STAR FESTIVAL 2027
A two-stage open-air house/techno/bass festival with camping in the Kyoto countryside (next edition dates TBA).
The Japan Event Desk
À la une
BASE kanazawa
A basement DJ club in Kanazawa's Katamachi district, with weekly DJs across house, techno and EDM.
M8 Fukuoka
An international bar on Tenjin's Oyafuko-dori that turns into a DJ floor for house, techno, EDM and hip-hop.
epica OKINAWA
Naha's large resort-style dance club (since 2015) with a full lighting and sound rig, running house, EDM and hip-hop.
Precious Hall
A Sapporo underground institution (25+ years) renowned for one of Japan's finest sound systems — deep house and techno.
CLUB MAGO
An established underground club in Nagoya's Shinsakae district, focused on house and techno with local and international DJs.
KITSUNE KYOTO
Kyoto's largest club — a two-floor Kiyamachi venue running EDM/house/techno upstairs and hip-hop on another floor.
OWL OSAKA
A big, mainstream Umeda club (since 2012) with one of Japan's largest LED screens, leaning EDM and hip-hop.
Compufunk Records
A record shop, label and tiny dancefloor in Kitahama devoted to underground techno, house and electro.
Club JOULE
An iconic Amerikamura club since 1999 — multiple floors and a rooftop running techno, house and trance.
Aoyama Tunnel
A compact basement club (since 2011) beside the Aoyama tunnel, where DJs mix vinyl and USB across house and techno.
DJ Bar Oath
A small, long-running Dogenzaka DJ bar (since 2005) for minimal techno and house, with weekends that run to 8am.
Circus Tokyo
A ~300-capacity Shibuya club (since 2015) focused on underground house, techno, bass and drum & bass.
solfa (Nakameguro)
Nakameguro's intimate basement club since 2008 — a sound-focused little room for house, techno and beat-driven nights.
Aoyama Hachi
A characterful multi-floor venue near Aoyama-dori, running since 1996, with an underground party feel across three floors.
VENT Tokyo
An Omotesando basement built around a custom Void sound system, where international house and techno DJs play long, immersive sets.
Ajisai Season 2026: Where to See Japan's Hydrangeas Right Now (Late June)
Right now, in late June, Japan's hydrangeas (ajisai) are at their peak — blue temple gardens in Kamakura, a 10,000-flower mountain railway in Hakone, and Kyoto's hillside of bloom. Here's where to catch them before the rains end the season.
Tanabata 2026: Japan's Star Festival, Where & When to See the Streamers
Tanabata — 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.
Mt. Fuji 2026: The Climbing Season Opens — New ¥4,000 Fee & Booking Rules
Fuji's 2026 climbing window opens July 1 (Yoshida & Subashiri) and July 10 (Fujinomiya, Gotemba & the summit). This year every trail charges a ¥4,000 entry fee and requires advance online registration — here's exactly how it works.
J.League Football Match
Catch Japan's top-flight football — choreographed ultras, family-friendly stands and clubs in nearly every city.
Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2027 (Suzuka)
F1 returns to legendary Suzuka — the figure-eight circuit drivers and fans rate among the greatest in the world.
Yomiuri Giants Baseball at Tokyo Dome
Japan's most famous baseball club under the dome — easy, all-weather pro baseball in the heart of Tokyo.
Hanshin Tigers Baseball at Koshien Stadium
Japan's most passionate baseball crowd — join tens of thousands of Tigers fans for a jet-balloon night at historic Koshien.
Sanrio Puroland 35th Anniversary
Hello Kitty's indoor theme park celebrates 35 years with ribbon-themed decor and 'The Quest of Wonders' — its first all-new main parade in a decade — running all the way through the end of 2026.
Disney Christmas 2026 at Tokyo Disney Resort
Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea transform into glittering winter wonderlands for Disney Christmas — festive parades, nighttime sparkle and holiday-exclusive shows, food and merchandise at both parks.
Disney Halloween 2026 at Tokyo Disney Resort
Both Tokyo Disney parks go spooky-cute for Disney Halloween, with the Villains' 'Into the Frenzy' parade at Disneyland, the Day-of-the-Dead 'Lazos de la Familia' at DisneySea, and full-costume days for guests.
Tokyo DisneySea 25th Anniversary 'Sparkling Jubilee'
The world's only ocean-themed Disney park turns 25 with a year-long 'Sparkling Jubilee' — a new harbor show, the 'Dance the Globe!' production and 'Jubilee Blue' decor across all eight ports.
ONE PIECE Premier Summer 2026 (Universal Studios Japan)
The legendary 'ONE PIECE' takeover returns to USJ for the park's 25th-anniversary summer with the live Premier Show, Sanji's Pirate Restaurant and a special story ride, running into mid-November.
Universal Studios Japan 25th Anniversary 'Discover U!!!'
USJ celebrates 25 years with a year-long 'Discover U!!!' festival — a new anniversary parade, classic film cars on display and special entertainment running from spring 2026 into March 2027.
Universal Cool Japan 2026 (Universal Studios Japan)
USJ's anime-and-game mega-event marks its 10th anniversary with five blockbuster Japanese titles, including the park debut of 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' running into January 2027.
Nara International Film Festival 2026
A biennial festival in the ancient capital, founded under Cannes-winning director Naomi Kawase, championing first- and second-time filmmakers across screenings set among Nara's temples and parks.
Tokyo International Film Festival 2026 (39th TIFF)
Asia's premier competitive film festival returns for its 39th edition, taking over the Hibiya–Yurakucho–Ginza district with world premieres, red carpets and onstage Q&As with directors and stars.
Osaka Cooking Class: Okonomiyaki, Ramen & Street Food
Cook Osaka's soul food — okonomiyaki, takoyaki and ramen — with an English-speaking chef in 'Japan's kitchen', then sit down and feast on what you made.
Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum & Tasting, Fushimi
Tour a historic 1909 sake brewery in Kyoto's Fushimi district, see the old tools of the trade, taste the pure underground water, and finish with a sake tasting — all for ¥600.
Pottery Wheel Experience at Shunzan Gama
Throw your own bowl or cup on an electric potter's wheel with a third-generation Kyoto ceramicist near Sennyu-ji; your fired piece is shipped to you afterward.
Samurai & Ninja Museum Kyoto with Experience
Dress in samurai armor, try sword training and throw shuriken on an English guided tour through Japan's warrior history in the heart of downtown Kyoto.
Authentic Ninja Training at Ninja Dojo Kyoto
Train like a real ninja with a licensed Japanese master — sword, dagger, shuriken and blowgun techniques in a downtown tatami dojo, taught hands-on in English.
Japanese Calligraphy (Shodo) Experience in Kyoto
Learn to hold the brush, control the ink and write kanji the traditional way in a 90-minute English-led shodo class — and take your finished artwork home as a keepsake.
Private Zen Meditation with a Monk in Tokyo
Sit zazen with the head monk inside a 400-year-old temple usually closed to the public, just minutes from Roppongi — a calm, English-guided introduction to Zen with tea and sweets.
Taiko Drumming Lesson at Taiko Center Aoyama
Feel the thunder of Japanese wadaiko drums in an English-led lesson — learn the rhythms and stances, then perform together wearing a happi coat, no experience needed.
Wagashi Sweets-Making & Tea Ceremony in Asakusa
Sculpt your own seasonal nerikiri wagashi by hand, then enjoy it with freshly whisked matcha in a kimono — a gentle, English-guided sweets-and-tea workshop near Senso-ji.
Samurai & Ninja Museum Tokyo with Experience
Suit up in samurai armor, learn the basics of swordsmanship, and throw real ninja shuriken on a guided English tour through Japan's warrior history in Asakusa.
Sushi-Making Class in Asakusa
Roll and shape your own nigiri and maki under a professional English-speaking instructor, then sit down and eat everything you made — a hands-on intro to sushi steps from Senso-ji.
Kimono & Yukata Rental at REN Asakusa
Pick from hundreds of kimono, get dressed by friendly staff, and stroll Senso-ji and the old streets of Asakusa in full traditional style — booking and support in English.
Kimono Tea Ceremony at MAIKOYA Asakusa
An English-speaking host walks you through a real matcha tea ceremony — whisking, etiquette and wagashi sweets — in a serene tatami tea room near Senso-ji, with optional kimono rental.
DRUM TAO at the Open-Air Theatre TAO-no-Oka
World-touring taiko troupe DRUM TAO performs a 45-minute show at its own open-air theatre, perched at 1,036m in the grasslands of Aso-Kuju National Park. Thunderous drumming, athletic choreography and sweeping highland views.
Rakugo at Shinjuku Suehirotei
A rare surviving wooden yose from the early 20th century, Suehirotei keeps the intimate atmosphere of old Tokyo. Daily rakugo and variety acts in tatami-and-cushion seating, a one-minute walk from busy Shinjuku-Sanchome.
Rakugo & Variety at Asakusa Engei Hall
In the heart of old-town Asakusa, this beloved yose performs 365 days a year — rakugo storytelling plus manzai, magic, acrobatics and impressions. Drop in any day for an authentic dose of downtown Tokyo entertainment.
Rakugo at Suzumoto Engeijo, Ueno
Tokyo's oldest yose (variety hall), founded in 1857, runs daily programs of rakugo comic storytelling alongside manzai, magic, paper-cutting and acrobatics. A relaxed, ever-changing slice of Edo-era popular entertainment.
Gion Corner — Seven Traditional Arts in One Evening
A 50-minute sampler of Kyoto's traditional performing arts in one sitting: maiko kyomai dance, bunraku puppet theatre, kyogen comedy, court bugaku dance, tea ceremony, ikebana and koto. The easiest, most tourist-friendly intro to Japanese arts.
Gion Odori — Autumn Geisha Dance of Gion Higashi
Kyoto's only autumn geisha dance, staged by the geiko and maiko of the Gion Higashi district. Ten days of elegant kyomai dance under lanterns, accompanied by live shamisen and song — a refined seasonal highlight of Kyoto.
