UpcomingA mikoshi is a portable Shinto shrine believed to carry a deity through the streets. Here's what it means, why bearers shake it, and how it differs from a danjiri.
© Maarten Heerlien · CC BY 2.0
UpcomingSetsubun is Japan's bean-throwing festival, held around Feb 3. Here's what "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" means, where mamemaki comes from, and where to see it.
© KQuhen · CC BY-SA 4.0
UpcomingKyoto's verified picks for the weekend of July 4–6, 2026: a Korean-chat café, the now-cashless Gekkeikan sake museum — plus Gion Matsuri 2026's confirmed dates.
© Jean-Pierre Dalbéra · CC BY 2.0
UpcomingA yukata is an unlined cotton summer kimono — light, casual and made for festivals and fireworks. What to wear, the one rule you must not get wrong (left over right), how to put it on, what to bring, and where to rent one.
© H.Hmoderato · CC BY-SA 4.0
UpcomingThe streets at a Japanese festival are free — no ticket needed. The real skill is where to stand, when to arrive, and how not to get in the way. A first-timer's guide to getting there, crowds, rain, cash, toilets, food stalls and etiquette.
© MIKI Yoshihito · CC BY 2.0
UpcomingGujo Odori traces to the early Edo period, when the lord of Gujo-Hachiman gathered the villages' Bon dances into the castle town to foster harmony across the rigid class system. A clear explainer of why 'dancing beyond rank' has endured for 400 years.
© Marho · CC BY-SA 4.0
UpcomingGion Matsuri began in 869 as the Gion Goryo-e, a rite to drive out plague. Held by Yasaka Shrine (the former Gion shrine of Gozu Tenno), it has run for over 1,150 years. A short, clear explainer of why it endures.
© Corpse Reviver · CC BY 3.0
UpcomingTanabata — the wish-on-a-star festival — fills July and early August with paper streamers and bamboo. Here's the verified 2026 calendar: Hiratsuka's two-million-visitor weekend (Jul 3–5), Sendai's giant August display, and Tokyo's own celebrations.
© Nesnad · CC BY 3.0
UpcomingFrom Aomori's glowing Nebuta floats to Tokushima's all-night Awa Odori, here are the verified, dated summer 2026 festivals to build your July–August trip around — with exactly when and where each one happens.
© Fisherman · CC BY-SA 3.0
UpcomingFrom thundering armoured horse races in Fukushima to lord's processions and onsen fire, here's how to build a trip around Japan's most stirring historical festivals — most of them far north of the usual tourist trail.
© Hajime NAKANO · CC BY 2.0
UpcomingJapan loves ranking its festivals in threes — the three great fire festivals, the three great float festivals, and more. Here's what each trio means and how to plan a trip around the very best.
© Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0
UpcomingWhat a matsuri actually is, the main types (floats, dance, fire, lantern), how to read one — and a starter set of the very best to build a trip around.
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
UpcomingHokkaido is a year-round festival island — ice sculptures in February, dancing in June, and beer gardens all summer.
© Kinori · Public Domain
UpcomingTime your trip around the giants — Gion in Kyoto, Tenjin in Osaka, Nebuta in Aomori, and Awa Odori in Tokushima.
© Marufish from Alor Setar, Malaysia · CC BY-SA 2.0
OfficialOn nowA 1,300-year-old torchlit tradition: Gifu's Imperial cormorant masters work leashed birds on the Nagara River nightly, May 11-October 15, 2026.
2026/05/11 19:45 Across JapanShared sightseeing boat (2026 rates): ¥4,200 adults / ¥2,100 children on regular days; ¥5,100 adults / ¥2,600 children on peak dates. Watching for free from the riverbank is also possible.
© Douggers · Public DomainOfficialOn nowA Guinness-record wall of taiko drums thunders through Morioka as thousands of dancers chant 'Sakkora choiwayasse!'
2026/08/01 18:00 Across JapanFree
© Marho · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialOn nowHirosaki's own summer lantern parade (Aug 1–7, 2026) — fan-shaped floats and a calmer chant that set it apart from nearby Aomori Nebuta.
2026/08/01 19:00 Across JapanFree
© Rosino · CC BY-SA 2.0
OfficialOn nowHakodate Port Festival 2026 (Aug 1–5): free Hokkaido summer festival with opening-night bay fireworks on Aug 1 and the famous Ika Odori squid dance Aug 2–3. Dates, times, access.
2026/08/01 19:45 Across JapanFree
© Raita Futo · CC BY 2.0OfficialOn nowAomori Nebuta 2026 reserved viewing seats: ¥4,000 prices, the 2026 sale dates (lottery + Jun 27 first-come), how to buy, and access from Tokyo.
