Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival 2026
One of the Kanto region's largest Tanabata festivals, where central Hiratsuka disappears beneath giant, gaudy bamboo streamers up to ten metres tall.
When · Where
- When
- 2026/07/03 01:00 – 2026/07/05
- Where
- Shopping streets at the north exit of JR Hiratsuka Station（Central Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa）
- City
- Across Japan
- Getting there
- Right outside the north exit of JR Hiratsuka Station (Tokaido Line).
- Price
- Free
- Organizer
- Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival Committee
Good to know for visitors
- Getting there
- Right outside the north exit of JR Hiratsuka Station (Tokaido Line). Open directions in Google Maps ↗
- Booking & entry
- Free to attend — details on the official page (button above).
- Language
- Mostly in Japanese — a translation app on your phone helps.
- Good for
- culture seekers, families, food lovers
Highlights
- Hundreds of huge handmade bamboo decorations, lit up at night
- Topical character and current-events streamers
- Hundreds of festival food stalls lining the arcades
Background & story
Started in 1951 to revive the post-war shopping district, it grew into one of Japan's three great Tanabata festivals, famed for the sheer scale of its decorations.
Good to know
Go after dark on the first two nights when the streamers are illuminated; weekends get extremely crowded.