Regular Noh Performance: Kyogen 'Oni-no-mamako' & Noh 'Morihisa'
At Tokyo's National Noh Theatre, watch the 650-year-old art of noh and its comic counterpart kyogen, including a piece performed by celebrated kyogen master Nomura Mansai. English subtitles appear on screens built into the seatbacks.
September Kabuki 'LUPIN III' at the Minamiza Theatre
Japan's oldest kabuki theatre in Kyoto stages a modern crossover, fusing the world of kabuki with the famous anime master-thief Lupin III. A playful, fast-paced gateway into the art form, with English audio guides available.
July Grand Kabuki at the Kabukiza Theatre
Kabuki's flagship Ginza theatre stages its July all-star run, headlined by a spectacular 13-role quick-change tour de force and a 43-year revival packed with aerial stunts and a real-water finale. English captioning is available.
Caribbean Latin America Street Ueno 2026
The Ueno Park edition of the free Caribbean-Latin street fair — Latin food, mojitos, salsa and reggae beside the fountain plaza in one of Tokyo's most famous parks.
Caribbean Latin America Street Yoyogi 2026
Tacos, jerk chicken and mojitos meet salsa and reggae rhythms — a free, sun-soaked open-air fair celebrating Caribbean and Latin American culture along Yoyogi Park's avenue.
Belgian Beer Weekend Shinjuku 2026
An indoor winter edition of Belgian Beer Weekend in Shinjuku's airy Sankaku Hiroba — 60-plus Belgian beers, cheese-and-chocolate pairings and embassy chef dinners, warm and comfortable.
Belgian Beer Weekend Kyoto 2026
UNESCO-listed Belgian beer culture lands in front of Kyoto's Higashi-Honganji temple — dozens of imported brews, frites, waffles and live music in an open-air city festival.
Vietnam Festa in Kanagawa 2026
Yokohama's bayfront streets go Vietnamese — pho and banh mi, ao dai shows and water-puppet theater spread across Nihon-odori, the prefectural offices and Zou-no-hana Park.
Nepal Festival 2026
Three seaside days of Nepal in Tokyo's Odaiba — momo and dal bhat, Himalayan crafts, folk dance and music against the bay, free to all.
Earth Garden Summer 2026 (Yoru-ichi Night Market)
The summer edition of Earth Garden turns Yoyogi Park into a festive evening night-market — lanterns, world music, beer and global street food after dark.
Earth Garden Autumn 2026
A laid-back eco-minded community fair in Yoyogi Park — organic food, world music, crafts and a mellow forest atmosphere that draws Tokyo's international and creative crowd.
Fiesta de España 2026
Japan's biggest Spanish festival brings giant paella pans, flamenco, sevillanas contests and Iberian wine to Yoyogi Park for two passionate autumn days.
Namaste India 2026
Japan's largest Indian festival fills Yoyogi Park with curry stalls, chai, sari shops, Bollywood dance and classical music — a two-day plunge into India in the heart of Tokyo.
Sanno Matsuri (Hie Shrine) 2028
Held 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.
Yoshida Fire Festival (Yoshida no Himatsuri) 2026
To 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.
Nachi Fire Festival (Nachi no Ogi Matsuri) 2026
Twelve 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.
Grand Sumo May Tournament (Natsu Basho) 2027
The summer tournament returns to the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo for fifteen days of top-division sumo in early summer.
Grand Sumo March Tournament (Haru Basho) 2027
Sumo's spring tournament fills the EDION Arena in central Osaka for fifteen days, the only honbasho held in the Kansai region each year.
Grand Sumo September Tournament (Aki Basho) 2026
The autumn tournament at the iconic Ryogoku Kokugikan — sumo's spiritual home — closes out the Tokyo basho calendar with fifteen days of high-stakes bouts.
Grand Sumo July Tournament (Nagoya Basho) 2026
Sumo's summer tournament moves into Nagoya's brand-new IG Arena for the first time — fifteen days of top-division bouts in a gleaming 17,000-seat venue.
Pet Haku 2026 Osaka
One of Japan's largest all-round pet festivals fills Intex Osaka with animals, hands-on corners and pet-friendly fun.
Aquarium Bus 49 (Tokyo) 2026
One of Japan's biggest tropical-fish and aquatic-life markets fills an Asakusa hall with around 200 specialist booths.
AnimeJapan 2027 (Osaka)
The world's largest anime expo leaves Tokyo for the first time and brings its public days to Intex Osaka.
Japan Reptiles Show in Tokyo (BIG Autumn Rep) 2026
Japan's biggest reptile and exotic-animal expo packs Tokyo Big Sight with geckos, snakes, frogs and the breeders who love them.
HandMade In Japan Fes 2026 (Summer)
Japan's largest handmade-craft festival, where about 3,000 creators sell jewelry, ceramics, leather, art and food over one weekend.
Inter BEE 2026
Japan's largest media, broadcast and pro-AV technology show—cameras, audio, lighting, XR and content tech under one roof.
Game Market 2026 Autumn
Japan's biggest analog-game fair, where thousands of indie board, card and tabletop creators sell and demo their games over one weekend.
Art Fair Tokyo 2027
Japan's leading art fair, spanning antiques to cutting-edge contemporary across 150-plus galleries in the heart of Marunouchi.
CEATEC 2026
Japan's premier tech expo, where AI, robotics, mobility and IoT from hundreds of companies and startups go hands-on under one roof.
Tokyo Auto Salon 2027
Japan's wildest custom-car show, where 300,000 fans crowd in for tuned machines, concept builds and motorsport glamour.
Autumn Foliage 2026: When & Where to Plan Japan's Koyo Season
Japan's koyo (autumn-leaf) season peaks late November into early December across the famous spots. Here's a verified 2026 planning guide — from Nikko's early colours to Kyoto's late-November blaze — plus the autumn festivals to pair with it.
Obon 2026: Dates, Crowds & the Festivals Worth Bracing the Rush For
Obon — Japan's mid-August season of honouring ancestors — is when the whole country travels at once. Here are the 2026 dates, what gets crowded, and the lantern-floating and bon-dance festivals that make the rush worth it.
Japan's Fireworks (Hanabi) Season 2026: The Dated Calendar
Japanese summer means hanabi — tens of thousands of shells over rivers and lakes from late July through August. Here's a verified, dated 2026 calendar from Tokyo's Sumida River to the master-pyrotechnician competitions of Omagari.
Japan in 2026: New Departure Tax, Two-Tier Pricing & Smarter Timing
From July 1, 2026 Japan triples its departure tax to ¥3,000 and rolls out more tourist-vs-local pricing, even as arrival numbers cool from their record peak. Here's what's changing and how to time a trip around the crowds.
Summer 2026 Festival Highlights: The Matsuri Worth Planning a Trip Around
From 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.
Samurai on Horseback: Tohoku & Beyond's Great History Festivals
From 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.
Japan's 'Three Great' Festival Trios: Fire, Floats & Where to See Them
Japan 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.
Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival 2027
One 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.
Chichibu Night Festival 2026
One of Japan's three great float festivals: six lantern-lit floats are hauled up a steep hill in the December cold while winter fireworks burst overhead.
Aizu Festival 2026
Some 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.
Soma Nomaoi 2027
Hundreds 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.
Earth Day Tokyo 2027
Tokyo's biggest environmental festival fills Yoyogi Park with eco-food stalls, live music and 300+ booths — zero-waste, English-friendly and free to wander.
Beppu Hatto Onsen Festival 2027
Japan'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.
A Traveler's Guide to Events in Kyoto: What's On, Season by Season
Kyoto rewards timing. Here's the city's year — spring dances and hanami, summer's great Gion and Daimonji, autumn fire and foliage, New Year temple bells — and how to plan around it.
Inbound Guide: How to Attend a Japanese Event (Tickets, Access, Cash & Etiquette)
The practical playbook for visitors — buying tickets, getting there by train, when you still need cash, the etiquette that matters, and how much English to expect.
First-Timer's Guide to Japanese Matsuri: What to Expect & the Best Ones
What 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.
Cherry Blossom 2027: When & Where to See Them (A Planning Guide)
Sakura sweeps north over six weeks. Here's how to time 2027 by region — plus plum blossoms for early birds and the etiquette that keeps hanami magical.
Beyond Tokyo: Japan's Great Regional Festivals
From an ox-cart procession in Hakata to giant floats in Nanao and demon-tapping in Onomichi, these are the regional matsuri worth crossing the country for.
BitSummit 2027 (Indie Game Expo)
Japan's largest indie game festival fills Kyoto's Miyako Messe with playable booths from developers worldwide.
Comitia 157 (2026)
Japan's largest fair for original self-published manga fills Tokyo Big Sight with thousands of independent creators.
Festival Brasil & Latino Tokyo 2026
Yoyogi Park fills with samba parades, capoeira and churrasco at Tokyo's biggest Brazilian and Latin festival.
Shinjuku Eisa Festival 2026
Japan's largest urban eisa festival fills the streets around Shinjuku Station with Okinawan drum-and-dance troupes.
Inuyama Festival 2027
Thirteen three-tiered floats with karakuri puppets parade below Inuyama Castle, glowing with lanterns under the cherry blossoms.
Owari Tsushima Tenno Festival 2026
One of Japan's three great river festivals — lantern-laden 'makiwara' boats glide across the Tenno River by night.
Toyota Oiden Festival 2026
One of the Tokai region's biggest fireworks shows, famous for music-synced 'melody fireworks' and hand-held tezutsu pyrotechnics.
Hakodate Port Festival 2026
Hakodate's port festival opens with fireworks over the bay and fills the streets with the lively 'Ika Odori' squid dance.
Otaru Ushio Festival 2026
Otaru's biggest summer festival fills the port with the mass 'Shio Nerikomi' dance and a closing fireworks display.
Hokkaido Marathon 2026
Japan's only major summer full marathon starts and finishes at Odori Park, using stretches of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic route.