2026/08/02 19:00 Across JapanReserved viewing seat ¥4,000 (Aug 7 daytime + fireworks set ¥9,500); handling fee added
© Fisherman · CC BY-SA 3.0OfficialOn nowHow to buy paid grandstand seats at Japan's summer matsuri in 2026: lottery vs first-come, prices, the on-sale calendar and the official links.
2026/08/02 19:00Paid grandstand seats from ¥1,000 (varies by festival and tier)
© MIKI Yoshihito · CC BY 2.0OfficialOn nowGiant illuminated warrior floats are paraded through Aomori nightly as chanting dancers leap alongside in a blaze of color.
2026/08/02 19:00 Across JapanFree
© Fisherman · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialOn nowAkita's Kanto Matsuri lights up Kanto Odori with about 280 bamboo poles and 10,000 lanterns, balanced on foreheads, hips and palms like glowing rice sheaves.
2026/08/03 18:45 Across JapanFree
© 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialOn nowPerformers balance towering bamboo poles strung with dozens of glowing lanterns on their palms, foreheads and shoulders.
2026/08/03 18:50 Across JapanFree
© hildgrim · CC BY-SA 2.0
OfficialThis weekendSome 10,000 dancers twirl flower-adorned straw hats to the rhythmic cry of 'Yassho, makasho!' in one of Tohoku's biggest parades.
2026/08/05 18:00 Across JapanFree
© No machine-readable author provided. Crown of Lenten rose assumed (based on copy · Public domain
OfficialThis weekendSendai Tanabata Festival 2026 (Aug 6–8): the fixed dates, the giant paper streamers, the Aug 5 fireworks, 5-min access from Sendai Station, and what to see.
2026/08/06 10:00 Across JapanFree
© 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0OfficialThis weekendJapan's grandest star festival drapes Sendai's arcades in thousands of giant, handmade paper streamers.
2026/08/06 10:00 Across JapanFree
© Nesnad · CC BY 3.0
OfficialThis weekendAsagaya Tanabata Festival 2026 runs Aug 7–11, free, rain or shine. Tokyo's arcade tanabata is famous for giant handmade papier-mâché figures of the year's characters, right by JR Asagaya Station.
2026/08/07 10:00 TokyoFree
© Volfgang · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialThis weekendFukushima Waraji Matsuri 2026 (Aug 7–9) parades a 12m, 2-ton straw sandal past the station before offering it to Haguro Shrine.
2026/08/07 18:30 Across JapanFree
© m-sasaki · CC BY 4.0
OfficialThis weekendNiigata Matsuri 2026 runs Aug 7–9: a 15,000-dancer folk parade on the 7th, then a Shinano River fireworks finale on the 9th.
2026/08/07 19:00 Across JapanFree
© DAI-nk · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialThis weekendYosakoi Festival 2026 (Aug 9–12, Kochi): Otesuji grandstand seat prices, the 2026 sale dates (general sale opens Jun 29), how to buy, and how to get there.
2026/08/09 13:15 Across JapanPaid grandstand seats ¥1,000–¥3,000 per session (group/parasol tables ¥15,000–¥50,000)
© Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0OfficialThis weekendThe original yosakoi: 200+ teams and ~18,000 dancers with naruko clappers thunder through Kochi's streets across four August days.
2026/08/09 17:00 Across JapanFree to watch on the streets; paid reserved (shaded) seats sold for the main venues.
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingAwa Odori 2026 (Aug 12–15, Tokushima): grandstand seat prices, the 2026 on-sale dates, how to buy via Ticket Pia, and how to get there.
2026/08/12 18:00 Across JapanReserved grandstand ¥1,000 (C) – ¥3,000 (S); Minami-uchimachi SS ¥6,000 / Special ¥15,000
© Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingJapan's most famous dance festival: 100,000 dancers and a million spectators fill Tokushima with rhythm every August.
2026/08/12 18:00 Across JapanFree
© Rosino · CC BY-SA 2.0
OfficialUpcomingTottori's Guinness-record umbrella dance returns Aug 13–14, 2026 for its 62nd edition — free to watch along the city-center parade route.
2026/08/13 18:00 Across JapanFree
© KASEI · CC BY-SA 3.0OfficialUpcomingGujo Odori 2026's all-night Tetsuya Odori runs over Obon, Aug 13-16, from 8 pm to 4-5 am. The stage is the old castle town of Gujo-Hachiman in Gifu, about a 20-min walk from Gujo-Hachiman Station. Verified dates, venue and access for first-timers.
