Tōkamachi Market (Hikawa Shrine, Ōmiya)

十日市(武蔵一宮氷川神社大湯祭)

A market of lucky rakes held at Hikawa Shrine in Ōmiya, Saitama, on the main day of the shrine’s Daitōsai rite. Stalls selling kumade, good-luck charms and food line the grounds and the approach, ringing with rhythmic hand-clapping as deals are struck. Held every year on 10 December.

10 December 2026

40 days away

Every year, 10 December

Future dates: 10 December 2026 · 10 December 2027 · 10 December 2028

Origin

The Daitōsai is the best known of the shrine’s special rites; its name appears in shrine records from the 1670s, and is said to come from the cauldrons of water boiled for purification. It lasts 12 days, from 30 November to 11 December, and because a market gathers for the main rite on the 10th, it is also called Tōkamachi, the 10th-day market.

What to look for

The draw is the rows of kumade stalls along the grounds and the approach, and the cheers and hand-clapping that ring out each time a rake is sold. Some 300 stalls fill the grounds, the approach and Ōmiya Park (2025). From 30 November to 9 December a bonfire is lit in the grounds every night; standing by it is said to ward off illness.

How to watch

The market goes ahead in rain. Smoking is not allowed in the grounds, and pets may not be brought in (assistance dogs excepted). Drones may not be used anywhere in the grounds, including the approach, and photographing priests, shrine maidens or other visitors without permission is not allowed. Bicycles may not be ridden past the third torii gate; temporary bike parking is set up on the day. Old rakes bought from the stalls can be returned only on 10 December (rakes from the shrine itself can be returned at any time of year). Lost property and lost children are handled at the security office in the grounds.

If you go

The market fills the grounds of Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine and the streets around its approach, about 20 minutes’ walk from the east exit of JR Ōmiya Station or 10 minutes from Kita-Ōmiya Station on the Tōbu Urban Park Line. In 2025 the stalls opened from 3 to 10 p.m. on the 9th and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the 10th, when the roads around the approach were closed to traffic. There is no event parking, and the shrine’s car parks close on the 10th.

Where

Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine and its approach

Saitama

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Sources

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