Uruma City, Okinawa will once again host the All-Island Lion Dance Festival this October 10 and 11, continuing a tradition planned and operated by Kinki Nippon Tourist Okinawa.
The eve festival features the launch of LED sky lanterns, a fan favorite from last year, while the main festival brings together lion dance troupes from across the region for the All-Island Lion Dance Festival. Set against the backdrop of the Katsuren Castle Ruins, the two-day event offers a chance to fully experience the charm and power of Okinawan lion dance.
Official site: https://www.uruma-skylantern-knt.com
Lion Dance Meets LED Sky Lanterns: A New Way to Experience Tradition
The All-Island Lion Dance Festival brings together the lion dance traditions passed down across Okinawa for a single cultural celebration. Lion dance, known as shishimai, is a treasured part of Okinawan heritage, performed to pray for the prosperity of local communities and protection from illness, and carried forward through generations of daily life.
The event aims to preserve and develop local culture while offering visitors a chance to encounter Okinawa's deep history and spiritual traditions -- a side of the islands quite different from the blue seas and skies typically associated with its resorts. For visitors, it's an opportunity to experience a new kind of Okinawan appeal rooted in local tradition and community spirit.
On October 10, the eve festival opens with performances by children's lion dance troupes carrying the region's traditions into the next generation. Alongside the young performers' powerful routines, LED sky lanterns carrying wishes of peace and gratitude, known as "umui," will light up the night sky above the Katsuren Castle Ruins, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
Performing troupe: Dream Sisters
On October 11, the main festival, traditional lion dance troupes from across Okinawa along with other performing arts groups will gather to present bold and graceful routines. Lion dances passed down in each community will compete side by side, bringing the festival to its finale.
Performing troupes: Gushikawa / 具志川 (Uruma City), Henna / 平安名 (Uruma City), Jicchaku / 勢理客 (Urasoe City), Tomoyose / 友寄 (Yaese Town), Miyahira / 宮平 (Haebaru Town), Ginoza / 宜野座 (Ginoza Village)
Organizers hope many visitors will come to discover this other side of Okinawa's charm over the two special days.
Uruma City: Where History, Culture, and Nature Come Alive
Uruma City, Okinawa is home to a wealth of natural, historical, and cultural resources, from its beautiful coastline to the Kaichu Doro (Sea Road), the Katsuren Castle Ruins, the contemporary kumiodori performance "Kimutaka no Amawari" (肝高の阿麻和利), bullfighting, lion dance, and eisa.
Among these, the Katsuren Castle Ruins are known as a historic site that tells the story of the former Ryukyu Kingdom and form part of the "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu" World Heritage listing.
Uruma City has positioned the area around the Katsuren Castle Ruins as a hub for cultural and tourism promotion, working to preserve and make use of the site while sharing its value with visitors from Japan and abroad.
To help visitors, including a growing number from overseas and other parts of Japan, connect with that appeal intuitively regardless of generation or language, the ruins -- once a sacred site where people came to pray -- are now lit with environmentally friendly LED sky lanterns, creating a modern "place of prayer" with new appeal.
By combining the historical and cultural value of the Katsuren Castle Ruins with Okinawa's lion dance traditions and lanterns that let participants carry their own "umui," the event creates an opportunity for more people to experience the region's distinctive charm.
The festival is also held on a continuing basis beyond the peak tourist season, aiming to draw visitors from within and outside the prefecture and generate new tourism demand for Uruma City.
Event Overview
October 10, 2026 (Saturday): Katsuren Castle Sky Lantern Eve Festival
- Doors open: 5:00 PM (planned)
- Program begins: 6:30 PM (planned)
- Ends: 9:00 PM (planned)
- Sky lantern reception: from 4:30 PM (planned)
Dream Sisters, three half-Okinawan sisters born in Okinawa, perform across the islands with the motto "Energize Okinawa! Love to the world!"
Content: lion dance performances by children's troupes from Uruma City, an LED sky lantern presentation, a special live performance by Dream Sisters, and more
Price:
Katsuren Castle Sky Lantern Eve Festival viewing-only ticket: ¥3,000 per person (tax included)
High school, junior high school, and elementary school students: ¥1,500 per person (tax included)
Ticket includes: stage live viewing, admission
Preschool children: free
The sky lantern release can also be viewed
Limited to 800 tickets
Sky lantern launch ticket: adults ¥4,000 per person (tax included)
Ticket includes: one sky lantern, admission, stage live viewing
For safety reasons, children age 12 and under cannot purchase this ticket
Limited to 400 tickets
October 11, 2026 (Sunday): 38th All-Island Lion Dance Festival
- Reception: from 4:00 PM (planned)
- Doors open: 5:00 PM (planned)
- Program begins: 6:30 PM (planned)
- Ends: 9:00 PM (planned)
Venue: Katsuren Castle Ruins, Fourth Enclosure / Yon-no-kuruwa (四の曲輪) (Uruma City, Okinawa)
Content: traditional lion dance performances from across Okinawa
Price: Lion Dance Festival ticket, ¥2,000 per person (tax included)
Ticket includes: seating area, parking
Limited to 300 tickets
Other: admission is free outside the seating area (designated zones). Entry may be restricted depending on safety conditions within the castle grounds.
Organizer: All-Island Lion Dance Festival Executive Committee
Planning and operation: Kinki Nippon Tourist Okinawa Co., Ltd.
Tickets go on sale online beginning Friday, September 11 at 10:00 AM via the official site above.
