An Obu spring festival featuring horses and young festival participants racing around a circular track
Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja Omanto Festival
The 2026 edition of Hangetsu Nanasha Omanto Festival has ended.
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Dates
- 2026/04/05Ended
- Season / frequency
- The 1st Sunday in April each year / Every year
- Location
- Grounds of Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja
- Area
- Aichi Prefecture・Obu City(From Tokyo: approx. 1 h 40 min–2 h · bullet train)Prefecture-level estimate to a main station or airport, not the venue. Airport access, check-in and onward travel are extra; remote areas and islands can take much longer.
- Features
- Highlights and activities
- Wishes behind the festival
- Participation / viewing
- Spectators welcome
- Participation fee
- The pony interaction and riding experiences are free.
- Age restrictions
- The pony interaction and riding experiences are for children from preschool to elementary school age. A parent or guardian must accompany the child.
- Last updated
- 2026/10/19
The Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja Omanto Festival is an Obu City-designated intangible folk cultural property that preserves the custom of dedicating horses to the shrine. The main event is kakeuma, in which horses race around a circular track as young festival participants run alongside them. Ceremonies, purification rituals to ward off misfortune, and mochi throwing are also held.
About Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja Omanto Festival
The Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja Omanto Festival is a spring festival that has been carried on at Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja.
Centered on the custom of dedicating horses to the shrine as omanto, the festival features horses racing around a circular track as young festival participants run alongside them.
It is an Obu City-designated intangible folk cultural property and is rooted in the community as a religious rite praying for a good harvest and household safety.
Source: 文化遺産データベース / 半月七社神社跑馬節 | 節日 | AichiNow-愛知旅遊官方網站 / 半月七社おまんと祭りが開催されます🐎 - 大府市観光協会 | 大府市観光ガイド
Festival highlights
The main highlight is kakeuma: horses race around a circular track as young festival participants hold on to their necks and run alongside them.
This event, featured as a cultural heritage tradition, offers a close-up view of the horses wearing bells on their backs and the participants running around the track.
Recent event information says that 10 horses take part in kakeuma, and that pony encounters and horseback riding are also offered on the .
An Obu spring festival featuring horses and young festival participants racing around a circular track
What to expect
The festival proceeds in stages, with horse purification, a children’s gathering, purification rites for the young festival participants and horses, and festival ceremonies.
After that, kakeuma is presented on the circular track. Depending on the time, visitors can also enjoy pony encounters and horseback riding.
Toward the end, purification rituals to ward off misfortune and mochi throwing are held, letting visitors see the rites involving horses and the shrine unfold over the course of the day.
How to take part
The event is primarily for viewing, but pony encounters and horseback riding are offered for preschoolers through elementary school students.
Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to take part.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Grounds of Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja (2-45 Yoshidacho, Obu, Aichi).
- Train and bus
Take the Chita Bus Yokosuka Line from JR Obu Station or Meitetsu Otagawa Station, get off at Samamachi bus stop, then walk south for 3 minutes.
- By car
It is about 5 minutes from Obu-Tokai IC on the Chita Peninsula Road.
- Parking
Nanasha Jinja has no dedicated parking lot; use the nearby Yoshida Community Center parking lot.
Address 2-45 Yoshidacho, Obu, Aichi
Dates and season
2026 event information (the listed dates have passed)
The 2026 event is scheduled for April 5 (Sunday), with activities planned from 7:30 a.m. until after 3:30 p.m.
The program is set to include horse purification, festival ceremonies, kakeuma, pony activities, misfortune-warding rituals, and mochi throwing.
The schedule may change due to bad weather or other circumstances.
Accommodation and hotels PR
Showing nearby accommodation.
Prices and availability are current at the time of retrieval. For multi-night stays, only the first night’s price is shown. Confirm the final price and directions to the venue with the booking provider. Select your dates again when using the area search link. Search area: within 3 km of Central Aichi Prefecture / Obu City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Tips for your visit
As the horse-riding event involves horses running, please take care around the track and follow staff instructions while watching.
Children from preschool to elementary school age taking part in the pony-riding experience must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. For safety, they must bring a helmet when riding.
The schedule may change in bad weather. Please also note that the shrine has no dedicated parking lot if you are coming by car.
Origins and History of Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja Omanto Festival
Omanto is a custom of decorating horses and dedicating them to a shrine, then having them run around a circular track on the shrine grounds.
The custom has been practiced on both shores of Kinoura Bay since the early modern period, but Hangetsu is said to be the only place in Obu where omanto is held as part of a spring festival.
The young festival group is made up mainly of boys aged 15 to 24 by traditional age reckoning. In preparation for the festival, they practice flute and and prepare the track.
Official information
Event information is published by the Obu City Tourism Association.
The organizers are Nanasha Jinja, the Hangetsu youth group, and the Omanto Festival Preservation Society.
You can check the venue, event times for the day, parking, and the age range for pony activities.
Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja Omanto Festival at a Glance
The Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja Omanto Festival is an Obu City-designated intangible folk cultural property that preserves the custom of dedicating horses and kakeuma, in which young festival participants run alongside the horses.
The program includes horse purification, festival ceremonies, kakeuma, misfortune-warding rituals, and mochi throwing, allowing visitors to follow the sequence of religious rites at a spring community event.
The venue is the grounds of Hangetsu Nanasha Jinja, which has no dedicated parking lot.
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
Celebrating local culture and helping you discover a side of Japan you never knew.
Article updated: 2026/10/19
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