2026/08/13 20:00Free
© Marho · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingOne of Edo's three great festivals returns to its full triennial form in 2026, with 50+ mikoshi paraded as spectators drench bearers in purifying water.
2026/08/16 07:30 TokyoFree
© American Art Association; Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912 · No restrictions
OfficialUpcomingThousands of memorial lanterns drift down the Oi River below Arashiyama as the 'Torii-gata' bonfire of the Gozan Okuribi blazes on the hillside above.
2026/08/16 19:00 KyotoFree
© New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General · CC BY 4.0
OfficialUpcomingMasked dancers in black hikosa-zukin hoods and deep amigasa hats sway through torchlit streets at one of Japan's three great Bon Odori, 700+ years old.
2026/08/16 19:30 Across JapanFree
© 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingA thousand women dance through summer night with golden paper lanterns glowing on their heads — Kumamoto's most ethereal festival.
2026/08/16 20:00 Across JapanFree
© MIKI Yoshihito from Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan · CC BY 2.0
OfficialUpcomingTwenty towering yatai floats - hand-built from scratch every year and dressed as scenes from kabuki and legend - parade the streets of Shinjo each August 24-26. This 260-plus-year-old UNESCO-listed float festival reaches a milestone in 2026: its 270th staging.
2026/08/24 15:00 Across JapanFree
© Katsutoshi Misawa (克年 三沢) · CC BY 2.0
OfficialUpcomingTo mark the close of Mt. Fuji's climbing season, around seventy three-meter torches blaze along the streets of Fujiyoshida — counted among Japan's three most unusual festivals.
2026/08/26 15:00 Across JapanFree
© Sakaori (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingNagoya's huge late-summer dance festival fills the city center with hundreds of energetic teams in a riot of color and choreography.
2026/08/28 11:00 NagoyaFree
© Kyu3 · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingOkinawa's biggest eisa festival, where drum troupes from across the islands perform thunderous traditional dance under summer skies.
2026/08/28 15:00 OkinawaFree
© Tet · CC BY 4.0
OfficialUpcomingNoboribetsu's hot-spring Hell Festival returns Aug 29-30, 2026: a giant demon float, the 1-ton Oni Mikoshi, mass demon-dancing and fireworks -- free to attend.
2026/08/29 10:00 Across JapanFree
© Prosperosity · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingNara's energetic summer counterpoint — vivid street-dance teams parade past Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha and Sanjo-dori.
2026/08/29 11:00 NaraFree
© Degueulasse · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingTokyo's biggest samba parade fills Asakusa with feathered dancers and thundering bateria as competing teams vie for the championship along Umamichi Street.
2026/08/29 13:00 TokyoFree
© Frankie Fouganthin · CC BY-SA 4.0OfficialUpcomingTokyo's own Awa dance takes over Koenji's backstreets as 10,000-plus dancers in 'ren' troupes whirl through the summer night.
2026/08/29 17:00 TokyoFree
© Marufish from Alor Setar, Malaysia · CC BY-SA 2.0
OfficialUpcomingBy lantern light, faceless dancers in straw hats move with hushed grace to mournful kokyu strings through old Yatsuo's stone lanes.
2026/09/01 17:00 Across JapanFree
© さかおり · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingEvery September 7-9, the samurai town of Kakunodate fills with towering yama floats carrying warrior dolls by day; after dark comes the yamabuttsuke, when two floats that refuse to yield are rammed together in a thunderous, adrenaline-charged test of nerve.
2026/09/07 09:00 Across JapanFree
© 掬茶 (Kikucha) · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingFor seven nights, around 500 food and game stalls line Hakozakigu's approach as a million visitors mark autumn's arrival — Fukuoka's great harvest festival.
2026/09/12 10:00 FukuokaFree
© Wikimedia Commons · Public domainOfficialUpcomingTeams haul massive wooden festival floats at full sprint through Kishiwada's streets in one of Japan's most thrilling matsuri.
2026/09/19 06:00 OsakaFree
© Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingSome 600 people parade in full samurai costume through Aizuwakamatsu in a 'Lord's Procession' honouring the clan that made a famous last stand in Japan's last civil war.
2026/09/19 10:00 Across JapanFree
© Umako · Public domain
OfficialUpcomingChiba's biggest street festival draws up to 800,000 visitors -- and in 2026 it moves from its traditional late-July weekend to September 19-20 because of record summer heat.
