The festival is held along a straight, 800-meter section of San'o Odori Road, a 20-min. walk from Akita Station.

In the evening, the main event starts at 6:38 p.m. with a taiko drum-beating performance or minyo dancers on San'o Odori Road. At 7:17 p.m., some 200 kanto are carried into the street to the sound of flutes and taiko drums. At 7:40 p.m. following a brief address by the city's mayor, the performance begins as the kanto are raised all at once.