Hikiyama Exhibition Hall — Year-Round Festival Float Museum

Published: Jun 1, 2026

Updated: Jun 1, 2026

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Hikiyama Exhibition Hall — Year-Round Festival Float Museum

The Hikiyama Exhibition Hall stores all 14 Karatsu Kunchi festival floats in climate-controlled cases when not in use during the November festival. Each float, representing a different creature or mythological figure — the Red Lion, the Blue Lion, the Sea Bream, the Helmet, the Sea Dragon — is displayed at eye level with technical information about its construction. The largest (the Red Lion, built 1819) is 7 meters tall; the oldest component materials date to the original construction over 200 years ago, repaired but never replaced.

Opening Hours

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Closed: Open year-round | Temporarily closed in October (pre-festival float maintenance)

Entrance Fee

¥500

Best Season

Year-round | November 2–4 for the live Karatsu Kunchi Festival parade

Visit Duration

45 minutes–1 hour

Getting There

Access Information

2-1 Nishinohama-machi, Karatsu City. 10-minute walk from Karatsu Station. Hours: 9:00–17:00. Admission: ¥500.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Float maintenance access:** Once annually (October, in preparation for the November festival), the hall is closed to public as maintenance teams prepare the floats — re-lacquering, adding new metalw