How to Enjoy Tsuruoka’s Nanokamachi Kannon Hall Toshiyā Daruma Market: A Complete Walkthrough Guide — Food Stalls & Choosing Your Daruma

1. Arrive at the venue — first, find the entrance.

Nanokamachi Kannon Hall (Nanokamachi Kannon-dō) is a relatively small temple located right in the middle of town.

On the day, the area gets busy with pedestrians, so if you’re driving, it’s safest to park nearby and walk the last part.
I recommend the parking lots at Tsuruoka City Hall or Shōgin Tact Tsuruoka. They’re free, and there’s no time limit.

2. Pray first — pay your respects to Kannon before anything else.

Temple prayer (sanpai) is, in simple terms, “greeting with your hands together.” Rather than worrying about doing every detail perfectly, it’s enough to bow quietly and pray in a way that feels respectful and calm.

And here, you can also try your luck with a kuji (fukubiki / lottery).
It’s a special one-day-only thing—if you win, you get a “Fuku-daruma” (good-luck daruma).
It’s best to draw the kuji before you buy a daruma.

3. Head to the daruma stalls — first, pick the type and size.

Even if daruma (Daruma doll) look similar at first glance, the meaning can shift depending on the color, shape, and size.
If it’s your first time, knowing this makes choosing one much easier.

Meaning of the Colors: the first thing to know

▪️赤（あか / red）
いちばん定番で、縁起（えんぎ / good luck）や商売繁盛など「迷ったら赤」でOKな色です。そもそも赤は、病避け・厄除けになるとされている色です。医療が発達していなかった時代、平均寿命が短かった時代は、赤色が大変好まれました。

▪️白（しろ / white）
合格祈願（ごうかくきがん / wish for passing an exam）のだるまだそうです。由来はわかりません。

形の違い ころんと起きるか たおれにくいか
▪️起き上がるだるま（起き上がりだるま / okiagari-daruma）
倒れても起き上がる形で、「七転び八起き（ななころびやおき / fall seven times, stand up eight）」の象徴。
あきらめない、いつか叶える、何度でもやり直す。そういう願いと相性がいいタイプです。

▪️起き上がらない（たおれにくい）だるま
こちらは文字通り、倒れにくい形。
意味としては「失敗したくない」「落としたくない」「守りたい」という願いに寄せられます。
受験、試合、勝負事など、ここ一番で結果を出したい人に選ばれやすいタイプです。

How to think about size: starting small is a perfectly good choice
Daruma come in a range of sizes.
If it’s your first time, choosing a smaller one that’s easy to carry home is absolutely valid.

There’s also a custom of “welcoming a slightly larger daruma than last year each time a wish comes true.”
Start small, and as your wishes are fulfilled, go one size up—step by step.
That gradual build-up is part of what makes daruma special.

4. Tips for choosing a daruma: if you like the face, that’s the right one

Each daruma’s expression is different.
They aren’t mass-printed—craftspeople paint them by hand, one brushstroke at a time.
That’s why choosing based on “I just like this face” is actually a very correct way to pick.
With lucky charms (engimono), the whole point is that they lift your mood. Truly.

5. When to paint in the eyes: the basic rule is—start with just one eye.

Daruma are sold with blank eyes (menashi daruma / blank-eyed daruma).
So after you buy one, you paint in the eyes yourself.

Typically, you paint in one eye on the day you make your wish, then fill in the other eye once it comes true.
That “one eye → both eyes” progression feels like the wish growing—and it’s a big part of the daruma’s charm.

6. Food stalls last: street food is most fun on the way out.

If you take care of the prayer and daruma first, you can fully switch into “now we just eat” mode—perfect.
For a very Tsuruoka-in-winter yatai experience, you can’t skip tama-konnyaku (ball-shaped konjac).
That steam and aroma are powerful allies for cold hands.

There aren’t tons of stalls, but you’ll find classics like yakisoba, okonomiyaki, karaage, fries, ōbanyaki, and chocolate bananas.
Still, the best picks are the local specialties.
Kirizanshō (kirisansho), loved as a year-end “good-luck bite,” is a must, and I also recommend freshly grilled kintsuba (anko balls).