Fujinomiya Festival Calendar 2026: Every Mt Fuji Celebration From August to November

Fujinomiya runs on Mt Fuji's calendar. From the Sacred Fire Festival on the mountain's summit in early August through to the autumn colours at Nishiyama Honmonji in November, the city moves through a season of festivals tied to the climbing season, the tea and sake harvests, and the rites of Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha, the shrine at the mountain's base. This guide covers all eight events with confirmed 2026 dates, what happens at each, and the history behind them.

At a glance: Fujinomiya's 2026 festival season

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Fujisan Goshinka Matsuri: Fujinomiya Sacred Fire Festival

The Fujisan Goshinka Matsuri takes place on 1 August 2026, marking its 47th edition, and opens the festival season by carrying fire down from the summit of Mt Fuji.

A flame is kindled at Okumiya, the shrine at the mountain's top, then brought down to light eight mikoshi - these are portable shrines that weigh up to a tonne carried by crews of bearers wearing traditional festival dress. The mikoshi are paraded through central Fujinomiya, and the night reaches its climax with Kandagawa Nobori; bearers drive the mikoshi directly into the Kanda River beside the shrine and force them upstream against the current.

The festival is younger than it looks. It dates only to 1979, created as a deliberate act of town revitalisation built around Mt Fuji and its spring water. The original intent combined gratitude for the mountain's blessings with a rite to calm its power: the sacred fire is extinguished in Wakutamaike, the spring-fed pond within the Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha's grounds, and the parade carries a prayer for world peace.

Expect taiko drumming and an atmosphere thick with smoke and excitement if you visit Fujinomiya.

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