2026/09/19 13:00 Across JapanFree
© ヒタチギ · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingKumamoto's biggest autumn festival runs Sept 20-21, 2026: about 60 decorated parade horses and a twice-daily armored procession fill the streets, free to watch.
2026/09/20 06:00 Across JapanFree
© そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingMatsue's castle and canals glow with lanterns every weekend from Sept 26-Oct 18, 2026, 18:00-21:00 -- a quiet, romantic alternative to Japan's big-city illuminations.
2026/09/26 18:00 Across JapanFree
© 663highland · CC BY 2.5
OfficialUpcomingAround 100 fishing boats escort three deities' mikoshi across the sea at this World Heritage shrine's grand autumn festival.
2026/10/01 09:00 FukuokaFree
© そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingSeven towering floats, each carrying 300+ glowing red lanterns, parade through Fukushima nights to the beat of taiko in one of Japan's three great lantern festivals.
2026/10/03 18:00 Across JapanFree
© Nihonmatsuri · CC BY 4.0
OfficialUpcomingA 380-year-old shrine festival blending Japanese, Chinese and Dutch flair — spinning dragon dances, whirling umbrella floats and roaring 'Motte-koi' chants.
2026/10/07 07:00 FukuokaFree
© Marine-Blue · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingFor three days every October 8-10, Ainu elders at Lake Akan hold sacred kamuinomi prayers, a torchlit lakeside parade, and a ceremonial send-off of the marimo algae balls into the water - a tradition dating to 1950 that protects the lake's famous round colonies, a Japanese Special Natural Monument since 1952.
2026/10/08 10:00 Across JapanFree
© 663highland · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingEleven gilded Edo-era floats parade through old Takayama by day, then glow with 100+ lanterns at dusk in one of Japan's three most beautiful festivals.
2026/10/09 09:00 NagoyaFree
© z tanuki · CC BY 3.0
OfficialUpcomingFourteen giant wooden floats, each topped by a towering doll of a legendary hero, are hauled through the canal-side 'Little Edo' streets of Sawara to lilting Sawara-bayashi music every autumn - October 9-11 in 2026 - in one of the Kanto region's three great float festivals, just a day-trip from Tokyo.
2026/10/09 10:00 Across JapanFree
© katorisi · CC BY 3.0
OfficialUpcomingKonpira-san's biggest festival (Oct 9-11, 2026): once a year the mountain deity 'comes down' -- a ~600-strong procession carries the mikoshi 2km through Kotohira by torchlight.
2026/10/09 16:00 Across JapanFree
© Kanchi1979 · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingNagoya's biggest autumn party crowns Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu in armor, leading a 600-strong procession from the station to Nagoya Castle.
2026/10/10 10:00 NagoyaFree
© Base64 · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingJoin thousands pulling the world's largest straw rope through Naha in this Guinness-record Okinawan autumn festival.
2026/10/11 11:00 OkinawaFree
© Okimoto · Public Domain
OfficialUpcomingTens of thousands grab a Guinness-record 200m rope and heave for 30 minutes in the middle of Naha's main road — Okinawa's most thunderous autumn spectacle.
2026/10/11 14:30 OkinawaFree
© Yuet Man Lee · CC BY-SA 4.0OfficialUpcomingThree portable shrines are violently crashed together as seven ornate floats clash in Japan's most famous 'fighting festival.'
2026/10/14 10:00 Across JapanFree
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0OfficialUpcomingFifty-four golden, 5.5-metre taiko-dai floats are hoisted by 150-strong crews in one of Shikoku's three great festivals.
2026/10/16 08:00 Across JapanFree
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingIn Tokyo's 'Little Edo', towering tiered floats with revolving dolls roll past kurazukuri warehouses and clash in 'Hikkawase' flute-and-drum face-offs.
2026/10/17 10:00 TokyoFree
© 三塚 · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingELLEGARDEN, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and Sambomaster headline a headland-side music festival on Miyako Island, Okinawa on October 17, 2026.
2026/10/17 11:00 OkinawaAdvance ¥9,000 / Door ¥10,000 (day-of sales only if not sold out) / Miyako Island resident student ticket ¥4,000 / children under elementary-school age free (up to 3 per guardian)
© Raita Futo · CC BY 2.0
OfficialUpcomingA 2-km parade of 2,000 people in meticulously accurate costumes marches through 1,000 years of Kyoto history, from Heian nobles to Meiji revolutionaries.
2026/10/22 12:00 KyotoFree
© Corpse Reviver · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingMen in loincloths haul flaming 80-kg torches through a mountain village after dark in one of Kyoto's wildest, most primal night festivals.
