Daisen, Akita · KariwanoNo.1287★★Open in map →

Kariwano Great Tug-of-War

cultureOff the trail — and worth it

On the night of 10 February, the town of Kariwano in Akita divides into two sides and pulls a pair of giant ropes joined into one. It is a nationally designated folk property, and anyone may take hold.

FromOmagari Station
~15 minJR Ou Line local train
Get off atKariwano Station (JR Ou Line)
On foot
Kariwano Great Tug-of-War

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

Nobody in the area would call this hidden. It is a national folk property, and thousands turn out for it. What visitors tend to miss is that it is not only for watching: the city's notice says anyone may join the pull. The date is also fixed rather than moved to a weekend, so in many years it falls on a weekday night.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Kariwano Rope Exhibition Hall掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Kariwano Rope Exhibition Hallglass-walled hall right beside the station, holding full-size replicas of the ropes; visits by booking
Otsuna Koryukancommunity hall where a festival rope is on display, with the rope-making workshop next door
Omachi-dorithe street in the town centre where the two ropes are joined and pulled
The male and female ropesthe male rope 64 m long, the female about 50 m, each weighing about 10 tonnes

How to actually get there

Omagari Station → Kariwano Station (JR Ou Line local train, about 15 min).
If you have booked, look in at the rope hall beside Kariwano Station.
Walk to Omachi-dori in the town centre (about 10 min) and watch the drumming and the joining of the ropes.
Join the pull or watch it from the roadside, then walk back to the station for the train to Omagari.

JR Ou Line from Omagari Station: From Omagari Station, take a local train on the JR Ou Line to Kariwano Station, about 15 minutes. The Komachi shinkansen does not stop at Kariwano, so change at Omagari. Omachi-dori, where the pull is held, is about a 10-minute walk from the station.
Back to Omagari from Kariwano Station: Walk back to Kariwano Station and take the JR Ou Line to Omagari. The pull starts late in the evening, so check the time of the last train before you set out.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Kariwano is a small town in the northwest of Daisen, on the JR Ou Line between Omagari and Akita. Once a year it splits into two camps: the upper town, Kami-machi or Futsuka-machi, and the lower town, Shimo-machi or Itsuka-machi. Two giant ropes, a male rope and a female rope, are brought out into the street and joined into one. Then thousands of people take hold and pull. The result is read as the year's omen. An upper-town win means rice prices will rise, and a lower-town win means a good harvest.

How to enjoy it

The day builds slowly, with taiko drumming first and then the paying-out and joining of the two ropes after dark. In 2026 the pull itself began at 21:00. The city asks spectators to stand at the edge of the road, clear of the rope crowd — or you can step in and take hold yourself.

Background & history

Tradition dates the tug-of-war to the Muromachi period, which makes it more than 500 years old. It began as an offering to Ichigami, the guardian god of the town's market. It is still run by the town itself, through the Kariwano Otsunahiki preservation society. The state designated it an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1984.

Before you go

Cash: Joining the pull is open to all, and the city's 2026 notice listed no fee for watching. No admission charge was listed for the rope hall beside the station either; visits there are by advance booking with the city.
Good to know: On the night the street is packed snow and very slippery, and the city asks spectators to watch from the roadside, away from the people on the rope. The rope hall beside the station is closed at weekends, on public holidays and over the New Year.
Another way: By car, Nishisenboku Smart IC on the Akita Expressway is about 10 minutes away. From Akita Station, take the JR Ou Line south toward Omagari and get off at Kariwano.
After you get off: The rope hall stands right beside Kariwano Station. For the pull, walk about 10 minutes from the station into the town centre to Omachi-dori.