10.18 SUN

Utano Autumn Festival (Mikoshi Togyo-sai)

Uda Mikumari Shrine & Soja Mikumari Shrine (Utano, Uda, Nara)

Dates & time
October 18, 2026 (Sun) 7:00過ぎ〜15:00頃(太鼓台の宮入りは正午過ぎ、神輿の到着は14:00頃)
cost
Free to watch
Venue & access
Uda Mikumari Shrine & Soja Mikumari Shrine (Utano, Uda, Nara) From Haibara Station (Kintetsu Osaka Line), take a Nara Kotsu bus toward Utano (about 20 min) to Furuichiba Mikumari Jinja-mae, then walk about 5 min. By car, about 30 min from Hari IC on the Meihan National Road

There are 1 public restrooms within a 8-minute walk of Uda Mikumari Shrine & Soja Mikumari Shrine (Utano, Uda, Nara). The map shows each with its walking time.

Facility data comes from OpenStreetMap. It does not include opening hours, fees or availability.

Why You Should Visit

The grand annual festival of Uda Mikumari Shrine in Utano, Uda City, held every third Sunday of October. It follows the legend that the goddess of Soja Mikumari Shrine travels by mikoshi once a year to meet her husband god at Uda Mikumari Shrine, so a feudal-lord-style procession with feathered spears and flower parasols escorts the mikoshi on a round trip of about 12 km between the two shrines. Around midday, six taikodai drum floats from Utano's districts, each weighing over a tonne, pour into the shrine grounds, carried by more than a hundred bearers apiece and paraded as if in competition. A chance to see a festival said to be a thousand years old, right in front of the shrine's National Treasure main hall.

Programs

Timetable & Map

Times follow the usual schedule published by Uda Mikumari Shrine. The 2026 timetable has not been announced, and arrival times of the drum floats and mikoshi vary with the weather and other conditions.

NOTE

Background

  • The mikoshi procession stopped after the Isewan Typhoon (1959) and was revived in 1990 with a replica of Soja Mikumari Shrine's phoenix mikoshi, an Important Cultural Property
  • Originally held on October 21, it has been held on the third Sunday of October since 1999

Day-of enquiries

  • Uda Mikumari Shrine 0745-84-2613
  • Jiyuda Terrace (Haibara Station visitor facility) 0745-88-9049

出典: うだ探訪ナビ(宇陀市観光課)

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FAQ

Is it free to watch?
Yes, it is free and no reservation is needed.
When are the drum floats most exciting?
When all six floats enter the grounds of Uda Mikumari Shrine just after noon, and when the mikoshi procession arrives around 14:00. Each float also circles the grounds again as they leave from around 15:00. Arrival times vary with the weather.
Can I get there by train and bus?
Yes. Take a Nara Kotsu bus from Kintetsu Haibara Station to Furuichiba Mikumari Jinja-mae (about 20 min). Buses run roughly once an hour, so check the return times in advance.

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