Minato Mirai Festival Fireworks 2026
A rapid-fire summer fireworks night lights up Minato Mirai 21 over Rinko Park and the Yokohama waterfront.
Yokohama Marathon 2026
Yokohama's flagship full marathon starts at Landmark Tower and is the only domestic race that runs on the Bay Expressway.
Seihakusai Dekayama Festival 2027 (Nanao)
Three 12-metre, 20-ton wooden floats — among Japan's largest — are hauled through Nanao's narrow streets.
Hokkoku Fireworks Kanazawa 2026
Kanazawa's flagship summer fireworks send 12,000-plus shells over the Saigawa River in the heart of the city.
Kanazawa Jazz Street 2026
Hokuriku's biggest jazz event turns central Kanazawa into 200-plus free street performances across some 20 venues.
Nara Basara Festival 2026
Nara's energetic summer counterpoint — vivid street-dance teams parade past Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha and Sanjo-dori.
Kasuga Wakamiya On-Matsuri 2026
A 890-year-old festival whose daytime parade marches costumes from the Heian through Edo eras through central Nara.
Todaiji Great Buddha Lantern Service 2026
On Obon night, around 2,500 lanterns glow before Nara's Great Buddha and the hall's window opens so his face gazes out.
Onomichi Betcha Festival 2026
Three costumed demons roam the streets of hillside Onomichi, tapping children with sticks to bring them good health.
Saijo Sake Festival 2026
One of Japan's three great sake towns throws open its breweries, with a tasting plaza pouring 1,000-plus sakes from across the country.
Wasshoi Hyakuman Summer Festival 2026 (Kitakyushu)
Kitakyushu's biggest summer festival sends massive 'Wasshoi' dance parades and mikoshi through Kokura, capped by fireworks.
Munakata Taisha Autumn Festival — Miare-sai 2026
Around 100 fishing boats escort three deities' mikoshi across the sea at this World Heritage shrine's grand autumn festival.
Hakata Okunchi 2026 (Kushida Shrine Autumn Festival)
Hakata's 1,200-year-old harvest thanksgiving, with an ox-drawn carriage and children in court dress parading from Kushida Shrine.
Ryukyu Kaiensai Fireworks Festival 2027
One of Japan's earliest big fireworks of the year — around 10,000 shells choreographed to live music over the East China Sea off Ginowan.
Ishigaki Island Festival 2026
The Yaeyama Islands' biggest festival fills central Ishigaki with a citizens' parade, island music and a closing fireworks display over the harbour town.
Japan's Great Summer Fireworks 2026: Where & When
From Tokyo's riverbanks to the world's biggest shell in rural Niigata, here are the hanabi worth planning a whole evening — or trip — around in 2026.
Tokyo German Village Winter Illumination 2026–2027
One of the Kanto region's largest illuminations blankets a hillside German-themed park in millions of lights, best seen from its observation wheel.
Nagoya Women's Marathon 2027
The world's largest women-only marathon, where every finisher is handed a Baccarat crystal tumbler by a tuxedoed attendant at the Nagoya Dome.
Osaka Marathon 2027
Tens of thousands of runners wind through Osaka's landmarks to a triumphant finish inside Osaka Castle Park in the city's flagship road race.
KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festival 2027
Each spring, world-class photography takes over Kyoto's temples, machiya townhouses and modern museums in one of Asia's most beautifully staged art festivals.
Tokyo Comic Con 2026
The Japanese edition of the global pop-culture convention brings Hollywood guests, movie props and elaborate cosplay to Makuhari Messe.
Design Festa Vol.64
Asia's largest open-submission art fair fills Tokyo Big Sight with thousands of jury-free booths from independent creators of every conceivable medium.
Craft Sake Week at Roppongi Hills 2027
Founded by footballer Hidetoshi Nakata, this open-air festival pours around 130 regional breweries' sake in the heart of Roppongi each spring.
Meguro Sanma Festival 2026
A quirky Tokyo street festival born from a comic rakugo tale, where charcoal-grilled Pacific saury is served with sudachi citrus to long, happy queues.
Kanda Curry Grand Prix 2026
Tokyo's curry capital crowns its champion as twenty finalist shops face off and visitors vote for the best plate in Kanda.
Oktoberfest 2026 in Shiba Park (Autumn)
Japan's Munich-recognised Oktoberfest brings genuine German breweries, Bavarian food and oompah bands to Shiba Park beneath Tokyo Tower.
Naritasan Setsubun-e 2027
Sumo 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.
Yoshida Shrine Setsubun Festival 2027
Kyoto'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.
Imari Tonten-ton Festival 2026
One of Japan's three great 'fighting' festivals, where teams ram a giant drum-float and mikoshi together to a thundering 'ton-ten-ton' beat.
Asagaya Tanabata Festival 2026
A Tokyo arcade strung with giant handmade papier-mache figures of pop characters and topical themes, one of the city's most beloved summer street festivals.
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.
Itabashi Fireworks Festival 2026
A 700-metre 'Grand Niagara' cascade and Tokyo's largest shells light up the Arakawa, fired in tandem with Toda City across the water.
Edogawa Fireworks Festival 2026
A 1,000-shell opening burst in five seconds sets the tone for one of Tokyo's biggest riverside fireworks shows over the Edogawa.
Jingu Gaien Fireworks Festival 2026
Ten thousand fireworks burst over central Tokyo synced to a live concert lineup, a rare downtown display you can pair with a stadium seat.
Lake Suwa Fireworks Festival 2026
Around 40,000 fireworks erupt over Lake Suwa, their booms echoing off the surrounding mountains in one of central Japan's most spectacular summer displays.
Katakai Festival Fireworks 2026
The birthplace of the giant 'sanshakudama', this Niigata shrine festival fires the world's largest fireworks shell — a four-shaku, 800kg behemoth.
Tsuchiura All-Japan Fireworks Competition 2026
One of Japan's three great fireworks competitions, where rival pyrotechnicians fire 20,000 shells over the Sakuragawa river to be crowned the nation's best.
Sapporo Engineer Base
Hokkaido's broad, cross-stack engineering community runs hybrid meetups to help Sapporo's developers gather, grow and connect.
GDG Nagoya
Nagoya's Google Developer Group gathers Tokai-region engineers for talks on Google tech, AI, Android and the web.
JAWS-UG Osaka
One of Japan's longest-running AWS user groups, with Osaka deep-dive talks, hands-on sessions and certification prep.
GDG Kyoto
Kyoto's Google Developer Group runs monthly study sessions and hackathons on Android, Flutter, AI/ML and Cloud.
Ramen EXPO 2026 (Expo '70 Park)
Western Japan's largest ramen event brings ~60 shops nationwide to Expo '70 Park across rotating sessions, with a co-located Gyoza EXPO.
Nagoya Christmas Market 2026
A giant live fir tree and German cuisine light up Hisaya-odori Park in central Sakae for Nagoya's signature European winter market.
Tokyo Christmas Market in Jingu Gaien 2026
A towering German Christmas pyramid presides over ~150 wooden huts of mulled wine, sausages and crafts at Meiji Jingu Gaien.
Sapporo White Illumination 2026
Japan's oldest city illumination wraps Odori Park and the station-front street in lights from late November through the deep Hokkaido winter.
Midosuji Illumination 2026
Osaka's grand boulevard glows for winter as kilometres of ginkgo trees light up from Umeda to Namba in a record-setting display.
Nada no Kenka Matsuri 2026 (Fighting Festival)
Three portable shrines are violently crashed together as seven ornate floats clash in Japan's most famous 'fighting festival.'
Niihama Taiko Festival 2026
Fifty-four golden, 5.5-metre taiko-dai floats are hoisted by 150-strong crews in one of Shikoku's three great festivals.
Hamamatsu Matsuri 2027 (Kite Festival)
Giant kites duel over the Nakatajima dunes by day; by night, illuminated palace-style floats and brass bands fill downtown Hamamatsu.
Sapporo Lilac Festival 2027
Some 400 lilac trees burst into bloom in Odori Park, with a lilac wine garden and outdoor music marking the start of the northern spring.
Nagasaki Lantern Festival 2027
Around 15,000 glowing lanterns fill Nagasaki for the Lunar New Year, with dragon dances, acrobatics and mask-changing across the city.
Yosakoi Matsuri 2026 (Kochi)
The original yosakoi: 200+ teams and ~18,000 dancers with naruko clappers thunder through Kochi's streets across four August days.
Music Town Otoichiba
A public live-house complex and the cultural heart of Koza, Okinawa City's storied music district, hosting local and touring acts.
Penny Lane 24
Sapporo's iconic ~500-capacity rock live house, host to legendary domestic and international acts since 1990.
DIAMOND HALL
One of Nagoya's largest live houses near Shinsakaemachi, a ~1,000-capacity floor that regularly hosts rock and band tours.
NAGOYA CLUB QUATTRO
A premier mid-size live house atop Nagoya PARCO in Sakae, part of the nationwide CLUB QUATTRO chain hosting rock, pop and indie tours.
Kieth Flack
A long-running two-floor club and live house in Tenjin's Oyafuko-dori, spanning new sounds to classics with a heavy local-event calendar.
BEAT STATION
A pro-grade ~400-capacity live house in central Fukuoka's Yakuin district, hosting domestic and international touring artists.
CLUB METRO
Kyoto's most respected basement live house and nightclub, running an all-genre program from techno and house to live bands since 1990.
Huis Ten Bosch Kingdom of Light Illumination
Japan's largest illumination floods a European-style canal town with millions of lights every night of the year across this Nagasaki resort.
Hojoya Festival at Hakozakigu Shrine
For 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.
Tobata Gion Oyamagasa
By night, daytime banner floats transform into 'lantern pyramids' — 12 tiers of 309 glowing lanterns swaying as bearers race them through Kitakyushu.
Yamaga Lantern Festival (Yamaga Toro Matsuri)
A thousand women dance through summer night with golden paper lanterns glowing on their heads — Kumamoto's most ethereal festival.
