即将举行© Maarten Heerlien · CC BY 2.0A mikoshi is a portable Shinto shrine believed to carry a deity through the streets. Here's what it means, why bearers shake it, and how it differs from a danjiri.
即将举行© KQuhen · CC BY-SA 4.0Setsubun is Japan's bean-throwing festival, held around Feb 3. Here's what "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" means, where mamemaki comes from, and where to see it.
即将举行© Jean-Pierre Dalbéra · CC BY 2.0Kyoto'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.
即将举行© H.Hmoderato · CC BY-SA 4.0A 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.
即将举行© MIKI Yoshihito · CC BY 2.0The 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.
即将举行© Marho · CC BY-SA 4.0Gujo Odori traces to the early Edo period, when the lord of Gujo-Hachiman gathered the villages' Bon dances into the castle town to foster harmony across the rigid class system. A clear explainer of why 'dancing beyond rank' has endured for 400 years.
即将举行© Corpse Reviver · CC BY 3.0Gion Matsuri began in 869 as the Gion Goryo-e, a rite to drive out plague. Held by Yasaka Shrine (the former Gion shrine of Gozu Tenno), it has run for over 1,150 years. A short, clear explainer of why it endures.
即将举行© Nesnad · CC BY 3.0Tanabata — 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.
即将举行© Fisherman · CC BY-SA 3.0From 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.
即将举行© Hajime NAKANO · CC BY 2.0From 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.
即将举行© Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0Japan 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.
即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0What 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.
即将举行© Kinori · Public DomainHokkaido is a year-round festival island — ice sculptures in February, dancing in June, and beer gardens all summer.
即将举行© Marufish from Alor Setar, Malaysia · CC BY-SA 2.0Time your trip around the giants — Gion in Kyoto, Tenjin in Osaka, Nebuta in Aomori, and Awa Odori in Tokushima.
Official进行中© Douggers · Public DomainA 1,300-year-old torchlit tradition: Gifu's Imperial cormorant masters work leashed birds on the Nagara River nightly, May 11-October 15, 2026.
2026/05/11 19:45 Across JapanShared sightseeing boat (2026 rates): ¥4,200 adults / ¥2,100 children on regular days; ¥5,100 adults / ¥2,600 children on peak dates. Watching for free from the riverbank is also possible.
Official进行中© Marho · CC BY-SA 4.0Gujo Odori 2026's all-night Tetsuya Odori runs over Obon, Aug 13-16, from 8 pm to 4-5 am. The stage is the old castle town of Gujo-Hachiman in Gifu, about a 20-min walk from Gujo-Hachiman Station. Verified dates, venue and access for first-timers.
2026/08/13 20:00免费
Official进行中© New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General · CC BY 4.0Thousands of memorial lanterns drift down the Oi River below Arashiyama as the 'Torii-gata' bonfire of the Gozan Okuribi blazes on the hillside above.
2026/08/16 19:00 Kyoto免费
Official进行中© 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0Masked dancers in black hikosa-zukin hoods and deep amigasa hats sway through torchlit streets at one of Japan's three great Bon Odori, 700+ years old.
2026/08/16 19:30 Across Japan免费
Official进行中© MIKI Yoshihito from Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan · CC BY 2.0A thousand women dance through summer night with golden paper lanterns glowing on their heads — Kumamoto's most ethereal festival.
2026/08/16 20:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Katsutoshi Misawa (克年 三沢) · CC BY 2.0Twenty towering yatai floats - hand-built from scratch every year and dressed as scenes from kabuki and legend - parade the streets of Shinjo each August 24-26. This 260-plus-year-old UNESCO-listed float festival reaches a milestone in 2026: its 270th staging.
2026/08/24 15:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Sakaori (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0To mark the close of Mt. Fuji's climbing season, around seventy three-meter torches blaze along the streets of Fujiyoshida — counted among Japan's three most unusual festivals.
2026/08/26 15:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Kyu3 · CC BY-SA 4.0Nagoya's huge late-summer dance festival fills the city center with hundreds of energetic teams in a riot of color and choreography.
2026/08/28 11:00 Nagoya免费
Official即将举行© Tet · CC BY 4.0Okinawa's biggest eisa festival, where drum troupes from across the islands perform thunderous traditional dance under summer skies.
2026/08/28 15:00 Okinawa免费
Official即将举行© Prosperosity · CC BY-SA 3.0Noboribetsu's hot-spring Hell Festival returns Aug 29-30, 2026: a giant demon float, the 1-ton Oni Mikoshi, mass demon-dancing and fireworks -- free to attend.
2026/08/29 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Degueulasse · CC BY-SA 3.0Nara's energetic summer counterpoint — vivid street-dance teams parade past Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha and Sanjo-dori.
2026/08/29 11:00 Nara免费
Official即将举行© Frankie Fouganthin · CC BY-SA 4.0Tokyo's biggest samba parade fills Asakusa with feathered dancers and thundering bateria as competing teams vie for the championship along Umamichi Street.
2026/08/29 13:00 Tokyo免费
Official即将举行© Marufish from Alor Setar, Malaysia · CC BY-SA 2.0Tokyo's own Awa dance takes over Koenji's backstreets as 10,000-plus dancers in 'ren' troupes whirl through the summer night.
2026/08/29 17:00 Tokyo免费
Official即将举行© さかおり · CC BY-SA 4.0By lantern light, faceless dancers in straw hats move with hushed grace to mournful kokyu strings through old Yatsuo's stone lanes.
