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Yame Lantern Festival

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

Researched and written by Hinato

lantern festivaltraditional craftpaper lanternautumnYame

Illustration of Yame Lantern Festival, Fukuoka — Illustration — not a photograph

A quick walk through Yame Lantern Festival tells you less than a slow one — the details are where the history actually lives.

The Yame Lantern Festival, held annually in mid-November on the grounds of Yame Hachimangu Shrine, is a gathering of over 250 traditional wagasa (oil-paper parasols) and massive chochin (hanging lanterns) made by the handful of surviving Yame paper craftsmen. Yame is the last place in Japan with an active manufacturing tradition for the enormous 'giant paper lanterns' (ogutsuna odori chochin) used in traditional bon dances — some exceeding 2 meters in diameter, assembled from hand-lacquered bamboo frames and hand-stretched washi paper.

What to know before you go

When to go

3rd weekend of November for festival

Opening hours

Festival: 3rd weekend of November, lanterns lit 6:00–9:00 PM | Workshops: year-round by advance booking

Closed: Festival: annual November event only | Workshop: by appointment

Time to allow

2–3 hours (festival) | 3 hours for workshop

Fee

Festival: free | Lantern workshop: ¥3,500–6,000

How to reach it

Getting there in detail

Yame Hachimangu Shrine, Yame City. A drive from Fukuoka City. Festival: 3rd weekend of November. Free entry. Lantern workshops available year-round by advance booking.

Historical notes & tips

**Lantern workshop:** The Yame Traditional Crafts Center offers 3-hour lantern-making workshops year-round (¥3,500–6,000 depending on size). You leave with a functional hand-made paper lantern using traditional washi and lacquered bamboo — the most labor-intensive craft souvenir available in Fukuoka Prefecture. **Evening festival light:** The lanterns are lit from 18:00 and remain illuminated until 21:00. The transition from dusk to night, when 250+ lit lanterns appear against the cedar tree silhouettes, takes about 20 minutes and is one of the most visually extraordinary experiences in autumn Fukuoka.

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