Sennen Akari 2026 in Hita: Bamboo Lanterns Nov 13–15, Tenryo Festival and Parking

Tenryo Festival and Sennen Akari (Hita City official video channel)

Sennen Akari, the bamboo lantern event in Hita, Oita Prefecture, runs Friday, November 13 to Sunday, November 15, 2026, from about 4:30 p.m. to about 9:00 p.m. Lanterns light the old streets of Mameda-machi and the banks of the Kagetsu River. The daytime Hita Tenryo Festival takes place in the same area on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, so on the weekend you can see the daytime festival and the evening lanterns in one day.

In short

Friday, November 13 has the lanterns and the Hita lantern display only; the daytime festival and food stalls are on November 14 and 15.
The costumed procession is on Sunday, November 15 only, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Walking the streets in Edo-period costume costs ¥500 per person, with same-day sign-up only.
Parking around the venue is reservation-only and paid this year, through the akippa parking app. General sales start Wednesday, October 28 at 10:00 a.m.; a car costs ¥1,500 per time slot.

Checked with official pages on October 26, 2026.

Sennen Akari and the Hita Tenryo Festival 2026: times by day

Day	Daytime	Evening
Fri, Nov 13	No events	Bamboo lanterns about 4:30–9:00 p.m.; Hita lanterns 4:00–9:00 p.m.
Sat, Nov 14	Tenryo Festival 10:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.	Bamboo lanterns about 4:30–9:00 p.m.; food stalls until 9:00 p.m.
Sun, Nov 15	Tenryo Festival 10:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; procession 1:00–4:00 p.m.	Bamboo lanterns about 4:30–9:00 p.m.; food stalls until 9:00 p.m.

The lanterns are in the Mameda and Maruyama districts and on the Kagetsu riverbank. The festival is in the Mameda district and around Tsukuma Park. Source: Hita City: Hita Tenryo Festival and Sennen Akari.

1. What is Sennen Akari? The 22nd year of bamboo lanterns in Mameda-machi

Sennen Akari means “thousand-year lights.” Local volunteers in the Mameda district have held it since 2005, together with work to protect the city’s cedar and cypress forests from spreading bamboo, according to Hita City. Bamboo lanterns, mostly made by Mameda residents, light the old townscape of Mameda-machi, a nationally selected preservation district for historic buildings, and the Kagetsu River.

With Usuki Takeyoi in Usuki City and Taketa Chikuraku in Taketa City, it is counted as one of Oita’s three big bamboo-light events. This year also has a bamboo lantern sculpture contest, decided by visitors’ votes on site.

From Friday, November 13 to Sunday, November 15, 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Hita lanterns, including “Hita-don” (日田どん), which is over 4 meters tall, stand at Nagayama Fuseisho Ato Park, the Mameda Machizukuri History Exchange Hall square and other spots, and are lit up at night.

2. The 47th Hita Tenryo Festival in the daytime (November 14 and 15)

In the Edo period, Hita was a “tenryo,” land ruled directly by the shogunate, and the Mameda district grew as a merchant town. The festival recreates the busy town of that time. The procession is on Sunday, November 15 only, and the costume walk is same-day sign-up only, ¥500 per person.

Procession of the Saigokusuji Gundai (西国筋郡代着任行列): Sunday, November 15, 1:00–4:00 p.m. About 30 people in historically researched costume and make-up leave from in front of Nagayama Fuseisho Ato Small Park at 1:00 p.m. and walk via Miyuki-dori to Kangien. From 3:00 p.m. they return from Kangien via Chojuen-mae and Kamimachi-dori, finishing back at the park at 4:00 p.m.
Walk the town in Edo-period costume: dress as a samurai, a townswoman or a merchant and walk around Mameda. Saturday, November 14, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; Sunday, November 15, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Sign up and change at the “Hanare Zashiki” (離れ座敷) of the Mameda Machizukuri History Exchange Hall. ¥500 per person, 60 minutes.
Sentetsu stamp rally: November 14 and 15, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., in the Mameda, station, Patria Hita and Kumamachi areas. Collect stamps from stamp points and from people dressed as historic local figures, then trade them for prizes such as a Hita cedar file folder. Hita City says how to join and the stamp points will be announced later.
Tenryo Hita Nigiwai Hiroba: bamboo lantern making and workshops and sales by local craft companies, November 14 and 15, 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m., at the Mameda Machizukuri History Exchange Hall square.
Tenryo food stalls and market: stalls run by high school students and local businesses, plus food trucks, November 14 and 15, 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m., at Nagayama Fuseisho Ato Small Park.
Footbath: November 14 and 15, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., at the Mameda Machizukuri History Exchange Hall square, with information on the recovery of the Amagase Onsen area.

3. Parking and getting to Hita

Important

This year, parking lots around the venue must be reserved and paid in advance through the parking app akippa. Hita City says this is a trial to ease traffic jams and to fund the festival. General sales start Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.: ¥1,500 per time slot for a car. Lot locations and time slots are on the akippa event page.

The pamphlet and site maps on Hita City’s page are still the 2025 versions (the 46th festival).

Hita City also runs paid parking lots. Near Hita Station, the largest is Ekikita No. 2 (156 spaces); in town, there are Kuma (27 spaces) and Sanbonmatsu (45 spaces). The station lots are ¥100 per 55 minutes. Kuma and Sanbonmatsu are ¥110 for the first hour, then ¥50 per 30 minutes. Source: Hita City: city-run parking lots.

By train, JR Hakata Station to Hita takes about 1 hour 10 minutes by limited express, and JR Kurume Station about 40 minutes. Highway buses take about 1 hour 15 minutes from Fukuoka Airport and about 1 hour 30 minutes from Tenjin Bus Center. By car, it is about 1 hour 10 minutes from Fukuoka IC (Hita Tourism Association: access).

Mameda-machi, Hita City, Oita. Google Maps. Sennen Akari Executive Committee: 090-2395-4593. Hita Tourism Association: 0973-22-2036. Tenryo Festival (Hita City Tourism Division): 0973-22-8210.