Kanda Matsuri 2027
One of Japan's three great festivals returns in full force: mikoshi processions fill Kanda, Nihonbashi and Akihabara in this 2027 honmatsuri year.
When · Where
- When
- 2027/05/14 23:00 – 2027/05/16
- Where
- Kanda Myojin Shrine & surrounding districts（2-16-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0021）
- City
- Tokyo
- Getting there
- 5-minute walk from JR Ochanomizu Station (Chuo/Sobu Line, Hijiribashi exit); about 7 minutes from Akihabara Station (Denki-gai exit)
- Price
- Free
- Organizer
- Kanda Myojin Shrine (神田明神)
Good to know for visitors
- Getting there
- 5-minute walk from JR Ochanomizu Station (Chuo/Sobu Line, Hijiribashi exit); about 7 minutes from Akihabara Station (Denki-gai exit) 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, groups of friends, anime fans
Highlights
- The Shinkosai grand procession -- the sacred palanquin and float parade winding through Kanda, Nihonbashi, Otemachi/Marunouchi and Akihabara
- Mikoshi Miyairi: roughly 100-200 neighborhood mikoshi carried into Kanda Myojin one after another to be blessed
- Held in full scale only in odd-numbered years -- 2027 is a honmatsuri year, not the scaled-down 'kage matsuri'
Background & story
Dating to the early Edo period, Kanda Matsuri began as a celebration of Tokugawa Ieyasu's victory at Sekigahara and Kanda Myojin's role as guardian shrine of the shogunate; as one of Edo's two 'tenka matsuri' once granted access to Edo Castle, it remains a symbol of old downtown Tokyo, staged in full only in odd-numbered years.
Good to know
Official 2027 dates hadn't been announced by Kanda Myojin Shrine as of July 2026 -- only that the honmatsuri falls in odd-numbered years -- so this page uses the shrine's usual mid-May weekend pattern (Saturday Shinkosai, Sunday Mikoshi Miyairi) as a working estimate; confirm on the shrine's site closer to the date. Kanda Myojin is also a pilgrimage stop for IT workers (its 'IT Johou Anzen Shugo' computer-protection charm) and for anime fans, since it appears as a location in Love Live!.