The 14 Kunchi floatsPhoto: Pekachu / CC BY-SA 4.0
Karatsu Kunchi is the autumn festival of Karatsu Jinja, held on 2, 3 and 4 November.
Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
The giant lacquered floats of the Karatsu Kunchi festival, lions and samurai helmets among them, all 14 under one roof; the oldest, the red lion, was made in 1819. The festival runs 2–4 November and is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list. Today the floats stand at Arpino, 09:00–17:00, adult ¥310. From Saturday 25 September 2027 they are shown in the new Karatsu Civic Hall, 09:00–21:00, ¥1,000 for visitors from outside Karatsu.
- Number 2 of ten on our list for Karatsu.
- Short enough to be certain of: 1 hr 30 min door to door.
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Yes" — part of the castle-town walk with the castle, the Takatori residence and Karatsu Jinja.
- 1 hr 30 min door to door needs a 3.5-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
Things worth knowing
- Check which hall: the floats move from Arpino to the new Karatsu Civic Hall, which opens on 25 September 2027. When the old hall closes for the move is not yet published.
- The new hall adds a 180-degree film of the festival.
- Both halls are indoors: the rain pick.
Where the 1 hr 30 min goes
The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside. The minutes are our estimates from timetables and maps, not timed on the ground.
If your ship is late, cut the 1 hr 10 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Questions
Where are the Karatsu Kunchi floats shown?
At the Hikiyama Exhibition Hall in Arpino, next to JR Karatsu Station, 09:00–17:00, adult ¥310. From 25 September 2027 they move to the new Karatsu Civic Hall beside Karatsu Jinja, open 09:00–21:00, ¥1,000 for visitors from outside Karatsu.
When is the Karatsu Kunchi festival?
2, 3 and 4 November every year. The new hall closes from 2 to 5 November while the floats are out.
Routes that already include it
Finished days timed from official timetables and our estimates, with this stop in them.
The castle town: castle, floats, a Meiji house and the bankNeeds a 6-hour call · ~4h door to doorA 12:00–18:00 Star Seeker call: off at 12:30, back by 16:30, with no time to spare. The walks between the four places take 10 to 15 minutes each (OSM routing, our estimates); the bank is only if you are ahead
Floats, the bank and a Meiji house, all under a roofA wet day · ~3h door to doorA wet day on any call of 5 hours or more; three indoor sights 8 to 12 minutes’ walk apartWhat to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
2 hr 30 min for bothKaratsu Jinja
The town’s shrine, said to date from the Nara period, and the home of the Kunchi festival: every November the 14 floats escort its portable shrine through the streets.
See the detail
2 hr 30 min for bothFormer Karatsu Bank
The red-brick head office of the Karatsu Bank, finished in March 1912 in the Tatsuno style, red brick banded with white granite under small towers and domes.
See the detail
3 hr for bothKyu-Takatori residence
The seaside house of Takatori Koreyoshi, who made his money in coal, built in the late Meiji era and now an Important Cultural Property.
See the detail