Furano Belly Button Festival

I’m going to tell you about a festival where 4,000 people paint giant faces on their bare bellies and dance through the streets of Furano. And no, I’m not making this up. The Hokkai Heso Matsuri — literally the Hokkaido Belly Button Festival — is one of the weirdest, funniest, most genuinely joyful events in all of Japan.

If you’re in Furano in late July, you absolutely cannot miss this.

What Is the Belly Button Festival?

The official name is Hokkai Heso Matsuri (北海へそ祭り). “Heso” means belly button or navel in Japanese. The concept is simple: Furano sits at the exact geographic center of Hokkaido. The center of something is its belly button. Therefore, Furano is the belly button of Hokkaido.

That’s literally the logic. And in 1969, the people of Furano decided the only reasonable response was to start a festival where everyone paints faces on their stomachs and dances.

The festival is also the annual celebration of Hokushin Shrine (sometimes called “Heso Shrine”), which gives the whole thing a semi-religious backdrop that makes the belly painting feel even more surreal.

When and Where Does It Happen?

The festival runs every year on July 28-29, both days. The main venue is Shin-aioi Shopping Street in central Furano — a temporary pedestrian zone that gets completely taken over by dancers, food stalls, and spectators.

The big event — the Hokkai Belly Button Dance Competition — runs from 7:00pm to 8:00pm both nights. But things get going well before that. Food stalls open in the afternoon, and you’ll see people getting their bellies painted starting around 5:00pm.

July 28-29 also happens to be right in the middle of peak lavender season. So you can spend the morning at Farm Tomita staring at purple fields, then spend the evening watching thousands of painted bellies bounce down the street. That’s a full day.

The Belly Dance Competition

Here’s how it works. Participants lift their shirts, and a large cartoon face (called a “zubara”) gets painted on their stomach and chest. The belly button becomes the mouth of the face. Sometimes the nose. Sometimes… something else entirely. The painters are skilled and creative — each face is different, and some of them are genuinely impressive works of body art.

Then they put on a small hat and costume elements so it looks like a little person with a giant face is waddling down the street. Four thousand dancers participate across both days. They form teams — some from local businesses, some from community groups, some from families who’ve been doing this for decades — and dance through the shopping street to music, bouncing and jiggling their painted bellies at the crowd.

The dance itself is simple: a call-and-response routine with a catchy song that gets stuck in your head for days. Teams compete for prizes based on creativity, energy, and crowd reaction. Some teams go all out with matching costumes and choreography. Others are just a bunch of friends with beer guts and big smiles. Both approaches work.

It’s absurd. It’s hilarious. And after a few minutes of watching, you’ll want to join in.

Can You Actually Participate?

Yes. This is the best part. Each day, they accept up to 100 “jump-in” participants — people who show up on the day and decide they want in. The participation fee is 2,000 yen, which includes the belly painting, costume elements, and a spot in the dance line.

You don’t need to speak Japanese. You don’t need to know the dance. You just need a belly and a willingness to look ridiculous in front of a few thousand strangers. Multi-lingual flyers and pamphlets are available at the registration point.

If you’re at all on the fence: do it. The photos alone are worth 2,000 yen, and the experience of dancing through the streets of a Japanese town with a painted face on your stomach is not something you’ll replicate anywhere else on earth.

The Food Situation

“Belly button gourmet” is the official term. The festival food stalls serve belly-button-themed takes on local Furano food — curry, yakisoba, grilled meats, and more. The theming is mostly in the presentation (round things, belly-button shapes), and the quality is typical Japanese festival food, which means it’s actually pretty good.

Furano has excellent local produce — melon, corn, cheese, wine — and the food stalls take advantage of that. Don’t leave without trying the Furano curry. It’s a local specialty that shows up on menus across the valley, and the festival version is solid.

There’s also beer. Lots of beer. A belly button dance competition really benefits from a couple of beers beforehand.