Arashiyama Toro Nagashi (Lantern Floating)
Thousands of memorial lanterns drift down the Oi River below Arashiyama as the 'Torii-gata' bonfire of the Gozan Okuribi blazes on the hillside above.
Kuwana Ishidori Matsuri
Billed 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.
Mikuni Matsuri
One 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.
Mimuroto-ji Hydrangea Garden
Some 20,000 hydrangeas in 50 varieties carpet a hillside temple garden in Uji — including the elusive star-shaped 'shichidanka' — with weekend evening light-ups.
Saidaiji Eyo (Naked Festival)
Thousands 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.
Aoi Matsuri (Hollyhock Festival)
A 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.
Hitachi Seaside Park Kochia (Autumn Red Bushes)
Some 33,000 round kochia bushes turn Miharashi Hill a blazing crimson each October, a fluffy red carpet rolling toward the Pacific Ocean.
Chichibu Night Festival (Chichibu Yomatsuri)
Six 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.
Asakusa Samba Carnival
Tokyo's biggest samba parade fills Asakusa with feathered dancers and thundering bateria as competing teams vie for the championship along Umamichi Street.
Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri (Tomioka Hachimangu Grand Festival)
One 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.
Mitama Matsuri (Yasukuni Shrine Lantern Festival)
Over 30,000 golden lanterns light the approach to Yasukuni Shrine across four summer nights, with Aomori nebuta floats and bon-odori dancing.
Kawabata Shopping Arcade
Hakata's oldest 400 m covered arcade with 130+ shops, eateries and the famous Kawabata zenzai red-bean sweet.
Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum
Free sake museum in Kobe's Nada Gogo district inside a Taisho-era brewhouse, with life-size displays and tastings.
Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum
Historic sake museum in Kyoto's Fushimi brewing district with exhibits, brewery tours and a tasting corner.
Yebisu Brewery Tokyo
Yebisu beer's birthplace at Yebisu Garden Place, with a museum, guided tours and a tasting taproom.
Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho
Atmospheric postwar alley by Shinjuku's west exit packed with ~60 yakitori, motsu-yaki and gyoza eateries.
Yanaka Ginza Shopping Street
Retro Shitamachi shopping street near Ueno lined with food stalls, wagashi sweets, croquettes and old-Tokyo charm.
Toyosu Market
Tokyo's vast wholesale fish market with tuna auctions, viewing decks and fresh-sushi restaurants open to visitors.
Zepp Sapporo
Sapporo's large live house by Nakajima Park, hosting major touring concerts in central Chuo-ku.
NOON + CAFE
Hidden Nakazaki-cho cafe-bar and club under the railway arches, hosting DJ nights and underground music events.
Zepp Namba (OSAKA)
Major Namba live house in Naniwa-ku hosting big domestic and international touring acts.
Billboard Live OSAKA
Umeda dinner-and-concert club in the Herbis Plaza Ent, hosting jazz, soul and pop in an intimate room.
Zepp DiverCity (TOKYO)
Large 2,400-capacity Odaiba live house inside DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, hosting major touring acts.
Billboard Live TOKYO
Roppongi dinner-and-concert club in Tokyo Midtown hosting international and Japanese artists across genres.
COTTON CLUB Tokyo
Upscale Marunouchi live restaurant pairing dinner with intimate jazz, soul and world-music concerts.
clubasia Shibuya
Pioneering Shibuya club open since 1996, newly renovated for its 30th anniversary, with techno, house, hip-hop and reggae nights.
Spotify O-EAST
Major Shibuya live house on Dogenzaka, part of the O-group of venues, hosting concerts and late-night club events.
LIQUIDROOM Ebisu
Legendary Ebisu live house with a custom sound system, hosting indie, rock and electronic acts plus a loft cafe and gallery.
Tokugawaen Garden
A daimyo stroll-garden on the Owari Tokugawa estate, with a central pond, Ozone Waterfall and seasonal peony and iris beds beside a samurai art museum.
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
Inside Ocean Expo Park, the giant Kuroshio tank holds whale sharks and manta rays behind one of the world's largest acrylic panels.
Ohori Park Japanese Garden
A tranquil pond-stroll garden inside Fukuoka's beloved Ohori Park — waterfalls, dry-landscape stones, a sukiya teahouse and seasonal greenery.
Osaka Castle Park
A 106-hectare green expanse around Osaka Castle, ringed by moats and stone walls — 300 cherry trees, 1,200 plums, lawns and concerts year-round.
Sankeien Garden
A 175,000m2 classical garden of relocated historic buildings — in summer, irises, hydrangeas and early-morning lotus blooms float over its ponds.
Nara Park
660 hectares where ~1,200 wild deer roam freely among temples and lawns, bowing for shika-senbei crackers — a National Natural Monument.
Hiroshima Minato Yume (Dream) Fireworks 2026
One of the Seto Inland Sea's largest displays — about 10,000 shells, including wide 10-go bursts, choreographed to music over Hiroshima Port.
SCMAGLEV and Railway Park
JR Central's railway museum displays 39 real trains — from steam locomotives to record-setting maglev — plus Japan's largest model railway diorama.
Osu Shopping District
Nagoya's most eclectic arcade — 1,200 shops mixing a 400-year temple town with vintage clothing, street food and otaku culture.
Nipponbashi Den Den Town & Ota Road
Osaka's otaku mecca — over 150 shops of anime, games, electronics and figures, with cosplayers spilling onto neon-lit Ota Road.
Pokemon Center Fukuoka
Kyushu's only official Pokemon store, two minutes from Hakata Station, stocking 2,500+ items including Fukuoka-themed exclusives.
Pokemon Center Osaka DX & Pokemon Cafe
Kansai's flagship Pokemon store atop Daimaru Shinsaibashi, with an adjoining cafe where Pikachu-shaped dishes arrive tableside.
Nintendo Museum
Nintendo's own museum in Uji traces 130+ years of play — from hanafuda cards to the Switch — with giant interactive exhibits in a former factory.
Kyoto International Manga Museum
A converted 1920s schoolhouse whose corridors are lined with 50,000 readable manga — pull any volume off the 200m 'Wall of Manga' and sprawl on the lawn.
One World Festival
Western Japan's biggest international cooperation festival: NGO booths, world food stalls and global music fill the Umeda Sky Building, free to all.
World Festa Yokohama
A free international food-and-culture fair at seaside Yamashita Park: 50+ stalls of global cuisine and world music and dance performances on stage.
Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum
The world's first ramen theme park: slurp regional ramen styles in a recreated 1958 Tokyo backstreet, with gluten-free and vegetarian bowls too.
Nijo Market
Sapporo's 125-year-old fish market in the heart of downtown: crab legs, sea-urchin, salmon roe and steaming kaisen-don bowls from morning to early evening.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Hiroshima's most visited site: a deeply moving record of the 1945 atomic bombing, with multilingual audio guides and free volunteer guides for overseas visitors.
Okonomimura Okonomiyaki Village
A whole building stacked with 23 okonomiyaki stalls: watch chefs layer cabbage, noodles and egg on sizzling teppan in Hiroshima's soul-food theme park.
World Cosplay Summit 2026
The planet's biggest cosplay festival: teams from 40+ countries parade through Nagoya and battle for the World Cosplay Championship at Oasis 21.
Okinawa World (Cultural Kingdom & Gyokusendo Cave)
Okinawa's biggest cultural park: explore a vast limestone cave, dress in Ryukyu attire, try bingata dyeing and Ryukyu glass, and catch the daily Super Eisa show.
Daiichi Makishi Public Market
Naha's vibrant 'kitchen': vivid Okinawan reef fish, pork and produce downstairs, then a 'mochiagari' service cooks your picks at the upstairs eateries.
Fukuoka International Center — Exchange Events
The city's foreigner-friendly hub runs welcome events, language exchange salons, homestay visits and 'warm fellowship' gatherings where locals and internationals mingle.
Yanagibashi Rengo Market
Dubbed 'Hakata's Kitchen,' this century-old covered alley packs 40-plus stalls of glistening Genkai-sea fish, fugu, and pickles that pro chefs swear by.
Nishijin Textile Center Kimono Experience
At the home of Kyoto's 1,200-year Nishijin weaving tradition, dress in one of 150+ komon kimono — footwear and underthings included — and stroll the old capital in style.
Toji Temple Kobo-ichi Market
On the 21st of every month, nearly 1,000 stalls fill the grounds of UNESCO-listed Toji Temple with street food, antiques, pickles and crafts beneath its great pagoda.
Harushika Sake Brewery Tasting
In a Naramachi machiya once home to a Kofukuji monk, taste five Harushika sakes and keep the souvenir glass — sake from the very birthplace of Japanese sake.
Nakatanidou High-Speed Mochi Pounding
Nara's famous mochi shop where two artisans pound steaming mugwort rice at blinding speed, then hand you a warm, soft yomogi mochi filled with red bean.
Hakuichi Gold Leaf Experience
The shop that invented Kanazawa's gold-leaf soft serve, where a shimmering sheet of edible gold is laid on your cone and you can try gold-leaf crafts.
Omicho Market
Kanazawa's 300-year-old kitchen: ~170 stalls of Sea of Japan crab, sweet shrimp and just-sliced sashimi rice bowls under one covered arcade.
D.T. Suzuki Museum
A serene Yoshio Taniguchi pavilion honoring Zen philosopher D.T. Suzuki, built around a still 'Water Mirror Garden' for contemplation.
Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art
Central Sapporo's flagship art museum, with 5,000+ works spanning Hokkaido art, the Ecole de Paris, glasswork and modern Japanese painting.
Yokohama Museum of Art
A Kenzo Tange landmark in Minato Mirai, freshly reopened after a three-year renovation, strong on modern art and Yokohama-rooted photography.
Nagoya City Art Museum
A Kisho Kurokawa building tucked into Shirakawa Park, strong on the Ecole de Paris, the Mexican Renaissance and local modern art.
Fukuoka Asian Art Museum
The only museum in the world systematically collecting modern and contemporary Asian art — 5,000+ works from 23 Asian countries and regions.
