December has arrived, bringing the season when supermarkets fill with sweets in boot-shaped containers and holiday songs ring out across town.
One of the joys of Christmas is the Christmas tree, decorated with all kinds of ornaments. At Kurashiki Ivy Square, we found six Christmas trees, each with its own distinct style.
The Kurashiki Ivy Square will host the Kurashiki Christmas Market (Kurashiki Christmas Market), which drew around 20,000 visitors last year (2024) and was a huge success. It will be held again in 2025.
Here’s a closer look at what to expect from Kurashiki Christmas Market 2025, which will have longer opening hours and a larger event space than in previous years.
The information provided was current when this article was published in December 2025. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is Kurashiki Christmas Market 2025?
At Kurashiki Christmas Market 2025, shops from across Okayama Prefecture will offer food, flowers, and miscellaneous goods with a Christmas theme. Workshops are also planned.
In previous years, the event was held on Friday and Saturday, but in 2025 the dates have changed to Saturday and Sunday, so both days fall on the weekend. The event will also start at 11 a.m., significantly extending its hours.
| Dates | Saturday, December 13 and Sunday, December 14, 2025 Held rain or shine |
| Hours | Saturday, December 13: 11 a.m.–9 p.m. (Last order: 8:30 p.m.) Sunday, December 14: 11 a.m.–7 p.m. (Last order: 6:30 p.m.) |
| Venue | Kurashiki Ivy Square *Courtyard Plaza, Ivy Gakkan, West Gate area, Aibi Red Brick Hall, and in front of Aibi Kobo |
| Admission | Free |
Participating vendors
The number of participating vendors remains unchanged from 2024 at 57, but the breakdown has changed.
Food vendors were prominent at the first Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023, but the number of shops selling goods and offering workshops has grown year by year. In 2025, 16 vendors will hold workshops.
In addition, Aibi Red Brick Hall, which hosted only food vendors in 2024, will also have food and workshop vendors. Food vendors will line the West Gate area as well, so if you enter Kurashiki Ivy Square from the Bikan Historical Area, the delicious aromas may tempt you so much that you have trouble making it to the courtyard.
Check the map below, find the shops you want to visit, and then head to the venue.
Mobile networks at the venue are expected to be congested on the day.
We recommend downloading the map or taking a screenshot before heading to the venue.
Looking forward to high school and university students’ contributions
One major change from previous years is that local high school students will bring the stage events to life.
- Kurashiki High School
Wind ensemble performance - Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Seiryo High School
Wind ensemble performance and dance - Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Commercial High School
Calligraphy performance
The high school students’ stage performances will be featured at the opening on the first day, and are scheduled to take place several times over the two days.
Local high school and university students will also be involved in food and goods sales and workshops.
- Okayama University of Science
・Food vendor 12: SORA - Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Commercial High School
・Food vendor 35: Kurashiki Commercial High School Café Tsumugu
・Goods & workshops: Kurashiki Commercial High School Kurasho Tsumugu Project
Okayama University of Science will serve sake developed in collaboration with a local brewery, as well as fruit liqueurs made with local fruit.
At its food booth, Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Commercial High School will sell lemon squash made with edible bamboo charcoal, denim cookies, Kurashiki madeleines, and more—products developed with local businesses.
At the goods and workshop booth, visitors can make small items using tatami edging and Sanada-himo cord made in Kurashiki, and purchase small goods.
Both are noteworthy initiatives that make use of local businesses and Kurashiki’s traditional craftsmanship.
In addition, student volunteers will help direct visitors and clean the venue.
Until 2024, the event was run solely by the Kurashiki Christmas Market Organizing Committee, but it seems to be gradually becoming an event created together with local residents as it continues.
SURVEY CAMPAIGN
Until 2024, a campaign offered discount vouchers or products usable at participating vendors through a drawing among Instagram posts using a designated hashtag. There will be no such campaign in 2025.
A new “For visitors only! Survey Campaign” will be held. Among those who respond to the survey on the official website, a drawing will be held to award discount vouchers or products usable at participating vendors.
There are more than 100 prizes, so many people will have a chance to win. The response period runs until Thursday, January 15, 2026, so there’s plenty of time—be sure to take part.
Christmas-themed venue decorations
As in 2024, a 5-meter-tall Christmas tree decorated by Okayama-born decorator Seiko Nose Nose has appeared in Courtyard Plaza.
Last year’s decorations featured red as the main theme, but in 2025, gold decorations have been added alongside red.
The nearly 80-centimeter top star was also handmade by Ms. Nose.
In addition to Courtyard Plaza, Christmas trees decorated by Ms. Nose can be found at the following spots:
- In front of the front desk
- In front of Restaurant Tsuta (two trees)
- Aibi Red Brick Hall
- Next to the street piano
These trees will be on display from Sunday, November 9 to Thursday, December 25, 2025, so if you’d like to take your time photographing them, we recommend visiting outside the event period.
It also sounds fun to explore the venue, seeking out each of the many Christmas trees, from classically decorated to pop-style.
