{"id":86396,"date":"2016-04-25T18:10:56","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T09:10:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=event&#038;p=86396&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2026-04-06T14:52:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T05:52:22","slug":"hakata-dontaku","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/event\/hakata-dontaku\/","title":{"rendered":"Hakata Dontaku"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A signature event during Golden Week in Fukuoka, Hakata Dontaku draws massive crowds\u2014typically around two million over two days\u2014making it one of Japan\u2019s largest festivals. The name \u201cDontaku\u201d is said to originate from the Dutch word zondag, meaning \u201cSunday\u201d or \u201choliday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The festivities begin with the Hakata Matsubayashi, the festival\u2019s historic core with roots stretching back over 840 years. Over two days, three auspicious gods on horseback, accompanied by a procession of children, visit more than 150 businesses and organizations across the city to offer blessings and good fortune.<br \/>\nEach afternoon, the spotlight shifts to Meiji-dori, where a 1.27 km stretch between Gofukumachi and Tenjin becomes the stage for the Dontaku Parade. Teams representing local companies and groups, known as Dontaku-tai, march, dance, and perform as thousands line the route to cheer them on.<\/p>\n<p>The celebration spills into the rest of the city as well, with performances and events at over 40 special venues. From traditional music and dance to contemporary showcases, Fukuoka transforms into a vibrant festival city.<\/p>\n<p>Date: 5\/3 (Sat., hol.), 5\/4 (Sun., hol.)<br \/>\nVenue: Fukuoka urban area (Hakata-ku ~ Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City)<\/p>\n<p>For more information, check out our<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/guides\/hakata-dontaku\/\"> Hakata Dontaku Guide<\/a> (2026\u00a0 ver. coming soon!).<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-153069\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/fn_hakata-dontaku-showcase_2023_cl-002.jpeg?resize=1400%2C934&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1400\" height=\"934\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/fn_hakata-dontaku-showcase_2023_cl-002.jpeg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/fn_hakata-dontaku-showcase_2023_cl-002.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/fn_hakata-dontaku-showcase_2023_cl-002.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/fn_hakata-dontaku-showcase_2023_cl-002.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dontaku is one of Japan\u2019s Biggest festivals, with over two million visitors annually. The colorful&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26469,"featured_media":86307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-86396","event","type-event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-fukuoka-city","event-type-festival","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/86396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/event"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26469"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}