2026/10/22 18:00 KyotoFree
© ja:User:Si-take. · CC BY-SA 3.0OfficialUpcomingHakata Okunchi 2026 (Oct 23–24) is Kushida Shrine's free autumn festival in Fukuoka — a 1,200-year harvest rite, famous for the Oct 24 ox-cart procession. Dates, schedule, access.
2026/10/23 10:00 FukuokaFree
© そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0OfficialUpcomingOne of Japan's three great 'fighting' festivals, where teams ram a giant drum-float and mikoshi together to a thundering 'ton-ten-ton' beat.
2026/10/24 10:00 Across JapanFree
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingThree costumed demons roam the streets of hillside Onomichi, tapping children with sticks to bring them good health.
2026/11/01 09:00 HiroshimaFree
© Dariusz Jemielniak · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingThe Yaeyama Islands' biggest festival fills central Ishigaki with a citizens' parade, island music and a closing fireworks display over the harbour town.
2026/11/01 11:00 OkinawaFree
© Qiuqizhenghong · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingThe original Kagoshima Ohara Matsuri (Nov 2–3, 2026) fills Tenmonkan with 16,500+ dancers — not to be confused with Tokyo's May Shibuya version.
2026/11/02 18:50 Across JapanFree
© Sanjo · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingFourteen colossal lacquered floats — golden lions, samurai helmets and dragons up to 7 m tall — are dragged through town and onto a beach where they sink in sand.
2026/11/02 19:30 FukuokaFree
© Pekachu · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingOn November's rooster days, Asakusa's Otori Shrine fills with stalls selling glittering 'kumade' rakes meant to scoop up luck and fortune for the year ahead.
2026/11/07 10:00 TokyoFree
© Fuchu · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingEvery god in Japan is said to gather at Izumo Taisha for Kamiari-zuki (Nov 9-Dec 8, 2026) -- the one shrine where the 'godless month' becomes the 'month with gods'.
2026/11/18 19:00 Across JapanFree
© senngokujidai4434 · CC BY 2.0
OfficialUpcomingFrom nightly hour-long showings at Takachiho Shrine to the free two-day, all-33-dance Yokagura Matsuri and month-long hamlet sessions each winter, Takachiho Yokagura is one of Kyushu's most accessible sacred night rituals -- a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property since 1978.
2026/11/22 18:00 Across JapanFree
© David Stanley · CC BY 2.0
OfficialUpcomingChichibu Night Festival 2026 runs Dec 2 (Wed)–3 (Thu); the main night is Dec 3, when lantern-lit UNESCO floats are hauled up Dangozaka and winter fireworks fill the sky for about two hours. Free to attend; about 80 minutes from Ikebukuro — dates, venue and access below.
2026/12/02 14:00 TokyoFree
© Katorisi · CC BY 4.0
OfficialUpcomingSix lantern-lit floats are hauled up steep Dango-zaka as winter fireworks burst overhead — one of Japan's three great float festivals and a UNESCO heritage event.
2026/12/03 18:00 Across JapanFree
© Wikimedia Commons · Public domainOfficialUpcomingA 890-year-old festival whose daytime parade marches costumes from the Heian through Edo eras through central Nara.
2026/12/15 09:00 NaraFree
© Degueulasse · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingSome two million Osakans cross the arched Sorihashi bridge to greet the year at 'Sumiyossan,' head shrine of Japan's 2,300 Sumiyoshi shrines.
2026/12/31 22:00 OsakaFree
© Saigen Jiro · CC0
OfficialUpcomingKyoto's head Inari shrine welcomes some 2.5 million New Year worshippers who pray for prosperity beneath endless tunnels of vermilion torii.
2026/12/31 23:00 KyotoFree
© Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingRoughly three million people stream through the towering torii to pray at Tokyo's grandest shrine in the first three days of the year.
2026/12/31 23:00 TokyoFree
© Nightcrafter · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingAround a million people pack Osaka's Imamiya Ebisu Shrine over January 9-11 to pray to 'Ebessan', the god of business prosperity - collecting a lucky fukuzasa bamboo branch from kimono-clad 'fuku-musume' maidens to the chant 'come with your bamboo for a thriving business'.
2027/01/09 09:00 OsakaFree
© Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0OfficialUpcomingOne of Japan's three great fire festivals: villagers defend a giant wooden shrine with blazing torches as attackers try to set it alight in a wild snowbound battle.