Interview with a Kurashiki Christmas Market 2025 organizer
We spoke with Aoki Noa of the Kurashiki Christmas Market Organizing Committee about the background to the planning and highlights of Kurashiki Christmas Market 2025.
Could you tell us the purpose behind holding Kurashiki Christmas Market?
Aoki (surname only)
Before this event began, there were no major events in the Bikan Historical Area that could be considered a winter tradition.
We wanted people to discover a new side of Kurashiki, so we started Kurashiki Christmas Market as a winter event at Kurashiki Ivy Square, close to the Bikan Historical Area, Kurashiki’s top tourist destination.
Our desire to further develop Kurashiki is also reflected in our focus on inviting workshop artists and food vendors who are active in Okayama, including Kurashiki.
We have held the event as a place where many visitors and vendors can gather and enjoy themselves, and 2025 marks its third year.
I heard that around 20,000 people visited last year (2024). I was surprised to see people everywhere.
Aoki
Last year, the event was held on Friday and Saturday, and on Saturday there were so many people that the line stretched toward the Bikan Historical Area even before opening.
We’re happy that so many people come, but there is a limit to the venue’s capacity. So, in 2025, we changed the dates to Saturday and Sunday, as many customers had requested, so that even more visitors can enjoy the event safely.
We’ve also changed the opening time from the evening to the morning to help spread out the times when people visit.
There are lots of workshops that children will enjoy, so we hope families will make the most of them during the daylight hours.
The food booths will also offer plenty of Christmas-themed alcoholic drinks, such as mulled wine. Adults, be sure to enjoy a daytime drink, too.
The number of workshop vendors has been increasing year by year.
Aoki
That’s right.
Last year, the workshops were extremely popular.
Many vendors focus on exhibiting at events like this rather than having a permanent shop, and the chance to make original goods unique to Christmas is another big draw. Many people took the opportunity to join a workshop.
Many workshops are open to children, so you might think families are the main target audience. What stood out to me, though, was seeing people of all ages, from young to old, taking part in the workshops side by side.
This event is held before Christmas Day, so you can enjoy the items you make at a workshop at home for a while. I hope you’ll give one of the workshops a try.
Could you also tell us how you recommend enjoying the event, Aoki?
Aoki
This year, we open at 11 a.m., so I hope you’ll arrive early and take your time enjoying the venue. There’s a wide range of food and drink stalls, from hearty meals to sweets and drinks, so try putting together a menu that suits your tastes.
Personally, I also find the Christmas tree during the day especially charming, and I hope you’ll take the time to enjoy it. The illuminations sparkling beneath the night sky are lovely, but my favorite is the way the Christmas ornaments reflect the sunlight during the day.
The glass ornaments and the pretty red-and-gold Christmas baubles both have such lovely, sparkling colors.
There will also be stage performances and stalls by local high school and university students in 2025.
Aoki
Until last year, most of our visitors were families and adults, so this year I hope students will feel welcome to come along too. We’re looking forward to welcoming people of a wider range of ages, including friends and their parents, as high school and university students of the same generation perform and run stalls.
Students from junior high school through university are also expected to volunteer on the day. Until last year, the organizing committee handled things like collecting trash and directing visitors, but we decided to ask for volunteers in anticipation of even more visitors.
We hope to keep improving how we run the event each year so that it becomes an event open to the community and continues as a regular winter event in Kurashiki.
Is there anything visitors should prepare in advance?
Aoki
There are many vendors and the stalls are spread across the venue, so we recommend checking the map on the official website and making a note of the shops you want to visit. However, the network may become unstable due to crowds on the day. For peace of mind, download the map or take a screenshot in advance.
Similarly, there may be times when online and credit card payments don’t go smoothly, so please also make sure to bring cash.
Also, the parking lot at Kurashiki Ivy Square is reserved primarily for hotel guests and banquet customers. The municipal parking lots were almost full last year, too, so we ask that you use public transportation when visiting.
Do you have a message for our readers?
Aoki
The venue features 57 shops and can be enjoyed from daytime into the evening. Please take your time and enjoy it as if you were spending the whole day here.
We look forward to seeing you.
From the Writer
I’m one of the people who has looked forward to the Kurashiki Christmas Market every year since its first event in 2023.
The number of shops and event spaces has grown year by year, along with visitor numbers. It already feels as though the market is becoming a regular event that will bring life to Kurashiki’s winters for years to come.
I think one reason people gather is that Kurashiki has few events to brighten up the winter. But the excellent combination of Kurashiki Ivy Square’s European-style architecture and Christmas decorations also makes it possible to spend time in a world apart from everyday life, which is part of the appeal.
This year, some areas will be left open without stalls, so why not enjoy the Christmas atmosphere by taking photos and admiring the scenery, as well as enjoying the food and workshops?
Articles about the Kurashiki Christmas Market
Kurashiki Christmas Market 2025 Information
| Name | Kurashiki Christmas Market 2025 |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, December 13, 2025 11:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. (last order at 8:30 p.m.) Sunday, December 14 11:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. (last order at 6:30 p.m.) |
| Location | 7-2 Honmachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Admission (tax included) | Free admission |
| Website | Kurashiki Ivy Square |
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