EVENT / Year-Round Event

Janto-koi Uozu Festival is the largest event in Uozu City, held every year from the first Friday to Sunday in August. The venues include the area around Suwa Shrine, which enshrines the guardian deity of the sea, and the main avenue stretching from in front of Uozu Station to the Kamimuraki intersection. Events such as the Tatemon Festival and street performances of the local traditional dance Serikomi Choroku take place throughout the city. At night, one of the largest fireworks displays on the Sea of Japan coast is launched from the sea, creating a magical spectacle. “UO! JAZZ,” enjoyed against the backdrop of the sunset, is also held, allowing visitors to enjoy music and scenery at the same time.

The Tatemon Festival, registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, is Uozu’s representative festival with a history of more than 300 years. The festival features massive floats called “Tatemon”, each consisting of a central pillar approx. 16 m tall adorned with more than 90 lanterns and weighing approx. five tons. Accompanied by the sounds of drums and flutes, the Tatemon floats are pulled from the Uozu coast to Suwa Shrine, where they are dramatically spun and dedicated. The festival is held to pray for an abundant catch and maritime safety, and at night, the glow of lanterns combined with fireworks over the sea creates a fantastical scene.

Serikomi Choroku is one of Toyama Prefecture’s representative folk songs, and its main event is the Serikomi Choroku Street Dance, which brings the festival to a close on the final day. The dance is based on yuyaku kangi, expressing Buddhist chanting, prayer, emotion, and joy, and is performed while holding folding fans, which are considered auspicious for their widening shape. It is said that the dance was named because the dancers, moving to the powerful rhythm of the lead chants, resemble butterflies of the Pure Land fluttering gracefully through the air.

The Uozu Morning Market has been held since 1995, bringing together and selling seasonal specialties and locally produced goods. The venue offers a wide selection of fresh, newly landed seafood, red snow crab, fruits and rice grown with high-quality water, sweets, and other seasonal items at reasonable prices. Each time, more than 1,000 visitors come from both inside and outside the city, and in winter the morning market set meals featuring red snow crab are especially popular.

This marathon event began in 1981 and allows runners to enjoy the cityscape of Uozu and the sea breeze along the coast as they run. Many participants gather from both within and outside the prefecture, and anyone in good health from first-grade elementary school age and older may take part. It is held during the season when mirages are most likely to appear, and if conditions are right, runners can enjoy the rare sight of a mirage over the sea while running.

The Uozu Hachiman Shrine Lantern Mikoshi Festival is held on the Saturday closest to September 14 each year. The festival traces its origins to the revival in the Meiji period of a celebration that had been suspended following the Hachiman Disturbance of 1829, and it embodies both joy and prayers for the repose of those who lost their lives. On the day of the festival, twelve mikoshi from the twelve parish districts are decorated with lanterns, purified in turn, and carried up to the worship hall. It is a powerful and spirited festival filled with the sounds of flutes and drums.

Uozu Industry Fair: Marumaru Uozu is an event that brings together Uozu City’s commerce and industry, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, allowing visitors to enjoy everything Uozu has to offer in one place. The venue features product sales, promotional exhibits, food and drink booths, and stage events. There are also booths from Uozu’s sister and friendship cities, offering specialty products from outside the prefecture.