2027/01/15 19:00 Across JapanFree
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0OfficialUpcomingIn a Daisetsuzan gorge, ice domes and towers fill a riverside field, lit nightly in shifting colors with weekend fireworks over the snow.
2027/01/23 13:00 Across JapanCooperation fee around ¥500 (junior-high+); free for younger children.
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingSculptors spray the clear blue waters of Lake Shikotsu onto frames to build towering turquoise ice domes and tunnels, glowing in jewel tones after dark.
2027/01/30 10:00 SapporoDonation around ¥500 (high-school age+); free for younger children.
© Inlet Masu · CC BY-SA 3.0OfficialUpcomingKyoto's most famous Setsubun rite, where a masked exorcist drives off blue, red and yellow demons in an ancient court ceremony, ringed by 800 food stalls.
2027/02/02 18:00 KyotoFree
© Jean-Pierre Dalbéra · CC BY 2.0OfficialUpcomingSumo wrestlers and celebrity 'lucky men' hurl tonnes of beans from Naritasan's great hall, where the chant is only 'fortune in' — no demons to expel.
2027/02/03 11:00 Across JapanFree
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingHokkaido's second-biggest snow fest pairs colossal stage-sized snow sculptures by the Ishikari River with an international ice-carving championship.
2027/02/05 09:00 SapporoFree
© 京浜にけ · CC BY 3.0OfficialUpcomingDemon-masked 'namahage' brandishing torches stampede down a snowy mountainside at Shinzan Shrine in a fierce, firelit Oga winter spectacle.
2027/02/12 18:00 Across JapanFree
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingHundreds of candlelit snow igloos glow across Yokote while children inside invite passersby in for sweet sake — plus 4,000 mini-kamakura lighting the riverbed.
2027/02/15 18:00 Across JapanFree
© Rarisan · CC0
OfficialUpcomingEvery February 17-20, dozens of Enburi troupes dance through Hachinohe in tall black eboshi hats to summon an early spring and good harvest - a roughly 800-year-old rite tracing to the Kamakura era, now a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
2027/02/17 07:00 Across JapanFree
© Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingThousands of loincloth-clad men pack a freezing temple hall at midnight, surging to seize two sacred shingi sticks flung into the throng — one of Japan's wildest rites.
2027/02/20 22:00 Across JapanFree
© Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainOfficialUpcomingJapan's hot-spring capital throws its biggest party of the year — a fire festival on Mount Ogi, free baths across the city and a mikoshi parade thanking the springs.
2027/04/01 11:00 Across JapanFree
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingKofu's streets fill with roughly 1,500 armour-clad marchers and around 30 horses re-enacting the Koshu army's departure for battle - a Guinness World Record 'largest gathering of people dressed as samurai,' held on the first weekend of April.
2027/04/02 12:00 Across JapanFree
© 江戸村のとくぞう (Edomura no Tokuzo) · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingThirteen three-tiered floats with karakuri puppets parade below Inuyama Castle, glowing with lanterns under the cherry blossoms.
2027/04/03 09:00 NagoyaFree
© Chris 73 · CC BY-SA 3.0OfficialUpcomingTwelve ornate Edo-era yatai floats with karakuri puppets parade through old Takayama, glowing with around 100 lanterns each at the night festival.
2027/04/14 09:00 NagoyaFree
© z tanuki · CC BY 3.0
OfficialUpcomingOn the night of April 19, hundreds of near-naked men carry a giant drum on a tall wooden tower through Hida-Furukawa while rival neighborhood teams charge in to plant their small drums against it - the wild Okoshi-daiko, heart of a UNESCO-listed festival that also parades nine ornate floats on the 20th.
2027/04/19 09:00 Across JapanFree
© teru · Public domain
OfficialUpcomingThree 12-metre, 20-ton wooden floats — among Japan's largest — are hauled through Nanao's narrow streets.
2027/05/03 09:00 KanazawaFree
© Jovandavid · Public DomainOfficialUpcomingGiant kites duel over the Nakatajima dunes by day; by night, illuminated palace-style floats and brass bands fill downtown Hamamatsu.
2027/05/03 10:00 Across JapanFree
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialUpcomingOne of Japan's biggest festivals: around 2 million people watch 750-plus troupes parade with shamoji clappers, flower floats and stage shows over May 3–4.
2027/05/03 10:00 FukuokaFree
© フェレス · CC BY-SA 2.1 jp
OfficialUpcomingOne of Japan's three great festivals returns in full force: mikoshi processions fill Kanda, Nihonbashi and Akihabara in this 2027 honmatsuri year.
