Tradition, lanterns and a whole town moving as one.

Festivals

Things to Do in Kyoto This Weekend: July 4–6, 2026

Kyoto'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.

Festivals

What to Wear to a Japanese Summer Festival: The Yukata Guide (Rent, Wear, Bring)

A 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.

Festivals

How to Attend a Japanese Festival (Matsuri): A First-Timer's Guide

The 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.

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.

2026/07/03 01:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/07/13 09:00 Tokyo免费

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.

2026/07/14 01:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

Hakata Gion Yamakasa

Fukuoka's adrenaline-fueled finale: teams race one-ton festival floats through the dawn streets of Hakata.

2026/07/14 19:59 Fukuoka免费

Festivals

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.

2026/07/17 Kyoto免费

Festivals

Yokohama Sparkling Twilight

A summer seaside festival at Yamashita Park with parades, a lit-up boat procession and fireworks over Yokohama Bay.

2026/07/18 07:00 Yokohama免费

Festivals

Otaru Ushio Festival 2026

Otaru's biggest summer festival fills the port with the mass 'Shio Nerikomi' dance and a closing fireworks display.

2026/07/24 02:00 Sapporo免费

Festivals

Tenjin Matsuri

Osaka's thousand-year river festival ends with a flotilla of lantern-lit boats and fireworks reflected on the Okawa River.

2026/07/25 06:00 Osaka免费

Festivals

Owari Tsushima Tenno Festival 2026

One of Japan's three great river festivals — lantern-laden 'makiwara' boats glide across the Tenno River by night.

2026/07/25 09:00 Nagoya免费

Festivals

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.

2026/07/25 09:30 Fukuoka免费

Festivals

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.

2026/07/25 10:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

Osu Summer Festival

Nagoya's quirky downtown district throws a lively summer festival with cosplay, world dance and a wet 'kara-okuri' parade.

2026/08/01 01:00 Nagoya免费

Festivals

Wasshoi Hyakuman Summer Festival 2026 (Kitakyushu)

Kitakyushu's biggest summer festival sends massive 'Wasshoi' dance parades and mikoshi through Kokura, capped by fireworks.

2026/08/01 06:00 Fukuoka免费

Festivals

Morioka Sansa Odori 2026

A Guinness-record wall of taiko drums thunders through Morioka as thousands of dancers chant 'Sakkora choiwayasse!'

2026/08/01 09:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

Hakodate Port Festival 2026: Fireworks, Squid Dance & Dates

Hakodate 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 10:45 Sapporo免费

Festivals

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.

2026/08/02 09:30 Nagoya免费

Festivals

Aomori Nebuta 2026 Reserved Seats: Prices, Sale Dates & Access

Aomori 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 10:00 Across JapanReserved viewing seat ¥4,000 (Aug 7 daytime + fireworks set ¥9,500); handling fee added

Festivals

Summer Matsuri Grandstand Tickets 2026: How to Buy Paid Seats

How 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 10:00Paid grandstand seats from ¥1,000 (varies by festival and tier)

Festivals

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri

Giant illuminated warrior floats are paraded through Aomori nightly as chanting dancers leap alongside in a blaze of color.

2026/08/02 10:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

Akita Kanto Festival 2026

Performers balance towering bamboo poles strung with dozens of glowing lanterns on their palms, foreheads and shoulders.

2026/08/03 09:50 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/08/05 09:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

Sendai Tanabata Festival 2026: Dates, Access & Highlights

Sendai 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 01:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

Sendai Tanabata Festival

Japan's grandest star festival drapes Sendai's arcades in thousands of giant, handmade paper streamers.

2026/08/06 01:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

Asagaya Tanabata Festival 2026: Dates, the Papier-Mâché Arcade & Access

Asagaya Tanabata 2026 (Aug 7–11): Tokyo's free arcade tanabata, famous for giant handmade papier-mâché figures of the year's characters. Rain-or-shine. Dates, highlights, access.

2026/08/07 01:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

Yosakoi Festival 2026 Tickets: Otesuji Grandstand Seats & How to Buy

Yosakoi 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 04:15 Across JapanPaid grandstand seats ¥1,000–¥3,000 per session (group/parasol tables ¥15,000–¥50,000)

Festivals

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.

2026/08/09 08:00 Across JapanFree to watch on the streets; paid reserved (shaded) seats sold for the main venues.

Festivals

Awa Odori 2026 Tickets: Dates, Grandstand Seats & How to Get There

Awa 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 09:00 Across JapanReserved grandstand ¥1,000 (C) – ¥3,000 (S); Minami-uchimachi SS ¥6,000 / Special ¥15,000

Festivals

Awa Odori Dance Festival

Japan's most famous dance festival: 100,000 dancers and a million spectators fill Tokushima with rhythm every August.

2026/08/12 09:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/08/15 22:30 Tokyo免费

Festivals

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.

2026/08/16 10:00 Kyoto免费

Festivals

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.

2026/08/16 11:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/08/26 06:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/08/28 02:00 Nagoya免费

Festivals

Okinawa Zento Eisa Festival

Okinawa's biggest eisa festival, where drum troupes from across the islands perform thunderous traditional dance under summer skies.

2026/08/28 06:00 Okinawa免费

Festivals

Nara Basara Festival 2026

Nara's energetic summer counterpoint — vivid street-dance teams parade past Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha and Sanjo-dori.

2026/08/29 02:00 Nara免费

Festivals

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.

2026/08/29 04:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

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.

2026/08/29 08:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

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.