Fukuoka Art Museum
A lakeside museum in Ohori Park by architect Kunio Maekawa, mixing Dali and Warhol with Buddhist treasures across 16,000+ works.
Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art
Japan's first public contemporary art museum, a Kisho Kurokawa landmark crowning Hijiyama hill with bold rotating exhibitions.
National Bunraku Theatre
The home of bunraku, Japan's UNESCO-listed puppet theatre, where master puppeteers, tayu chanters and shamisen bring epic dramas to life.
The National Museum of Art, Osaka
A striking subterranean museum on Nakanoshima island devoted to postwar and contemporary art, behind a soaring bamboo-like steel facade.
Sound Lab mole
An underground live house and club beneath Tanukikoji, a pillar of Sapporo's scene hosting both touring bands and DJ nights.
HIROSHIMA CLUB QUATTRO
An 800-capacity live house on the 10th floor of Hiroshima PARCO, a touring-band staple since 2001 in the Hondori shopping arcade.
WORLD KYOTO
Kyoto's biggest club: a multi-floor Kiyamachi institution that has hosted Skrillex, Steve Aoki and Fatboy Slim for 1,000+ dancers.
GIRAFFE Japan
A glossy multi-floor megaclub in the heart of Dotonbori serving open-format party nights with world-class DJs and VIP energy.
CIRCUS Osaka
Shinsaibashi's cult underground club where techno, drum & bass and Metalheadz nights roar through a no-frills, sound-first room.
Kusatsu Onsen Yumomi Performance
At one of Japan's top hot-spring towns, kimono-clad locals cool the scalding spring water with long wooden paddles in time to folk songs — a centuries-old daily ritual at Netsunoyu.
Kuromon Ichiba Market
Known as 'Osaka's Kitchen,' this 580-metre covered arcade packs around 150 stalls of fresh seafood, grilled crab, sea urchin, wagyu skewers and street snacks.
Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Matsuri 2027
Kanazawa'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.
Hiroshima Food Festival
Hiroshima's biggest autumn food fair fills the grounds of Hiroshima Castle with okonomiyaki, oysters, lemons and gourmet stalls from every corner of the prefecture.
Wonder Festival 2027 [Winter]
The world's biggest garage-kit and figure fair fills Makuhari Messe with thousands of hand-built model figures sold for one day only by amateur and pro sculptors.
Roppongi Art Night 2026
An all-night art festival turns Roppongi into an open-air gallery, with installations, performances and museums glowing from dusk till dawn.
Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival 2026
Japan's largest cosplay event transforms Ikebukuro's Sunshine City into a sea of 20,000+ costumed fans, with stages, parades and city-wide photo spots.
Nipponbashi Street Festa 2027
Osaka's Den Den Town shuts its main street for one of Japan's largest cosplay parades, where thousands of costumed fans flood the otaku district.
Jump Festa 2027
Shueisha's free mega anime-and-manga festival packs Makuhari Messe with Shonen Jump stages, exclusive reveals, voice-actor events and rare merch.
Tokyo Marathon 2027
One of the world's six Marathon Majors, the 20th-anniversary Tokyo Marathon sends 38,000 runners surging past the city's landmarks on a flat, fast course.
Grand Sumo Tournament Tokyo (Hatsu Basho) 2027
Japan's first sumo tournament of the year roars to life over 15 days at Ryogoku Kokugikan, as top rikishi clash to set the tone for the season.
Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival / Girls' Day)
On March 3 across Japan, families display tiered hina dolls of the Heian court to wish for girls' health, amid peach blossoms and sweet hishi-mochi.
Hakata Dontaku Port Festival
One 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.
Takayama Spring Festival (Sanno Matsuri)
Twelve ornate Edo-era yatai floats with karakuri puppets parade through old Takayama, glowing with around 100 lanterns each at the night festival.
Himeji Castle Cherry Blossoms
Over 1,000 cherry trees frame the brilliant white 'White Heron' castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in one of Japan's most picture-perfect hanami scenes.
Chidorigafuchi Cherry Blossoms
A 700m 'sakura tunnel' of 260-plus cherry trees arches over the Imperial Palace moat, best seen by rowboat or under evening illumination.
Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival
Around 2,600 cherry trees encircle Hirosaki Castle's moats, famous for petal-carpeted 'flower rafts' and dazzling nighttime illuminations.
Mount Yoshino Cherry Blossoms (Yoshinoyama)
Around 30,000 cherry trees in 200 varieties blanket a sacred mountainside, blooming in waves up four zones from Shimo to Oku Senbon.
Atami Plum Garden Festival (Atami Bairin)
Famous as Japan's earliest-blooming plum grove, Atami Bairin opens its winter ume from early January with taiko, geisha dances and hot-spring charm.
Mito Plum Blossom Festival (Kairakuen)
Roughly 3,000 plum trees in over 60 varieties scent one of Japan's Three Great Gardens, drawing crowds for taiko, tea ceremony and geisha dances.
Jigokudani Snow Monkeys (Yaen-koen) Winter Season
Wild Japanese macaques bathe in a steaming mountain hot spring as snow falls around them — the world-famous 'snow monkeys' of Nagano, most iconic in winter.
Zao Snow Monsters (Juhyo) Light-Up
Wind, snow and ice encase the alpine firs into surreal white 'snow monsters'; ride the ropeway up and see them glow under colored floodlights at night.
Sounkyo Onsen Ice Waterfall Festival (Hyobaku Matsuri) 2027
In a Daisetsuzan gorge, ice domes and towers fill a riverside field, lit nightly in shifting colors with weekend fireworks over the snow.
Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival (Shikotsuko Hyoto Matsuri) 2027
Sculptors spray the clear blue waters of Lake Shikotsu onto frames to build towering turquoise ice domes and tunnels, glowing in jewel tones after dark.
Sagamiko Illumillion
Over 6 million LEDs blanket a mountainside amusement park — ride a panoramic chairlift through a sea of light with the Ferris wheel and rides glowing under the stars.
Ashikaga Flower Park: Flower Fantasy Winter Illumination
Over 5 million LEDs transform the park into a glowing garden — a luminous wisteria tunnel, a great wisteria of light and reflective ponds rank it among Japan's top three illuminations.
Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Christmas Market 2026
Japan's largest German-style Christmas market: a glittering tree, wooden hutte stalls, mulled wine and bay-side lights by the historic red brick warehouses.
Joya-no-Kane at Chion-in — Japan's Mightiest New Year Bell
Seventeen monks heave on ropes to toll Chion-in's 70-ton bell 108 times on New Year's Eve, each deep strike clearing a worldly desire.
Happy New Year Tokyo — Metropolitan Building Countdown
Tokyo's official free countdown lights up the Metropolitan Government Building with giant projection mapping, live acts and a midnight cheer in Shinjuku.
Sumiyoshi Taisha Hatsumode — 'Sumiyossan' New Year
Some two million Osakans cross the arched Sorihashi bridge to greet the year at 'Sumiyossan,' head shrine of Japan's 2,300 Sumiyoshi shrines.
Fushimi Inari Taisha Hatsumode — Thousand Vermilion Torii
Kyoto's head Inari shrine welcomes some 2.5 million New Year worshippers who pray for prosperity beneath endless tunnels of vermilion torii.
Meiji Jingu Hatsumode — Japan's Most-Visited New Year Shrine
Roughly three million people stream through the towering torii to pray at Tokyo's grandest shrine in the first three days of the year.
Namahage Sedo Festival
Demon-masked 'namahage' brandishing torches stampede down a snowy mountainside at Shinzan Shrine in a fierce, firelit Oga winter spectacle.
Yokote Kamakura Festival
Hundreds of candlelit snow igloos glow across Yokote while children inside invite passersby in for sweet sake — plus 4,000 mini-kamakura lighting the riverbed.
Asahikawa Winter Festival
Hokkaido's second-biggest snow fest pairs colossal stage-sized snow sculptures by the Ishikari River with an international ice-carving championship.
Grand Sumo Tournament — Kyushu Basho (Fukuoka)
The year's final grand sumo tournament fills Fukuoka Kokusai Center for 15 days of ring-entering ceremonies, salt-throwing and thunderous bouts of giants.
Tori-no-Ichi (Rooster Market)
On 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.
Shika no Tsunokiri (Deer Antler-Cutting Ceremony)
In a 340-year-old Nara ritual, shrine 'seko' wrangle wild stags with ropes inside a wooden arena before a Shinto priest saws off their autumn antlers.
Tokyo Ramen Show
Japan's largest ramen festival gathers 36 famous shops from Hokkaido to Kyushu under one open-air roof in Komazawa Park — one steaming bowl at a time.
Nikko Irohazaka & Kegon Falls Autumn Foliage
The hairpin Irohazaka road climbs through a moving gradient of red and gold to Lake Chuzenji, where the 97-m Kegon Falls plunges past blazing maples.
Korankei Valley Autumn Foliage (Momiji Festival)
Over 4,000 maples of 11 varieties set Aichi's Korankei gorge ablaze in crimson, with evening light-ups reflecting on the Tomoe River until 9 p.m.
Kawagoe Matsuri
In Tokyo's 'Little Edo', towering tiered floats with revolving dolls roll past kurazukuri warehouses and clash in 'Hikkawase' flute-and-drum face-offs.
Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival
Seven 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.
Naha Great Tug-of-War Festival
Tens 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.
Nagoya Festival (Three Heroes Parade)
Nagoya's biggest autumn party crowns Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu in armor, leading a 600-strong procession from the station to Nagoya Castle.
Saga International Balloon Fiesta
Asia's largest hot-air-balloon meet floods the autumn sky over the Kase River with 100+ balloons, dawn mass ascensions and glowing nighttime 'La Montgolfier Nocturne'.
Karatsu Kunchi Festival
Fourteen 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.
Nagasaki Kunchi Festival
A 380-year-old shrine festival blending Japanese, Chinese and Dutch flair — spinning dragon dances, whirling umbrella floats and roaring 'Motte-koi' chants.