2027/05/15 08:00 TokyoFree
© Jose Fernando from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY-SA 2.0
OfficialUpcomingA 1,400-year-old imperial procession of 500 people in Heian-era robes winds 8km through Kyoto, oxen and ox-carts adorned with hollyhock leaves.
2027/05/15 10:30 KyotoFree
© Marie-Sophie Mejan · CC BY 4.0
OfficialUpcomingNikko Toshogu's Spring Grand Festival returns May 17-18, 2027: yabusame archery and a 1,200-person samurai procession reenacting Ieyasu's journey to Nikko.
2027/05/17 09:00 TokyoFree
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OfficialUpcomingOne of Hokuriku's three great festivals: six towering 6-metre warrior floats crowned with giant musha-ningyo figures are hauled through old port-town streets.
2027/05/19 08:00 KanazawaFree
© Jonathan Mercieca · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingAsakusa's wildest weekend returns in 2027: roughly 100 mikoshi and two million visitors expected to pack the streets around Senso-ji and Asakusa Shrine.
2027/05/21 11:00 TokyoFree
© Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France · CC BY 2.0OfficialUpcomingHundreds of riders in full samurai armour thunder across Fukushima's coast for armoured horse races and a wild scramble to catch sacred flags shot into the sky.
2027/05/29 09:00 Across JapanThe main-day grounds (Hibarigahara) are ticketed for grandstand seating; street processions are free to watch. Exact 2027 dates (last weekend of May) confirmed in advance.
© Hajime NAKANO · CC BY 2.0
OfficialUpcomingKanazawa's grandest festival reenacts feudal lord Maeda Toshiie's triumphant entry into the castle, with a costumed warrior procession, tea ceremonies and lantern-lit dances.
2027/06/04 09:00 KanazawaFree
© Z3144228 · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingOsaka's Aizen Matsuri (fixed every Jun 30–Jul 2) just wrapped its 2026 run — here's what happened, and the reliable placeholder for 2027.
2027/06/30 10:00 OsakaFree
© Ogiyoshisan · Public domain
OfficialUpcomingFor five days every July 31-August 4, 27 towering, gold-leafed floats and three shrines' mikoshi processions fill Hachinohe's streets - a 300-year-old harvest-thanksgiving festival and UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage that draws over a million visitors.
2027/07/31 18:00 Across JapanFree
© 8-Forest · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialUpcomingHeld in full only in even-numbered years, Hie Shrine's grand procession sends a 500-strong parade of courtly costumes and portable shrines on a ten-hour route past the Imperial Palace and Ginza.
2028/06/08 07:30 TokyoFree
© Vetalapancavimsatika · CC BY-SA 4.0OfficialPast eventHokkaido's winter wonderland: giant snow and ice sculptures fill Odori Park, drawing over two million visitors each February.
2026/02/04 10:00 SapporoFree
© Kinori · Public Domain
OfficialPast eventMonks brandish giant flaming torches along Todaiji's Nigatsudo balcony each March, showering sparks over the crowd in a 1,200-year-old rite.
2026/03/12 19:00 NaraFree
© Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialPast eventOkinawa's Golden Week dragon-boat festival packs Naha's port with thundering paddle races, music stages and fireworks over the harbor.
2026/05/03 09:00 OkinawaFree
© Banzai Hiroaki · CC BY 2.0
OfficialPast eventA vibrant Golden Week celebration along Peace Boulevard, with flower parades, yosakoi dancing, music stages and a giant flower tower.
2026/05/03 09:30 HiroshimaFree
© Taisyo · CC BY 3.0
OfficialPast eventOne of Tokyo's three great festivals: hundreds of portable shrines parade through Akihabara and the old Edo districts.
2026/05/09 08:00 TokyoFree
© Jose Fernando from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY-SA 2.0
OfficialPast eventAsakusa's wildest weekend: nearly 100 portable shrines and two million people flood the streets around Senso-ji Temple.
2026/05/15 11:00 TokyoFree
© Torsodog · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialPast eventA grand samurai procession reenacts a feudal lord's entry into Kanazawa, complete with armor, geisha and lantern-lit floats.
2026/06/05 14:00 KanazawaFree
© Danko Georgiev · CC BY-SA 3.0OfficialPast eventHiroshima's beloved summer kickoff: locals don yukata and fill the downtown streets for three festive nights.
2026/06/05 16:00 HiroshimaFree
© Dariusz Jemielniak · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialPast eventSapporo erupts in color as thousands of dancers perform high-energy yosakoi routines through the streets each June.
