Tsugawa Fox Wedding Procession

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

調査・執筆 Hinato

fox weddingTsugawafoxfireKirinzanfestival

Photo: suzune konoo / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · original

Mount Kirin above the town of Tsugawa is where foxfire was seen. Sightings of the drifting lights were recorded here more often than almost anywhere in Japan, and the old explanation — that a fox wedding was passing — gave the town a story it revived in 1990 as a festival.

What happens is that a bride in white, made up as a fox, is carried in procession with 108 fox-masked attendants through the streets and up to Kirinzan Park where the groom waits. It takes about two hours, with a children's celebratory dance and other rites along the way, and finishes after dark with torches and lanterns, which is when the whole thing stops looking like a pageant. The bride and groom are chosen by public audition. A town of about 5,000 takes in something like 50,000 visitors on the day.

基本情報

営業時間

Procession runs for about 2 hours, finishing after dark | Kirinzan Park is the end point

定休日: Annual event only — held once a year in late spring; confirm the current year's date with the Aga Town tourist association

料金

Free to watch

ベストシーズン

Late spring, on the single festival day — recently early June, historically May 3

滞在目安

3–4 hours to follow the procession through to the arrival after dark

アクセス

アクセス情報

Tsugawa, Aga Town, Higashikanbara District, with the procession ending at Kirinzan Park. By car from Niigata City; Tsugawa Station on the JR Ban-etsu West Line is in the town. Free to watch. Held once a year in late spring — long fixed on May 3, recent editions have moved into early June (June 7 in 2025, June 6 in 2026). Confirm the current year's date with the Aga Town tourist association before planning travel.

インサイダーガイド

**Confirm the date every year.** This festival ran on May 3 for decades and has recently moved to early June. Assuming the old date is the single most likely way to miss it. **Stay for dark.** The daylight portion is a costumed procession; the last stretch to Kirinzan Park under torches is what people come back for. **Foxfire is the local subject, not a theme.** Tsugawa has among the highest recorded rates of the phenomenon in Japan, and the Kitsune no Yomeiri Yashiki exhibition house in town covers it year-round for anyone visiting outside the festival. **Fifty thousand people in a town of five thousand.** Parking fills early and shuttle arrangements change year to year. Coming by train to Tsugawa Station removes the problem. **The Aga river gorge is the reason to make a day of it.** Boat trips run on the Agano through the gorge below the town in season, and the SL Banetsu Monogatari steam train runs this line on weekends from spring to autumn.

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