Kurama Fire Festival (Kurama no Hi Matsuri)
Men in loincloths haul flaming 80-kg torches through a mountain village after dark in one of Kyoto's wildest, most primal night festivals.
Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages)
A 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.
Takayama Autumn Festival (Hachiman Matsuri)
Eleven 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.
Tokyo Game Show 2026
Asia's biggest video-game expo celebrates its 30th edition with hands-on demos, cosplay and a record five-day run at Makuhari Messe.
Akeno Sunflower Festival 2026
Around 600,000 sunflowers blaze across the Yatsugatake foothills, lit up after dark for a glowing field beneath the night sky.
Furano Lavender Season at Farm Tomita 2026
Rolling purple lavender fields perfume the Hokkaido hills at Japan's most iconic flower farm, framed by distant snow-capped peaks.
Earth Celebration on Sado Island 2026
World-famous taiko ensemble Kodo hosts a three-day island arts festival with thunderous harbour-side concerts under the stars.
Kyoto Gozan no Okuribi 2026
Giant kanji and shapes blaze on five mountains around Kyoto to send ancestral spirits home at the close of Obon.
Owara Kaze no Bon 2026
By lantern light, faceless dancers in straw hats move with hushed grace to mournful kokyu strings through old Yatsuo's stone lanes.
Tokyo Koenji Awa Odori 2026
Tokyo's own Awa dance takes over Koenji's backstreets as 10,000-plus dancers in 'ren' troupes whirl through the summer night.
Yamagata Hanagasa Festival 2026
Some 10,000 dancers twirl flower-adorned straw hats to the rhythmic cry of 'Yassho, makasho!' in one of Tohoku's biggest parades.
Morioka Sansa Odori 2026
A Guinness-record wall of taiko drums thunders through Morioka as thousands of dancers chant 'Sakkora choiwayasse!'
Akita Kanto Festival 2026
Performers balance towering bamboo poles strung with dozens of glowing lanterns on their palms, foreheads and shoulders.
Lake Biwa Grand Fireworks Festival 2026
Around 12,000 fireworks reflect off Japan's largest lake near Otsu in a 40th-anniversary show fused with drones and lasers.
Omagari National Fireworks Competition 2026
Japan's most prestigious pyrotechnic competition, where the nation's top fireworks artisans battle for the Prime Minister's Award.
Nagaoka Festival Grand Fireworks 2026
One of Japan's three great fireworks festivals, famed for the colossal 'Phoenix' shells fired across the Shinano River as a prayer for peace.
Sumida River Fireworks Festival 2026
Tokyo's most storied summer fireworks show launches 20,000 shells over the Sumida River with Tokyo Skytree glowing behind.
Try AI Vibe Coding Meetup
A hands-on Fukuoka meetup to try 'vibe coding' with AI tools like Codex and Claude—build small apps from natural-language prompts together.
VRChat.rb #7
A Rubyist gathering inside the metaverse—Ruby fans meet in VRChat to talk tech and socialize, held during Vket 2026 Summer Tech Week.
ICASSP 2026 Paper Reading Session (Tokyo & Online)
A hybrid paper-reading session on ICASSP 2026 machine-learning research—speech synthesis, recognition, and voice conversion—open to all.
Why Greatly Expand Product Designers in the AI Era?
A Timee case-study session on business strategy and design challenges—how product design and designers' roles evolve in the AI era.
Nutanix Meetup Hybrid 26.07
A hybrid meetup celebrating the new book 'Nutanix Cloud Platform Practical Guide,' with chapter walkthroughs from its authors.
AI Dev Day 2026
A full-day conference for developers building with Azure AI—covering AI-integrated SDLC, agent construction, and production-ready implementations.
Yowayowa Security Study Group #1 (Beginner-Friendly)
A relaxed, beginner-welcome security meetup blending quiet self-study time with lightning talks—for anyone curious but intimidated by hardcore sessions.
RailsTokyo #5
A Ruby on Rails community meetup in Akihabara featuring a keynote on 'SRE for Rails Engineers,' sponsor talks, and networking.
Server-Side Kotlin LT Tournament vol.19
An offline lightning-talk night for server-side Kotlin developers, capped with a casual networking reception.
FlutterGakkai #10 (Offline)
An offline Flutter developer meetup where speakers and listeners alike grow to love Flutter even more, with talks from active engineers.
AWS CDK Conference Japan 2026
The 5th annual AWS Cloud Development Kit conference at Azabudai Hills, themed 'change'—how CDK evolves alongside AI coding agents.
AI-Driven Development Conference 2026 Summer (On-site)
Two-day conference at Microsoft Japan exploring how generative AI and LLMs are reshaping software development, with speakers from major tech firms.
IDEA CLIMBING @ Tama Mirai Messe
A free idea-pitching and networking event for builders and founders, hosted at Tama Mirai Messe.
Iwaken Lab. 5th Anniversary (Lightning Talks & Exhibition)
Iwaken Lab celebrates five years with lightning talks and a community tech showcase — free to join.
Tokyo Morning Beats . Gallery
A daytime DJ session in an art gallery — coffee, beats and a creative morning crowd.
Summer Ephemera Pop-up Exhibit, Shop & Workshop
A free pop-up of paper ephemera and collage at Design Festa Gallery Harajuku — browse, shop, make.
Aoyama Rooftop Morning Yoga × BELCOMO Breakfast
Start the day with rooftop yoga in Aoyama, finished with a healthy BELCOMO breakfast.
Hibiki 1st Session: Taiko Sound Bath
Lie back and feel the resonance of Japanese taiko in an immersive sound-bath session.
iiyon!! Half-Year BBQ Beer Garden Party
A rooftop BBQ and beer-garden party under Tokyo Tower — grill, drinks and skyline views.
Shibamata Walking Tour & Photo Bingo
A relaxed photo-bingo walking tour of retro Shibamata — gentle, social and great for solo joiners.
TORYUMON TOKYO 2026: Homura
A flagship startup pitch and networking summit by F Ventures at Bellesalle Shibuya First.
A Bookmarked Summer
A free, easygoing gathering for book lovers to read together and swap summer recommendations.
Gemini AI Hackathon @ Google Japan (Tokyo)
Build with Gemini at Google Japan's Shibuya office — a hands-on AI hackathon for builders.
Entertainment Lovers Unite #3: AI × Entertainment by AnotherBall
A meetup at the crossroads of AI and entertainment, hosted by AnotherBall for creators and fans.
City Green Night 2026
A free open-air music night at SUNSET PARK CLUB — good sound, green vibes and an easy crowd.
ElevenAgent Workshop for Engineers (Intermediate)
A hands-on intermediate workshop for engineers building with ElevenAgent voice-AI tooling.
2nd Human Spaceflight Summit (2026/6/21)
Founders and researchers gather at X-NIHONBASHI to talk the future of human spaceflight.
LIFE DESIGN CLUB Vol.03: Designing Self-Love
A reflective life-design workshop in Minato on the theme of self-love — journaling and honest conversation.
iiyon!! Run × ØL Tokyo Vol.4 (PM)
Run 5K then refuel with craft beer at ØL by Oslo Brewing — Tokyo's run-and-pint social.
Early Summer Morning Run in Yoyogi Park
A sociable 5K morning run from Yoyogi Park's clock tower — find your pace with a friendly international run club.
Tokyo Pickle Club
Tokyo's friendly pickleball meetup at TIPNESS Kichijoji — paddles provided, all levels welcome.
HANGOUT STALL 1st Anniversary Party
A first-anniversary celebration at MAISON ROSE in Shibuya — drinks, music and a welcoming international crowd.
Self-Healing Aroma Hand-Care Workshop
A 90-minute introductory aroma hand-therapy workshop in Yokohama, finishing with a relaxed tea gathering—wellness for caregivers and busy minds.
Relaxed Shogi Exchange Meetup
A laid-back Japanese-chess afternoon in central Yokohama—beginners welcome, with coaching, free matches and original puzzle cards over a drink.
KIOG Summer Outdoor & International Gathering
Kansai International Outdoor Gathering's summer series of hikes and day trips—July 11 brings veggie-harvesting and pizza-making just north of Osaka.
Free Pickleball Exchange Meetup (Kyotanabe)
A free, all-ages pickleball gathering near Odo Station bringing students, staff and locals together to play and connect across generations.
Kyoto Japan–Korea Conversation Café
A relaxed Korean-conversation meetup at a Kyoto café—practice speaking at any level with seats arranged by ability, then swap contacts over coffee.
English × Japanese Family Language Exchange
A free, family-friendly Sunday gathering in Edogawa where kids and adults play, sing and connect across English and Japanese—no experience needed.
International Anime Party + Ikebukuro Pilgrimage Tour
Anime-themed sightseeing and a stamp rally around Ikebukuro, capped by an anisong party with food, drinks and a global crowd of fans.
International Night Picnic @ Yoyogi Park
A laid-back evening picnic in Yoyogi Park with music, dancing and an international crowd—bring something to share and make friends from around the world.
Ueno Japan–Korea Language & Culture Exchange
Mingle with a roughly 50/50 mix of Japanese and Korean locals over a 2-hour all-you-can-drink dinner—perfect for K-pop, K-drama and Korean-food fans.
Kinoko Conference 2026 (Main Day)
Veteran engineers (40+) share perspectives on career longevity and sustaining a life in tech.
Findy Offline Series Thanksgiving: Pioneers' Banquet
Findy celebrates its DevRel offline community with lightning talks on the trajectories of sharing knowledge.
CoLab Conf (Tech Conference)
A summer-festival tech conference on 'AI and Career' with ~20 speakers, for engineers under 35.
Summer AI-Driven Development Festival: The FDE Frontier
Frontier practitioners explore AI tools, autonomous agents, code quality, and engineering careers in the AI era.
HR × AI Mania Night #1: The Reality of HR Data Utilization
An evening on real-world HR data and AI, with People Analytics talks and group discussions among practitioners.
freee Tech Night: Evolved Dev Flow with Disposable Environments
freee engineers explain disposable per-PR preview environments that tame microservice complexity in the AI-coding era.