2026/06/10 10:00 SapporoFree
© OKJaguar · CC BY-SA 4.0OfficialPast eventOne of the Kanto region's largest Tanabata festivals, where central Hiratsuka disappears beneath giant, gaudy bamboo streamers up to ten metres tall.
2026/07/03 10:00 Across JapanFree
© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialPast eventOver 30,000 golden lanterns light the approach to Yasukuni Shrine across four summer nights, with Aomori nebuta floats and bon-odori dancing.
2026/07/13 18:00 TokyoFree
© PattayaPatrol · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialPast eventTwelve fan-shaped portable shrines representing the gods meet a procession of giant 50-kilogram flaming torches before Japan's tallest waterfall — one of the country's three great fire festivals.
2026/07/14 10:00 Across JapanFree
© Internet Archive Book Images · No restrictions
OfficialPast eventFukuoka's adrenaline-fueled finale: teams race one-ton festival floats through the dawn streets of Hakata.
2026/07/15 04:59 FukuokaFree
© ちょちょじ · CC BY 3.0OfficialPast eventGion Matsuri 2026 runs all July at Kyoto's Yasaka Shrine. Saki Matsuri yoiyama is July 14-16 and the float parade is July 17 at 9:00; Ato Matsuri yoiyama is July 21-23 and the parade is July 24 at 9:30. Verified dates, times and access.
2026/07/17 09:00Free
© Corpse Reviver · CC BY 3.0OfficialPast eventKyoto's grandest festival fills July with towering wooden floats, lantern-lit evening parties, and 1,100 years of tradition.
2026/07/17 09:00 KyotoFree
© Corpse Reviver · CC BY 3.0
OfficialPast eventKokura Gion Daiko 2026 was held July 17-19 around Kokura Castle, Kitakyushu -- free entry, an estimated 300,000 visitors over the three days, 400 years of two-sided drumming. The 2027 dates are not yet announced.
2026/07/17 18:00 FukuokaFree
© Nissy-KITAQ · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialPast eventA summer seaside festival at Yamashita Park with parades, a lit-up boat procession and fireworks over Yokohama Bay.
2026/07/18 16:00 YokohamaFree
© Matthide127 · CC0
OfficialPast eventOtaru's biggest summer festival fills the port with the mass 'Shio Nerikomi' dance and a closing fireworks display.
2026/07/24 11:00 SapporoFree
© Qiuqizhenghong · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialPast eventSado Island's 140th Kozan Matsuri (Jul 25-26) pairs a gold-mine shrine ritual with a town-wide Okesa dance through Aikawa and fireworks over the harbor.
2026/07/25 10:00 Across JapanFree
© Hasui Kawase · Public domain
OfficialPast eventOsaka's thousand-year river festival ends with a flotilla of lantern-lit boats and fireworks reflected on the Okawa River.
2026/07/25 15:00 OsakaFree
© Mr.ちゅらさん · CC BY-SA 4.0OfficialPast eventOne of Japan's three great river festivals — lantern-laden 'makiwara' boats glide across the Tenno River by night.
2026/07/25 18:00 NagoyaFree
© Chris 73 · CC BY-SA 3.0
OfficialPast eventBy night, daytime banner floats transform into 'lantern pyramids' — 12 tiers of 309 glowing lanterns swaying as bearers race them through Kitakyushu.
2026/07/25 18:30 FukuokaFree
© Adbh266 · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialPast eventNagoya's quirky downtown district throws a lively summer festival with cosplay, world dance and a wet 'kara-okuri' parade.
2026/08/01 10:00 NagoyaFree
© Alan & Flora Botting · CC BY-SA 2.0OfficialPast eventKitakyushu's biggest summer festival sends massive 'Wasshoi' dance parades and mikoshi through Kokura, capped by fireworks.
2026/08/01 15:00 FukuokaFree
© そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialPast event21,000 fireworks over Lake Shinji across two nights (Aug 1-2, 2026) -- one of western Japan's biggest lake firework shows, with a drone show opening night one.
2026/08/01 20:00 Across JapanPaid reserved seating in 3 lakeside areas (Kohoku, Shirakata, Konan) went on sale June 6, 2026; free public viewing spots are also available around the lake.
© MaedaAkihiko · CC BY-SA 4.0
OfficialPast eventBilled as Japan's noisiest festival: dozens of lantern-lit festival cars thunder through Kuwana to a relentless din of drums and gongs deep into the night.
2026/08/02 18:30 NagoyaFree
© Kazehayashi · CC BY-SA 4.0