vary by seat. Nothing official says how much of the Dango-zaka pull you can actually see from the seats.
The Japanese travel agency Club Tourism (クラブツーリズム) also sells December 2026 tours that include seats, some in different spots from the association's. Its tour pages are in Japanese.
If you want to sit and watch the floats gather at the Otabisho with the fireworks overhead, or you're staying in Chichibu that night, check the October 10 announcement and try for seats. If you're day-tripping, skip them and watch the fireworks near the station instead: the seating area is scheduled to stay open until 10:30 p.m., and in 2025 the last limited express left Seibu-Chichibu at 10:24 p.m.
Getting back to Tokyo: the last limited express
From Ikebukuro, Seibu Railway's Laview limited express reaches Seibu-Chichibu in as little as 77 minutes. The limited express fee is ¥900 for adults, on top of the regular fare.
All limited express seats are reserved. In 2025, tickets for December 3 went on sale one month ahead, at 7 a.m. Japan time on November 3.
They were sold at Seibu stations that sell limited express tickets and through Seibu's ticketless Smooz service, and at JTB branches from opening time. If 2026 follows the same pattern, book your ride home the moment sales open, not just your ride out.
On December 3, 2025, the last limited express to Ikebukuro left Seibu-Chichibu at 10:24 p.m. (arriving 11:44 p.m.). If you watch the fireworks from the station area, you're already there. From anywhere else, that left under 30 minutes after the finale to get through packed streets.
If catching a train matters more than the finale, leave during the fireworks. In 2025, that meant taking the 9:54 p.m. train (arriving at 11:16 p.m.) or an earlier one. The 11:04 p.m. extra train went only as far as Tokorozawa.
No limited express seat? Regular Seibu trains need no reservation. On December 3, 2025, a rapid express left Seibu-Chichibu at 10:02 p.m., after the fireworks, and reached Ikebukuro at 11:48 p.m. A 10:15 p.m. local connected at Hanno with a semi-express that got to Ikebukuro at 12:03 a.m. Both leave earlier than the last limited express, just 7 and 20 minutes after the fireworks end, and neither comes with a guaranteed seat.
Chichibu Railway's 2025 last-train guide also listed routes from Chichibu Station that reached Tokyo that night, such as a 9:07 p.m. train with a Shinkansen transfer at Kumagaya (Tokyo Station 11:08 p.m.) and a 9:53 p.m. train with a Tobu Tojo Line transfer at Yorii (Ikebukuro 12:23 a.m.). All of them left before the fireworks ended.
Seibu has announced its festival timetable in late October in recent years. If you're based in Tokyo, a hotel that's an easy ride from Ikebukuro makes an 11:44 p.m. arrival much less painful.
Check hotel availability and rates in Tokyo
Cold nights, cars, drones and rain
Chichibu gets cold after dark in early December. For December 2 and 3, the average low is just above freezing (under 1°C, about 33°F) and the high about 13°C (55°F), per Japan Meteorological Agency daily normals.
Wear layers you can shed at midday, then add a down jacket, gloves and hand warmers (kairo) at night. If you'd rather not pack a winter coat for one night, our autumn packing guide covers renting clothes in Japan.
Don't drive. In 2025, cars were barred from the float route from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on December 2, and on December 3 a no-vehicle zone covered central Chichibu from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with stopping or parking banned citywide. Drones were banned over the festival's restricted zone, the float routes and the fireworks site.
The tourism association, the city's official tourism site and Chichibu Shrine say nothing about what happens in bad weather. If rain or wind looks likely, check the association's website that morning.
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