Japan MySQL Users Group (MyNA) Meetup, June 2026
Oracle leaders and AWS reps discuss MySQL's latest features and the future of community collaboration.
RESEARCH Conference 2026: WEAVING
Japan's conference on design and UX research, themed 'WEAVING,' with sessions, panels and workshops.
Tokyo Ruby Conference 13
A Ruby community conference on 'what lies behind the curtain,' with talks from sorah, Masayoshi Takahashi and more.
DNS Summer Day 2026
A full-day deep dive into DNS operations, from fundamentals to advanced authoritative and resolver topics.
CA DATA NIGHT #10: The Right Answer for Data Platforms is Databricks
CyberAgent engineers share Databricks migration stories, analytics democratization with Genie, and secure platform design.
Next-Generation Digital Twin Technology Exchange for Physical AI (Hybrid)
NVIDIA and industry experts explore how digital twins power autonomous decisions in disaster prevention and urban infrastructure.
11th Tokyo-Yamanashi AI Meetup: Deploying Claude Code on Xserver VPS
Learn how Xserver rolled out the Claude Code AI assistant while balancing security and remote-work efficiency.
Encraft #25: Search Design in the Generative AI Era
Three expert sessions on vector search, embeddings, and RAG-driven AI chat, high atop Azabudai Hills.
LGBTQ+ Friendly Events & Nightlife
Tokyo's Shinjuku Ni-chome is Asia's biggest gay district, and Tokyo Rainbow Pride each spring is the community's brightest celebration.
Japan for Foodies: Markets, Sake & Tasting Events
Graze morning markets, walk a centuries-old sake district, and time your trip around the country's biggest sake festival.
Fukuoka & Kyushu: Yatai, Festivals & Friendly Nights
Fukuoka is Japan's friendliest food city — start at the Nakasu yatai stalls, catch the dawn float race, and meet locals easily.
Sapporo & Hokkaido: Snow, Beer & Summer Festivals
Hokkaido is a year-round festival island — ice sculptures in February, dancing in June, and beer gardens all summer.
Autumn Leaves & Illuminations Guide
Chase fiery maples in November, then let winter illuminations take over — Japan's most photogenic months back to back.
Cherry Blossom 2026: Where & When
Tokyo blooms roughly late March to early April — Ueno Park for the party, the Meguro River for the night-time canopy.
Rainy-Day & Indoor Events
Rain doesn't have to ruin a day in Japan — duck into digital art museums, otaku megastores, or a calm tea ceremony.
Solo Traveler's Guide to Meeting People
Travelling Japan alone? Language exchanges, activity groups and standing bars are all built for arriving solo.
Best Free Events in Japan
Some of Japan's greatest experiences cost nothing — grand summer festivals, hanami in the park, and dazzling winter illuminations.
Kyoto Culture Calendar: Festivals, Geisha Dances & Temples
Time Kyoto by its seasons — spring geisha dances, the July Gion Matsuri, and autumn maples lit up after dark.
Osaka After Dark: Nightlife & Street Food
Osaka eats and drinks late — start with kushikatsu in Shinsekai, crawl the Namba bars, and finish on a quiet whisky.
First Week in Tokyo: Events for Newcomers
Ease in with free temple festivals and parks by day, low-key meetups to make friends, and one big night out when you're ready.
Foodie Events: Sake, Street Eats & Markets
Eat your way through Japan: morning sushi at Tsukiji, yatai stalls in Fukuoka, beer halls, and the country's biggest sake festival.
First-Timer's Guide to Japanese Festival Etiquette
A few simple courtesies — arrive early, follow the crowd, mind photos and trash — let you enjoy any matsuri like a local.
Anime & Pop-Culture Pilgrimage
Time a visit around Comiket or AnimeJapan, then explore Akihabara's otaku wonderland any day of the week.
Seasonal Japan: Blossoms, Autumn Leaves & Winter Lights
Plan around the seasons — spring hanami, fiery autumn maples, and dazzling winter illuminations each have their moment.
Tokyo Tech & Startup Meetups for Newcomers
From iOS and JavaScript to AI, Web3 and indie games, Tokyo's English-friendly meetups make it easy to plug in.
Where to Meet Locals: Language Exchanges & Social Events
Language-exchange meetups and social groups are the fastest, friendliest way to meet locals across Japan.
Japan's Best Summer Matsuri
Time your trip around the giants — Gion in Kyoto, Tenjin in Osaka, Nebuta in Aomori, and Awa Odori in Tokushima.
Tokyo Nightlife Starter Guide
Start in Golden Gai or Shimokitazawa, then chase the scene that fits you — superclubs, jazz, or a skyline cocktail.
Miyajima & Itsukushima Floating Torii
A short ferry from Hiroshima reaches Miyajima, where the great vermilion torii of Itsukushima Shrine appears to float on the tide.
Kobe Harborland & Meriken Park Night
Kobe's waterfront glitters after dark — the red Port Tower, illuminated promenade and bay views make for a relaxed romantic evening.
Kenrokuen & Kanazawa Castle Stroll
Pair Japan's celebrated Kenrokuen Garden with the restored Kanazawa Castle next door — landscaped ponds, teahouses and white turrets.
Yokohama Sparkling Twilight
A summer seaside festival at Yamashita Park with parades, a lit-up boat procession and fireworks over Yokohama Bay.
Minato Mirai & Cosmo World Night
Yokohama's glittering bayfront at night — ride the giant Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel and stroll the illuminated waterfront promenade.
Atsuta Jingu Shrine
One of Japan's most sacred shrines, set in a tranquil ancient forest in Nagoya and home to the legendary Kusanagi sword.
Nippon Domannaka Festival (Domatsuri)
Nagoya's huge late-summer dance festival fills the city center with hundreds of energetic teams in a riot of color and choreography.
Sapporo Autumn Fest
A three-week harvest food festival in Odori Park celebrating Hokkaido's bounty — fresh seafood, ramen, sweets, wine and local produce.
Otaru Snow Light Path Festival
Otaru's historic canal and old streets glow with thousands of candles in snow lanterns, a quiet, romantic counterpoint to Sapporo's snow festival.
Shuri Castle & Ryukyu Heritage
Explore the crimson seat of the former Ryukyu Kingdom, a UNESCO World Heritage site now rising again from its 2019 fire.
Naha Hari Dragon Boat Festival
Okinawa's Golden Week dragon-boat festival packs Naha's port with thundering paddle races, music stages and fireworks over the harbor.
Omizutori (Todaiji Nigatsudo Fire Ritual)
Monks brandish giant flaming torches along Todaiji's Nigatsudo balcony each March, showering sparks over the crowd in a 1,200-year-old rite.
Kasuga Taisha Mantoro Lantern Festival
Three thousand bronze and stone lanterns are lit across ancient Kasuga Taisha, filling the shrine's forest paths with a soft golden glow.
Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trail
Walk ancient moss-covered pilgrimage paths through the forested Kii Mountains to sacred Kumano shrines, a UNESCO World Heritage route.
Setouchi Triennale Art Islands
A celebrated contemporary art festival scattered across the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, blending installations with fishing-village life.
Pontocho Evening Stroll & Dining
Kyoto's most atmospheric nightlife lane — a narrow lantern-lit alley of riverside restaurants, sake bars and traditional teahouses.
Osaka Japanese-English Language Exchange
Relaxed, recurring language-exchange meetups in Osaka where locals and travelers swap Japanese and English over drinks.
Fukuoka Developer Meetups (connpass)
Fukuoka's growing startup scene hosts regular developer meetups — web, AI, mobile and more — many welcoming and bilingual-friendly.
Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Events
A historic waterfront landmark hosting seasonal events year-round — Christmas markets, an ice rink, beer festivals and bay views.
Kenrokuen Garden Illumination
One of Japan's three great gardens glows after dark in seasonal light-up events, from snowy yukitsuri ropes to autumn-leaf reflections.
Okinawa Zento Eisa Festival
Okinawa's biggest eisa festival, where drum troupes from across the islands perform thunderous traditional dance under summer skies.
Nara Wakakusa Yamayaki
Each January, fireworks burst over Nara before the entire grass-covered Mt. Wakakusa is set ablaze in a spectacular winter ritual.
Hiroshima Flower Festival
A vibrant Golden Week celebration along Peace Boulevard, with flower parades, yosakoi dancing, music stages and a giant flower tower.
Shirakawa-go Gassho Village
A UNESCO World Heritage village of steep thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouses, nestled in a mountain valley that turns magical under snow.
Hakone Hot Springs & Open-Air Museum
A mountain hot-spring resort near Mt. Fuji, combining steaming onsen, a sculpture park, a pirate-ship lake cruise and ropeway views.
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Walk a luminous path through towering bamboo in Kyoto's Arashiyama, where filtered light and rustling stalks feel otherworldly.
Shimanami Kaido Cycling Route
Ride one of the world's great cycling routes across the Seto Inland Sea, island-hopping by bike over soaring suspension bridges.
Kamikochi Highland Hiking
A pristine alpine valley in the Northern Japan Alps, with the Kappa Bridge, clear Azusa River and jagged peaks rising all around.
Nakano Broadway
A retro shopping complex packed with vintage manga, rare figures, idol goods and Tokyo's famous towering soft-serve ice cream.
Tokyo Game Show
Asia's biggest gaming expo at Makuhari Messe, with hands-on demos of upcoming titles, cosplay and the latest hardware.
Ghibli Park
Step into the worlds of Studio Ghibli in Aichi, with life-size sets from Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl's Castle and more.
Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo
The flagship Pokemon store in Ikebukuro, packed with exclusive plush, seasonal merch and a giant Pikachu welcoming fans.
Kanazawa Crafts & Higashi Chaya
Explore Kanazawa's gold-leaf workshops, colorful Kutani porcelain and the preserved Higashi Chaya geisha district.
