Shioya’s autumn festival, with 9 floats parading through the town and shrine grounds
Shioya Kōjin Shrine Float Festival
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- October 25 and the Sunday before it / Annual festival, held once a year
- Location
- Kōjin Shrine and the town of Shioya
- Area
- Hyogo Prefecture・Ako City(From Tokyo: approx. 2 h 40 min–3 h 10 min · 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.
- Highlights and activities
- Participation / viewing
- Spectators welcome
- Last updated
- 2026/10/19
This float festival takes place at Kōjin Shrine and in the town of Shioya, Ako City, with a total of 9 floats—large floats and children’s floats—parading through the streets. The performed alongside the karako is another highlight of the autumn grand festival.
About Shioya Kōjin Shrine Float Festival
The Shioya Kōjin Shrine Float Festival is a float festival held at Kōjin Shrine and in the town of Shioya, Ako City, Hyogo Prefecture.
A total of 9 floats take part: 2 large floats and 7 children’s floats from the Higashi-Mukai and Nishi districts.
The floats parade through the town and , helping shape the community’s autumn festival.
Kōjin Shrine is designated as an intangible folk cultural property of Ako City.
Source: 塩屋荒神社屋台行事 文化遺産オンライン
Festival highlights
The highlight is the float procession, with 9 floats moving through the town and shrine grounds.
Large floats and children’s floats from different districts appear, allowing visitors to compare the movements of floats of different sizes.
During the autumn grand festival, a lion dance is performed alongside children dressed as karako.
The festival is characterized by its vigorous float procession and lion dance.
Source: 荒神社｜兵庫県神社庁 神社検索
Shioya’s autumn festival, with 9 floats parading through the town and shrine grounds
What to expect
At the festival, the floats from the Higashi-Mukai and Nishi districts parade through the town and enter the shrine grounds.
There are 2 large floats and 7 children’s floats, for a total of 9.
In addition to the float procession during the autumn grand festival, children dressed as karako perform alongside a lion dance.
Visitors watch the procession through town and the events on the shrine grounds.
How to take part
Visitors can watch the event.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Kōjin Shrine (2943 Shioya, Ako City) and the surrounding town.
The festival floats parade through the town and shrine grounds.
- Train and bus
1,000 m northwest of Banshū-Akō Station on the JR Akō Line.
- By car
From National Route 250, go 400 m north from the traffic light by Shioya Police Box.
- Parking
No parking is available.
Address 2943 Shioya, Ako City, Hyogo Prefecture
Dates and season
- Season
October 25 and the Sunday before it
- Frequency
Annual festival, held once a year
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 Hyogo Prefecture / Ako City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Tips for your visit
The venue extends beyond the shrine grounds into the town, so please watch the float procession from a place that does not obstruct traffic.
Kōjin Shrine has no parking, so if you are arriving by car, you will need to find parking elsewhere.
Do not get too close to the floats or lion dance, and follow instructions from the people around you.
Nearby attractions
赤穂城
兵庫県赤穂市にある城
Origins and History of Shioya Kōjin Shrine Float Festival
The date when Kōjin Shrine was founded is unknown.
Historical documents from Hamano-ya, the chief village headman’s family in Shioya Village, describe it as an old shrine where an image of Susanoo-no-Mikoto was made and enshrined as a deity of the five grains.
Records of the shrine’s restoration date to Enpō 3 and Kansei 12, and inscriptions on donated stone objects date from the mid-Edo period onward.
Official information
You can check the date of Kōjin Shrine’s annual festival and travel information in the Hyogo Prefecture Shrine Association’s shrine directory.
An overview of its cultural heritage designation is available on the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Cultural Heritage Online.
Shioya Kōjin Shrine Float Festival at a Glance
The Shioya Kōjin Shrine Float Festival is a float festival held in the town of Shioya, Ako City, and on the grounds of Kōjin Shrine.
A total of 9 floats—2 large floats and 7 children’s floats—parade through the area, and karako and a lion dance also appear during the autumn grand festival.
There is no parking at the venue. Banshū-Akō Station is 1,000 m to the southeast.
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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