The Hahako-do (Umbilical Cord Hall)

This is the part that gets genuinely interesting from a cultural perspective. Next to Hokushin Shrine, there’s a building called Hahako-do that collects and preserves umbilical cords from children all across Japan. Parents send their child’s dried umbilical cord to be kept safe at the shrine.

It’s a tradition rooted in the belief that the belly button connects a child to their mother, and Furano’s position as the “belly button of Hokkaido” makes it the symbolic guardian of that connection. In Japan, keeping the dried umbilical cord is a widespread custom — many families store it in a small wooden box at home. Sending it to Hahako-do is an extension of that tradition.

The building is open during the festival, and you can look around. Whether you find it moving or just strange depends on you, but it adds a layer of cultural depth to what otherwise feels like a pure comedy event. The contrast between the reverent shrine atmosphere and the belly-painted chaos outside is part of what makes this festival so uniquely Japanese.

Practical Tips for Visiting

• Get there early. The dance starts at 7pm but the best viewing spots along the shopping street fill up by 6:00-6:30pm. Stake your spot or bring something to stand on.
• Bring a camera with a fast lens. Evening light, moving subjects, painted bellies — you’ll want good low-light performance. Phone cameras struggle here.
• Book accommodation well in advance. This is peak season for Furano — lavender + festival means hotels fill up weeks ahead. Don’t wait.
• Jump-in registration has a limit. Only 100 per day. If you want to dance, get to the registration area early in the afternoon.
• It’s a two-day festival. If you can only make one night, go on the 28th — it tends to be slightly less packed than the 29th.
• Wear something you don’t mind getting paint on. If you join the dance, the paint gets everywhere. Even as a spectator, you might get bumped by a painted belly in the crowd.
• Weather is usually warm. Late July in Furano means daytime highs around 25-28C. Evenings are pleasant, maybe 18-20C. Bring a light layer for after the sun goes down.
• ATMs and convenience stores. There’s a Lawson and a 7-Eleven near the shopping street. Festival stalls are cash-only, so hit an ATM before things start.

Other Furano Festivals Worth Knowing About

The Belly Button Festival gets all the attention (understandably), but Furano has events throughout the year.

Furano Wine Festival (Fall): Wine tasting from the local Furano Winery paired with food from area restaurants. Much smaller than the Heso Matsuri but a good time if you’re visiting in September-October.

Furano Ski Festival (Winter): Events and celebrations tied to the ski season at Furano Ski Resort. Think fireworks over snow, night skiing events, and food stalls at the base area.

Furano Kan Kan Mura (Winter Village): A seasonal winter event with snow activities, illuminations, and food. Usually runs December through February. More of a local community event than a tourist draw, but charming if you happen to be there.

Getting to the Festival

The festival venue on Shin-aioi Shopping Street is in central Furano, walkable from JR Furano Station in about 10 minutes. If you’re staying in the Furano area, you likely won’t need a car to reach the venue. Parking near the shopping street is extremely limited on festival nights, so walking or taking a taxi is the better move.

If you’re coming from Sapporo as a day trip, the last train back is around 8:30pm, which cuts it tight with the dance competition running until 8pm. Consider staying overnight in Furano instead — you’ll enjoy the festival more without watching the clock.

For more on Furano transport options, see our getting around guide.

Why This Festival Is Worth Planning Your Trip Around

Japan has thousands of festivals. Most involve portable shrines, taiko drums, and yukata. They’re beautiful and meaningful, but after your third or fourth matsuri, they start to blur together.

The Heso Matsuri is nothing like that. It’s one of a kind. The combination of the painted belly faces, the enthusiastic crowd, the food, the beer, and the sheer silliness of the whole concept makes it one of the most memorable experiences you can have in Hokkaido. I’ve been to famous festivals in Kyoto and Tokyo that had less energy than this small-town belly dance competition.

And the timing is perfect. Late July means the lavender is at peak bloom, the weather is warm (Furano summers top out around 25-28C, never oppressive), and the whole Furano valley is at its most beautiful. If you’re planning a Hokkaido trip and have any flexibility on dates, aim for July 28-29. You won’t regret it.