Tokyo National Museum
Japan's oldest and largest museum in Ueno Park, home to samurai armor, Buddhist art and an unrivaled national treasure collection.
Miyako Odori (Cherry Blossom Dances)
Gion's geiko and maiko perform the elegant Miyako Odori every April, a dazzling spring dance of kimono, music and seasonal scenes.
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
A circular, glass-walled art museum famous for Leandro Erlich's Swimming Pool — playful, interactive and free to wander outside.
Benesse Art Site Naoshima
An island in the Seto Inland Sea reborn as living art, with Tadao Ando museums, a Yayoi Kusama pumpkin and outdoor installations.
Mori Art Museum
Contemporary art on the 53rd floor of Roppongi Hills, paired with one of Tokyo's best skyline views from the City View deck.
Osaka Japanese Whisky Bar Night
Settle into Osaka's intimate whisky bars to sample award-winning Japanese single malts poured by passionate bartenders.
Nagoya Meshi Food Tour
Taste Nagoya's bold local specialties — miso katsu, hitsumabushi eel, tebasaki wings and curry udon — across the city center.
Yokohama Chinatown Street Food
Wander Japan's largest Chinatown for steaming nikuman, xiaolongbao and panda sweets among ornate gates and red lanterns.
Shinsekai Kushikatsu Food Crawl
Dive into retro Shinsekai beneath Tsutenkaku Tower for Osaka's famous deep-fried kushikatsu skewers and neon old-Osaka charm.
Fushimi Sake District Brewery Walk
Stroll Kyoto's historic Fushimi sake quarter, where soft spring water and centuries-old breweries make some of Japan's finest sake.
Sapporo Odori Beer Garden
Japan's largest outdoor beer garden takes over Odori Park each summer, with rival breweries pouring ice-cold draft under the open sky.
Eikando Temple Autumn Light-Up
Kyoto's most celebrated maple temple glows after dark in autumn, its crimson leaves mirrored in a tranquil pond.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride
Japan's largest LGBTQ+ celebration fills Yoyogi Park with a parade, live stages, food and a vibrant, welcoming community.
Tokyo English Stand-up Comedy Nights
Laugh the night away at regular English-language stand-up comedy shows hosted by Tokyo's international comedy scene.
Shimokitazawa Live House Nights
Tokyo's indie-music heartland: tiny live houses, record shops and bars host emerging bands almost every night.
Kobe Luminarie
Glowing arches of hundreds of thousands of lights fill Kobe each winter, a moving memorial turned beloved festival.
Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Events
Yokohama's historic waterfront warehouses host seasonal festivals — Oktoberfest, flower garden, ice rink and food fairs.
Nara Tokae Lantern Festival
On summer nights, 20,000 candles flicker across Nara Park's historic grounds in a serene sea of gentle light.
Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Festival
A grand samurai procession reenacts a feudal lord's entry into Kanazawa, complete with armor, geisha and lantern-lit floats.
Naha Great Tug-of-War Festival
Join thousands pulling the world's largest straw rope through Naha in this Guinness-record Okinawan autumn festival.
Osu Summer Festival
Nagoya's quirky downtown district throws a lively summer festival with cosplay, world dance and a wet 'kara-okuri' parade.
Yosakoi Soran Festival
Sapporo erupts in color as thousands of dancers perform high-energy yosakoi routines through the streets each June.
Tokyo Winter Illuminations (Roppongi & Marunouchi)
From late autumn, Tokyo's avenues glow: Roppongi's blue keyaki-zaka and Marunouchi's golden champagne lights dazzle nightly.
Mount Takao Day Hike
Tokyo's favorite escape: an easy, scenic mountain just an hour from Shinjuku, with temples, trails and a cable car.
Mount Fuji Climbing Season
Climb Japan's iconic 3,776m peak during the official summer season and watch the sunrise from the roof of Japan.
Akihabara Anime & Gaming Exploration
Dive into otaku heaven: multi-floor anime stores, retro arcades, maid cafes and gachapon as far as the eye can see.
AnimeJapan
Japan's biggest anime expo: trailers, stage events, voice actors and exclusive goods from every major studio.
Comiket (Comic Market)
The world's largest fan convention: hundreds of thousands gather at Tokyo Big Sight to buy doujinshi and cosplay.
Kyoto Tea Ceremony Experience
Learn the graceful art of the Japanese tea ceremony in a traditional Kyoto machiya, hosted in English for visitors.
teamLab Borderless Azabudai Hills
A borderless world of art with no map: digital artworks roam freely between rooms in this acclaimed immersive museum.
teamLab Planets Tokyo
Wade barefoot through water and light in this immersive digital-art museum where you become part of the artwork.
Saijo Sake Festival
Japan's biggest sake celebration: sample brews from across the country in Saijo, one of the nation's top sake towns.
Oktoberfest in Japan
German beer festivals tour Japan's cities each year with imported brews, sausages and live oompah bands.
Tsukiji Outer Market & Toyosu Food Walk
Tokyo's food paradise: graze on fresh sushi, tamagoyaki and seafood at the historic Tsukiji Outer Market.
Nabana no Sato Winter Illumination
Japan's largest illumination: millions of LEDs transform a flower park near Nagoya into glowing tunnels and light shows.
Arashiyama Autumn Leaves
Kyoto's Arashiyama bursts into crimson and gold each November, with mountain temples, a scenic train and bamboo groves.
Meguro River Cherry Blossoms
Hundreds of cherry trees arch over the Meguro River, and at night pink paper lanterns turn the canal into a dream.
Ueno Park Cherry Blossom Viewing (Hanami)
One of Tokyo's most famous hanami spots: 1,000 cherry trees line Ueno Park's central path in a pink canopy each spring.
Fukuoka International Meetup
Kyushu's friendliest city hosts welcoming meetups where travelers and locals connect over food and conversation.
Kyoto International Community Events
The Kyoto International Community House hosts cultural exchange events, language cafes and workshops for visitors and residents.
Tokyo Social Sports Leagues
Join casual mixed sports leagues — football, volleyball, dodgeball — designed to help internationals make friends in Tokyo.
Osaka International Friends & Language Exchange
Friendly recurring meetups in Osaka where travelers, expats and locals mingle over drinks and language practice.
Tokyo Japanese-English Language Exchange
Practice Japanese and help others with English at relaxed, recurring language-exchange meetups across Tokyo.
Tokyo Gaijins Social & Outdoor Events
A long-running group running hikes, sports days, parties and day trips for internationals and locals across Tokyo.
Tokyo AI & Machine Learning Meetups
Dive into Tokyo's booming AI scene at recurring meetups covering LLMs, ML research and applied data science.
Tokyo Indies (Game Developers)
A welcoming monthly meetup where indie game developers in Tokyo show works-in-progress and talk shop — in English.
Tokyo Web3 & Blockchain Meetups
Japan is a hotspot for Web3 — meet builders and enthusiasts at recurring blockchain and crypto meetups in Tokyo.
Tokyo Startup & Founder Meetups
Connect with Japan's startup ecosystem at recurring founder and investor mixers around Shibuya and Roppongi.
Google Developer Group (GDG) Tokyo
Tokyo's Google Developer Group runs talks and workshops on Android, Cloud, AI and web — open to all and often bilingual.
Tokyo JavaScript / Frontend Meetup
Monthly gatherings for JavaScript, TypeScript and web developers in Tokyo, with bilingual talks and casual networking.
Tokyo iOS Meetup
A friendly, long-running monthly meetup for iOS and Swift developers in Tokyo — talks in English, all levels welcome.
Fukuoka Yatai Food Stalls (Nakasu)
Fukuoka's riverside yatai stalls serve tonkotsu ramen, oden and yakitori under lantern light — the heart of Kyushu nightlife.
Tokyo Skyline Rooftop Bars
Sip cocktails above the city: Tokyo's hotel rooftop and sky bars offer dazzling skyline views from up high.
Osaka Namba Izakaya & Bar Crawl
Dive into Osaka's neon nightlife around Dotonbori and Namba — street food, standing bars and dazzling river lights.
Shinjuku Golden Gai Bar Hopping
A maze of 200+ tiny, characterful bars in Shinjuku — squeeze in, meet strangers, and barhop into the small hours.
Blue Note Tokyo Live Jazz
Aoyama's intimate world-class jazz club, hosting top international musicians over dinner and cocktails most nights.
Hakata Gion Yamakasa
Fukuoka's adrenaline-fueled finale: teams race one-ton festival floats through the dawn streets of Hakata.
Sendai Tanabata Festival
Japan's grandest star festival drapes Sendai's arcades in thousands of giant, handmade paper streamers.
Tokasan Yukata Festival
Hiroshima's beloved summer kickoff: locals don yukata and fill the downtown streets for three festive nights.
Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri
Teams haul massive wooden festival floats at full sprint through Kishiwada's streets in one of Japan's most thrilling matsuri.
Aomori Nebuta Matsuri
Giant illuminated warrior floats are paraded through Aomori nightly as chanting dancers leap alongside in a blaze of color.
Awa Odori Dance Festival
Japan's most famous dance festival: 100,000 dancers and a million spectators fill Tokushima with rhythm every August.
Sapporo Snow Festival
Hokkaido's winter wonderland: giant snow and ice sculptures fill Odori Park, drawing over two million visitors each February.
Sumida River Fireworks Festival
Tokyo's most famous fireworks: 20,000 shells light up the sky over the Sumida River with Skytree as the backdrop.
Tenjin Matsuri
Osaka's thousand-year river festival ends with a flotilla of lantern-lit boats and fireworks reflected on the Okawa River.
Sanja Matsuri
Asakusa's wildest weekend: nearly 100 portable shrines and two million people flood the streets around Senso-ji Temple.
Kanda Matsuri
One of Tokyo's three great festivals: hundreds of portable shrines parade through Akihabara and the old Edo districts.
Gion Matsuri (Yamaboko Junko Float Procession)
Kyoto's grandest festival fills July with towering wooden floats, lantern-lit evening parties, and 1,100 years of tradition.