{"id":75,"date":"2016-02-03T11:20:05","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T02:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/?p=75"},"modified":"2021-06-03T16:21:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T07:21:15","slug":"events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/events\/","title":{"rendered":"Event Information"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a list of the main events that happen throughout the year.
For more information, contact the tourism association.
If your visit is at the same time as a local festival, make sure you join in \u2013 the people here will make you very welcome!
There are other events happening around Nishinoshima and on the other islands throughout the year.
For more information, visit the Oki Islands Tourism Association page.
>> Website<\/a><\/p>\r\n

We recommend you visit the Oki Islands from spring \u2013 autumn.
Please be aware that due to COVID-19 most of the events are cancelled for 2021.<\/p>\r\n

Spring<\/h3>\r\n

April<\/h4>\r\n

Kuniga-Biraki Spring Campaign <\/strong>
Get 6 FREE beautiful postcards of Nishinoshima Island!<\/p>\r\n

How:
1. Upload your photos or videos of Sightseeing spots of Nishinoshima Island on your SNS
2. Show it at Nishinoshima Tourism Association
That’s it!<\/p>\r\n

When:
Throughout the year<\/p>\r\n

\"Kuniga<\/p>\r\n

Kuniga Coast Beach Clean\u00a0
(Kuniga Beach, Kannon-iwa Rock Area) <\/strong>
In April (usually on a Sunday, exact date to be advised)\u00a0
9:30 – 12:00
This is an annual spring event to clean the rubbish gathered from the current during winter.<\/p>\r\n

Come help clean the beach, enjoy morning tea with the locals, learn about the environment!
\"\u56fd\u8cc0\u3073\u3089\u304d\u30d5\u30a7\u30b9\u30bf\u3000\u30d3\u30fc\u30c1\u30af\u30ea\u30fc\u30f3\"<\/p>\r\n

Sunset Cafe
<\/strong>Usually offered on one Saturday in April (exact date to be adivised)
17:30 – 19:00
Join other tourists and locals to watch the sunset and enjoy homemade sweets, tea and coffee.
We provide free shuttle there and back:
Pick up from Nishinoshima Tourism Information office @17:20, Urago Tourism Center @17:40, Kuniga beach @17:50
*Please help reduce waste by bringing your own mug to the event \ud83d\ude42
\"\u56fd\u8cc0\u3073\u3089\u304d\u30d5\u30a7\u30b9\u30bf\u3000\u30b5\u30f3\u30bb\u30c3\u30c8\u30ab\u30d5\u30a7\"<\/p>\r\n

May<\/h4>\r\n

Totte-Oki Two Day Walk \u3068\u3063\u3066\u96a0\u5c90\u30c4\u30fc\u30c7\u30fc\u30a6\u30a9\u30fc\u30af<\/strong>
Date : End of\u00a0 May\u00a0 (Not offered in 2021)<\/span>
Location\u00a0in Nishinoshima: Urag\u014d Port \u2013 Matengai Cliff \u2013 Ts\u016btenky\u014d Arch \u2013 Urag\u014d Port (10km walking course)<\/p>\r\n

Walk around the three Oki-Dozen area islands with locals and walking enthusiasts from around Japan! Enter in advance.
>> Website<\/a><\/p>\r\n

\"\uff13DAYS\u30a6\u30a9\u30fc\u30af\"<\/p>\r\n

Summer<\/h3>\r\n

July<\/h4>\r\n

Takada Shrine Festival \u9ad8\u7530\u795e\u793e\u4f8b\u5927<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Cancelled for 2021

<\/span>Enjoy watching local heroes carry the heavy mikoshi (portable shrine) through the streets, watch Kagura (traditional Shinto dance and music) and join locals in honoring the gods of Takada Shrine. If you become friends with someone, they might invite you into their home for supper!<\/p>\r\n

Date : 18 \u2013 19 (odd years)
Location : Funakoshi\/Komukai Area<\/p>\r\n

2017 Festival Information<\/em>
Mikoshi (Portable Shrine) Parade: From 19:00 onwards (both days)
Kagura (Shinto Music & Dance) Display: From 21:00 onwards (only on 18th July)
Fireworks: Not at this festival<\/p>\r\n

\"\u9ad8\u7530\u795e\u793e\u796d\u308a\"<\/p>\r\n

Kai Shrine Festival \u6d77\u795e\u793e\u4f8b\u5927\u796d<\/strong>
Enjoy watching local heroes carry the heavy mikoshi (portable shrine) through the streets and on to a special boat, watch Kagura (traditional Shinto dance and music) and join locals in honoring the gods of Kai Shrine. The local men (mikoshi carriers) try to push each other into the sea \u2013 almost everyone goes home wet!<\/p>\r\n

Date : 21 \u2013 22 (odd years)
Location : Beppu Area<\/p>\r\n

2017 Festival Information<\/em>
Mikoshi (Portable Shrine) Parade: From 19:00 onwards (both days)
Kagura (Shinto Music & Dance) Display: From 21:00 onwards (only on 21st July)
Fireworks: Not at this festival<\/p>\r\n

\"\u6d77\u795e\u793e\"<\/p>\r\n

Takuhi Shrine Festival \u713c\u706b\u795e\u793e\u4f8b\u5927\u796d<\/strong>
Climb up to Takuhi Shrine (15 \u2013 20 minutes from the carpark) and spend the evening with local people enjoying special shrine food and watching traditional shrine dance and music. We recommend you contact the priest in advance if you wish to join in.<\/p>\r\n

Date : 23 July (even years) Kagura is cancelled for 2020
Location : Takuhi Shrine (Mt. Takuhi)
>> Website (Japanese only)<\/a><\/p>\r\n

