Iiyama Station Festival — Train Fest with Shin-etsu Shizenkyo
For one day, the station becomes the festival
On most days, JR Iiyama Station（JR飯山駅）is simply where you wait for a train. On Saturday, September 19, it becomes something else: a place where you learn the work of a station attendant from the inside, walk down a street closed to cars, and stand next to a fire engine. From 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM, the station and the streets around it host the Iiyama Station Festival — Rail Fest with Shinetsu Shizenkyo（いいやま駅まつり～鉄フェス with 信越自然郷～）.
The festival marks the 150th anniversary of Nagano Prefecture and the Shinshu Pre-Destination Campaign. An E353 “Mini Azusa” is coming along too.
Arrive by rail — either the JR Iiyama Line or the Hokuriku Shinkansen — and mention it at the ticket gate to receive a small gift. It is a station festival, after all; the train is the way to get there.
Iiyama Station Explorer Team (paid, registration closes September 13)
“You’re a station attendant too!” A hands-on program where you learn what station staff do and how they keep the railway safe. This is a paid event and requires advance registration.
Registration deadline: Sunday, September 13, 2026
Details and registration form (Japanese)
Iiyama Station Word Rally
Use the map on the back of the flyer, fill the letters into the boxes and complete the word to claim a prize.
Prize pickup: Tourist Information Center, 1F of Iiyama Station (9:00 AM – 5:00 PM)
*Please bring your own pen or pencil.
Car-free street and Iiyama CRAFT STATION
The street in front of the station closes to traffic and becomes a pedestrian paradise, with Iiyama CRAFT STATION set up along it — hands-on activities and shops, right in the middle of the road.
The PARKS. market runs alongside it, with vendors gathered in the station square.
Shinetsu Shizenkyo Traditional Craft Experiences (10:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
Try your hand at crafts passed down in this region. *A participation fee applies.
- Iiyama Buddhist altar craft — wood carving, metal chasing and maki-e lacquer
- Nakano clay doll painting
- Sugagawa bamboo craft — toys and baskets
- Indigo dyeing
- Live demonstration of Sakae Village tsugura basket making
*The bamboo basket workshop requires advance booking.
Working Vehicles +
Fire engines, police cars and Self-Defense Force vehicles are coming to the station.
Local schools join in
Iiyama High School — Calligraphy Club / Brass Band Club / Light Music Club
*The calligraphy club is competing at the national Calligraphy Performance Koshien.
Johoku Elementary School — Fife and Drum Band
Sister city on the Hokuriku Shinkansen
Toyama City, connected to Iiyama by the Hokuriku Shinkansen, is coming with a tourism booth and masu-zushi — trout sushi pressed in a round wooden box.
Also on the day
- Introduction to the work of the railway control room
- Mock railroad crossing with emergency button experience
- Rail Star track inspection vehicle on display
- Railway antiques, ekiben station bento and railway goods for sale
- Children’s coloring exhibit from communities along the Iiyama Line
- Oykot Marché
- Mobile Library — at the Ii-Yama Picture Book Marché (canceled in rain)
- Train toy display
- “Let’s Play in the Forest!” craft workshop
- Help desk for Ekinet, Mobile Suica and JRE POINT
*Some attractions may be canceled depending on transportation conditions on the day.
Event Details
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Time: 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Venue: JR Iiyama Station and the surrounding area（JR飯山駅）, 772-6 Iiyama, Iiyama City, Nagano 389-2253
Admission: Free *The Station Explorer Team is a paid event, and the traditional craft experiences charge a participation fee.
Parking and Notes
*If you are coming by car, please use the city parking lot at the Madarao Exit（斑尾口）of Iiyama Station — free for the first hour.
*The 30-minute free lot at the Chikumagawa Exit（千曲川口）is closed for the day.
*Please do not park without permission at nearby stores or other facilities.
Contact
Iiyama Station Festival Executive Committee（いいやま駅まつり実行委員会）
772-6 Iiyama, Iiyama City, Nagano 389-2253 TEL 0269-62-7000 (Japanese only)
Organized by Shinshu Iiyama Tourism Bureau / Supported by the Shinetsu 9 Municipalities Wide-Area Tourism Cooperation Council
