Each year in October portable shrines (mikoshi) and festival floats (dashi) are paraded through the town for the Koshigaya Autumn Festival, of Hisaizu Shrine. However, they canceled the festival throughout the pandemic, even in 2023. The 400 year old festival only came back in 2024. Surprisingly, despite its proximity to Tokyo and the number of foreign residents in Koshigaya, there is no information online about this festival in English. And so while I haven’t been to this festival personally (yet), I decided to share the information that I have. It looks like lively and invigorating festival from the photos on the official website, which is linked in the information section.
Koshigaya Autumn Festival
The Koshigaya Autumn Festival is on Saturday October 10th and Sunday October 11th, 2026. It is the festival of the 1200 year old Hisaizu Shrine, the guardian shrine of Koshigaya. The ‘mikoshi’ portable shrine is a key element of the festival. As such, the festival is to welcome the spirit of the enshrined deity who is carried across the streets of the former Koshigaya town in the hope of a bountiful harvest. They also have 8 large, intricate festival floats, one from each of the areas on the old Nikko Kaido highway. Each of the floats have a different character on top. In addition, there is a procession, dance performances and several festival stalls in the area on the day.
Information
Event: Koshigaya Autumn Festival 2026 令和８年 越ヶ谷秋まつり
Date: Saturday October 10th and Sunday October 11th, 2026
Time: from 9.50 am on Saturday and 10 am on the Sunday, the festival food village is open from 11 am to 9 pm on both days
Cost: there is no admission fee
Venue: Hisaizu Shrine, 1700 Koshigaya, Saitama 343-0024. View on Google Maps.
Access: the shrine is about a 15 minute walk from Kita-Koshigaya Station on the Tobu Isesaki line. However, the festival area is around the east exit of Koshigaya station and on the Old Nikko Highway.
For more events this October in Saitama Prefecture.