Shurijo Castle Revival Festival

The Shurijo Castle Revival Festival is one of Naha’s biggest and most important events, celebrating the legacy of the Kingdom of the Ryukyus.

What happens?

The 2026 festival runs from Sunday, November 1 to Tuesday, November 3 (a national holiday), with a free pre-event concert on Saturday, October 31. It’s a special year: Shuri Castle’s main hall (Seiden), destroyed by fire in 2019, is being completed this fall, so expect an extra-celebratory mood.

The festival’s centerpiece is the Ryukyu Kingdom Scroll Procession on Sunday, November 1, when about 700 people in costume — from the king and queen to the Chinese emperor’s envoys and Ryukyuan performing arts groups — parade down Kokusai Street from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

People line Kokusai Dori early to get a good spot to watch the parade as it passes by. This festival is a great opportunity for visitors to see and experience the full grandeur and elegance of traditional Ryukyu culture.

On Monday, November 2, the Ryukyu king and queen appear in brilliant court attire in front of Houshinmon Gate at Shurijo Castle Park, at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and noon. Across all three days, there are also free music, dance, and traditional performing arts stages in the park.

On Tuesday, November 3, the focus returns to Shurijo Castle with the Ancient Rite Line, a reenactment of the Ryukyu King’s yearly procession to the three temples near Shurijo Castle to pray for peace and good harvests. It sets off inside the park (from Houshinmon Gate to Shureimon Gate) at 12:45 p.m., then continues along Ryutan Dori from 1:50 p.m. to 4 p.m. This year, the king and queen wear Ryukyuan costumes that were lost in the 2019 fire and have since been re-created. It is very striking to see the beautiful Ryukyu traditional dress with the backdrop of Shuri Castle.

Good to know

The processions, the king and queen’s appearance, and the stage shows are all free to watch. A few extras, like ringing the Bankoku Shinryo Bell (4:30 to 5:30 p.m. each day, first 100 people) and special reconstruction tours (advance booking by phone), need a ticket to the castle’s paid area. Roads around Kokusai Street (November 1) and Shuri (November 3) are closed to traffic for the processions, so take the monorail, a bus, or a taxi.

Shuri Castle’s rebuilt main hall (Seiden) opens to the public on Monday, November 23, 2026 — three weeks after the festival. Seeing the inside of the hall requires a timed ticket booked online, and the castle’s admission fee rises to ¥1,000 for adults from that day. Our Shuri Castle guide has the full details on tickets, booking dates, and opening hours.

Background

Before Okinawa became part of Japan in the late 19th century, it was the independent Kingdom of the Ryukyus, a seafaring state that traded with China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Its capital was Shuri, and the castle there served as the seat of kings for centuries.