2026/09/01 08:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/09/12 01:00 Fukuoka免费

Festivals

Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri

Teams haul massive wooden festival floats at full sprint through Kishiwada's streets in one of Japan's most thrilling matsuri.

2026/09/18 21:00 Osaka免费

Festivals

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.

2026/09/19 01:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/10/01 Fukuoka免费

Festivals

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.

2026/10/03 09:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/10/06 22:00 Fukuoka免费

Festivals

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.

2026/10/09 Nagoya免费

Festivals

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.

2026/10/10 01:00 Nagoya免费

Festivals

Naha Great Tug-of-War Festival

Join thousands pulling the world's largest straw rope through Naha in this Guinness-record Okinawan autumn festival.

2026/10/11 02:00 Okinawa免费

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.

2026/10/11 05:30 Okinawa免费

Festivals

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.'

2026/10/14 01:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/10/15 23:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2026/10/17 01:00 Tokyo免费

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.

2026/10/22 03:00 Kyoto免费

Festivals

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.

2026/10/22 09:00 Kyoto免费

Festivals

Hakata Okunchi 2026: Dates, the Ox-Cart Parade & Access

Hakata 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 01:00 Fukuoka免费

Festivals

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.

2026/10/24 01:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

Onomichi Betcha Festival 2026

Three costumed demons roam the streets of hillside Onomichi, tapping children with sticks to bring them good health.

2026/11/01 Hiroshima免费

Festivals

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.

2026/11/01 02:00 Okinawa免费

Festivals

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.

2026/11/02 10:30 Fukuoka免费

Festivals

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.

2026/11/07 01:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

Chichibu Night Festival 2026: Dates, Fireworks & Access

Chichibu Night Festival 2026 (Dec 2–3): UNESCO floats hauled up Dangozaka and ~2 hours of winter fireworks — verified dates, venue and access.

2026/12/02 05:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

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.

2026/12/03 09:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

Kasuga Wakamiya On-Matsuri 2026

A 890-year-old festival whose daytime parade marches costumes from the Heian through Edo eras through central Nara.

2026/12/15 Nara免费

Festivals

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.

2026/12/31 13:00 Osaka免费

Festivals

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.

2026/12/31 14:00 Kyoto免费

Festivals

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.

2026/12/31 14:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

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.

2027/01/15 10:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2027/01/23 04:00 Across JapanCooperation fee around ¥500 (junior-high+); free for younger children.

Festivals

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.

2027/01/30 01:00 SapporoDonation around ¥500 (high-school age+); free for younger children.

Festivals

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.

2027/02/02 09:00 Kyoto免费

Festivals

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.

2027/02/03 02:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2027/02/05 Sapporo免费

Festivals

Namahage Sedo Festival

Demon-masked 'namahage' brandishing torches stampede down a snowy mountainside at Shinzan Shrine in a fierce, firelit Oga winter spectacle.

2027/02/12 09:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2027/02/15 09:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2027/02/20 13:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2027/04/01 02:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

Inuyama Festival 2027

Thirteen three-tiered floats with karakuri puppets parade below Inuyama Castle, glowing with lanterns under the cherry blossoms.

2027/04/03 Nagoya免费

Festivals

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.

2027/04/14 Nagoya免费

Festivals

Seihakusai Dekayama Festival 2027 (Nanao)

Three 12-metre, 20-ton wooden floats — among Japan's largest — are hauled through Nanao's narrow streets.

2027/05/03 Kanazawa免费

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.

2027/05/03 01:00 Across Japan免费

Festivals

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.

2027/05/03 01:00 Fukuoka免费

Festivals

Kanda Matsuri 2027

One of Japan's three great festivals returns in full force: mikoshi processions fill Kanda, Nihonbashi and Akihabara in this 2027 honmatsuri year.

2027/05/14 23:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

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.

2027/05/15 01:30 Kyoto免费

Festivals

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.

2027/05/18 23:00 Kanazawa免费

Festivals

Sanja Matsuri 2027

Asakusa'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 02:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

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.

2027/05/29 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.

Festivals

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.

2027/06/04 Kanazawa免费

Festivals

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.

2028/06/07 22:30 Tokyo免费

Festivals

Sapporo Snow Festival

Hokkaido's winter wonderland: giant snow and ice sculptures fill Odori Park, drawing over two million visitors each February.

2026/02/04 01:00 Sapporo免费

Festivals

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.

2026/03/12 10:00 Nara免费

Festivals

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.

2026/05/03 Okinawa免费

Festivals

Hiroshima Flower Festival

A vibrant Golden Week celebration along Peace Boulevard, with flower parades, yosakoi dancing, music stages and a giant flower tower.

2026/05/03 00:30 Hiroshima免费

Festivals

Kanda Matsuri

One of Tokyo's three great festivals: hundreds of portable shrines parade through Akihabara and the old Edo districts.

2026/05/08 23:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

Sanja Matsuri

Asakusa's wildest weekend: nearly 100 portable shrines and two million people flood the streets around Senso-ji Temple.

2026/05/15 02:00 Tokyo免费

Festivals

Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Festival

A grand samurai procession reenacts a feudal lord's entry into Kanazawa, complete with armor, geisha and lantern-lit floats.

2026/06/05 05:00 Kanazawa免费

Festivals

Tokasan Yukata Festival

Hiroshima's beloved summer kickoff: locals don yukata and fill the downtown streets for three festive nights.

2026/06/05 07:00 Hiroshima免费

Festivals

Yosakoi Soran Festival

Sapporo erupts in color as thousands of dancers perform high-energy yosakoi routines through the streets each June.

2026/06/10 01:00 Sapporo免费