\"\u713c\u706b\u795e\u793e\u796d\u308a\"<\/p>\r\n

Yurahime Shrine Festival \u7531\u826f\u6bd4\u5973\u795e\u793e\u4f8b\u5927<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Cancelled for 2021<\/span>

Enjoy watching local heroes carry the heavy mikoshi (portable shrine) through the streets and on to a special boat, view a fireworks display on Saturday night, watch Kagura (traditional Shinto dance and music) and join locals in honoring the gods of Yurahime Shrine.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Date : Last Saturday and Sunday in July (odd years)
Location : Urag\u014d Area<\/p>\r\n

2017 Festival Information<\/em>
Mikoshi (Portable Shrine) Parade: From 19:00 onwards (both days)
Kagura (Shinto Music & Dance) Display: From 21:00 onwards (both days, 29th outside JF fisheries port, 30th at Yurahime Shrine)
Fireworks: From 20:30<\/p>\r\n

\"\u7531\u826f\u6bd4\u5973\u795e\u793e\"<\/p>\r\n

August<\/h4>\r\n

Obon Dance \u76c6\u8e0a\u308a<\/strong>
Meet with local people to celebrate the Obon Festival by joining in the special rhythmical dance Bon-odori. Obon is celebrated all throughout Japan as the period during which ancestral spirits are said to return to their homes.<\/p>\r\n

Date : 14, 15, 16
Location : Villages around the island<\/p>\r\n

\"\u76c6\u8e0a\u308a\"<\/p>\r\n

Shara-bune Spirit Boats \u30b7\u30e3\u30fc\u30e9\u8239<\/strong>
Obon is celebrated all throughout Japan as the period during which ancestral spirits are said to return to their homes. Many places place lanterns laden with lights and offerings to symbolize the return of the ancestors following Obon. In Nishinoshima Island the tradition is quite different. Instead of lanterns, ancestors are bid farewell with Shara-bune. These boats (made by junior high school students and village elders) are laden with offerings and the sails are decorated with colorful Buddhist sutras. It is thought that the word shara is derived from shoryo, which means \u2018spirit of the deceased\u2019.<\/p>\r\n

Date : 16
Location : Funakoshi Port, Urag\u014d Port and smaller villages around the island<\/p>\r\n

\"\u30b7\u30e3\u30fc\u30e9\u8239\u3000sharaboat\"<\/p>\r\n

Autumn<\/h3>\r\n

September<\/h4>\r\n

Sh\u016bhaira \u5341\u65b9\u62dd\u793c\uff08\u3057\u3085\u3046\u306f\u3044\u3089\uff09<\/strong>
Sh\u016bhaira, meaning \u2018to worship in ten directions\u2019 has been designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan. It is uncertain when these dances began, but according to documents about the religious festivals, it was already being performed by the end of the Muromachi Period (1338 – 1573).\u00a0 The rhythm of the drums and chanting while dancing is very intriguing.\u00a0 A small sumo tournament is held during the main festival inside the shrine grounds.<\/p>\r\n

Date : September
Location : Beppu Area or Urago Area<\/p>\r\n

2019 Festival Information<\/em><\/strong>
Dress Rehearsal (Kasa-soroe)<\/strong>
Location: Ch\u014dfuku-ji Temple (diagonally across the supermarket Yours)
Date: Saturday 7th September
Time: 14:00 (for approx. 1 hour)<\/p>\r\n

Main Event<\/strong>
Location: Mita Hachiman Shrine (diagonally across the bar Orenji in Beppu)
Date: Sunday 8th September
Time: 10:00 (for approx. 1 hour)
Ceremony, Sh\u016bhaira Dance, Ritual Sumo Tournament<\/p>\r\n

Sh\u016bhaira Dance consists of 3 parts: Deity\u2019s Sum\u014d (Kami-no- sum\u014d), Lion Dance (Shishi-mai) and Dengaku dance, a traditional dance dedicated to rice-planting.<\/p>\r\n

\"\u3057\u3085\u3046\u306f\u3044\u3089\"<\/p>\r\n

Mikado Festival 2018 \u5e1d\u796d (An Even Year Event)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\u2605Emperor Godaigo was exiled to the Oki Islands, most likely to the area around Beppu Port known today as Kuroki-gosho (Imperial Residence Site). The local tourism office plans events including a history tour, festival parade, food stalls and free museum entry during the day, then a fireworks display in the evening.<\/p>\r\n

Date : 8 September (Cancelled for 2020)
Location : Kuroki-gosho<\/p>\r\n

\"\u5e1d\u796d\u308a\"<\/p>\r\n

October<\/h4>\r\n

Nishinoshima Half Marathon 2021(Road Race) \u897f\u30ce\u5cf6\u30cf\u30fc\u30d5\u30de\u30e9\u30bd\u30f32021<\/strong>
Date : 24 October (Sun) Cancelled for 2021\u00a0<\/span>
Location : Urag\u014d Port (Start) –> Akao Lookout –> Onimai Lookout –> Urago Port (Goal)<\/p>\r\n

Run up and down the hills along the spectacular Kuniga Coast with locals and running enthusiasts from around Japan! Enter in advance. \"\u5cf6RUN\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Gyogyogyo Sakana Festival \u30ae\u30e7\u30ae\u30e7\u30ae\u30e7\u9b5a\u30d5\u30a7\u30b9\u30bf<\/strong>
Date\uff1a End of October\u00a0
Location:\u00a0Urago Tourism Center\u00a0(Noa Hall, Urago Port)

Come and\u00a0enjoy\u00a0many different types of fresh\u00a0local seafood, taiko drum performance, and many more!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a list of the main events that happen throughout the year.For more information, contact the tourism association.If your visit is at the same […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75"}],"version-history":[{"count":57,"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3064,"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions\/3064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkk-oki.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}