2026/09/01 17:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© 掬茶 (Kikucha) · CC BY-SA 4.0Every September 7-9, the samurai town of Kakunodate fills with towering yama floats carrying warrior dolls by day; after dark comes the yamabuttsuke, when two floats that refuse to yield are rammed together in a thunderous, adrenaline-charged test of nerve.
2026/09/07 09:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Wikimedia Commons · Public domainFor seven nights, around 500 food and game stalls line Hakozakigu's approach as a million visitors mark autumn's arrival — Fukuoka's great harvest festival.
2026/09/12 10:00 Fukuoka免费
Official即将举行© Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0Teams haul massive wooden festival floats at full sprint through Kishiwada's streets in one of Japan's most thrilling matsuri.
2026/09/19 06:00 Osaka免费
Official即将举行© Umako · Public domainSome 600 people parade in full samurai costume through Aizuwakamatsu in a 'Lord's Procession' honouring the clan that made a famous last stand in Japan's last civil war.
2026/09/19 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© ヒタチギ · CC BY-SA 4.0千叶县规模最大的街头祭典，每年吸引70万至80万人参加。受近年破纪录酷暑影响，2026年柏祭将从传统的7月末周末改期至9月19日至20日举行。
2026/09/19 13:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0Kumamoto's biggest autumn festival runs Sept 20-21, 2026: about 60 decorated parade horses and a twice-daily armored procession fill the streets, free to watch.
2026/09/20 06:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© 663highland · CC BY 2.5Matsue's castle and canals glow with lanterns every weekend from Sept 26-Oct 18, 2026, 18:00-21:00 -- a quiet, romantic alternative to Japan's big-city illuminations.
2026/09/26 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0Around 100 fishing boats escort three deities' mikoshi across the sea at this World Heritage shrine's grand autumn festival.
2026/10/01 09:00 Fukuoka免费
Official即将举行© Nihonmatsuri · CC BY 4.0Seven towering floats, each carrying 300+ glowing red lanterns, parade through Fukushima nights to the beat of taiko in one of Japan's three great lantern festivals.
2026/10/03 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Marine-Blue · CC BY-SA 3.0A 380-year-old shrine festival blending Japanese, Chinese and Dutch flair — spinning dragon dances, whirling umbrella floats and roaring 'Motte-koi' chants.
2026/10/07 07:00 Fukuoka免费
Official即将举行© 663highland · CC BY-SA 3.0For three days every October 8-10, Ainu elders at Lake Akan hold sacred kamuinomi prayers, a torchlit lakeside parade, and a ceremonial send-off of the marimo algae balls into the water - a tradition dating to 1950 that protects the lake's famous round colonies, a Japanese Special Natural Monument since 1952.
2026/10/08 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© z tanuki · CC BY 3.0Eleven gilded Edo-era floats parade through old Takayama by day, then glow with 100+ lanterns at dusk in one of Japan's three most beautiful festivals.
2026/10/09 09:00 Nagoya免费
Official即将举行© katorisi · CC BY 3.0Fourteen giant wooden floats, each topped by a towering doll of a legendary hero, are hauled through the canal-side 'Little Edo' streets of Sawara to lilting Sawara-bayashi music every autumn - October 9-11 in 2026 - in one of the Kanto region's three great float festivals, just a day-trip from Tokyo.
2026/10/09 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Kanchi1979 · CC BY-SA 4.0Konpira-san's biggest festival (Oct 9-11, 2026): once a year the mountain deity 'comes down' -- a ~600-strong procession carries the mikoshi 2km through Kotohira by torchlight.
2026/10/09 16:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Base64 · CC BY-SA 3.0Nagoya's biggest autumn party crowns Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu in armor, leading a 600-strong procession from the station to Nagoya Castle.
2026/10/10 10:00 Nagoya免费
Official即将举行© Okimoto · Public DomainJoin thousands pulling the world's largest straw rope through Naha in this Guinness-record Okinawan autumn festival.
2026/10/11 11:00 Okinawa免费
Official即将举行© Yuet Man Lee · CC BY-SA 4.0Tens of thousands grab a Guinness-record 200m rope and heave for 30 minutes in the middle of Naha's main road — Okinawa's most thunderous autumn spectacle.
2026/10/11 14:30 Okinawa免费
Official即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0Three portable shrines are violently crashed together as seven ornate floats clash in Japan's most famous 'fighting festival.'
2026/10/14 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0Fifty-four golden, 5.5-metre taiko-dai floats are hoisted by 150-strong crews in one of Shikoku's three great festivals.
2026/10/16 08:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© 三塚 · CC BY-SA 4.0In Tokyo's 'Little Edo', towering tiered floats with revolving dolls roll past kurazukuri warehouses and clash in 'Hikkawase' flute-and-drum face-offs.
2026/10/17 10:00 Tokyo免费
Official即将举行© Raita Futo · CC BY 2.0ELLEGARDEN, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and Sambomaster headline a headland-side music festival on Miyako Island, Okinawa on October 17, 2026.
2026/10/17 11:00 OkinawaAdvance ¥9,000 / Door ¥10,000 (day-of sales only if not sold out) / Miyako Island resident student ticket ¥4,000 / children under elementary-school age free (up to 3 per guardian)
Official即将举行© Corpse Reviver · CC BY-SA 3.0A 2-km parade of 2,000 people in meticulously accurate costumes marches through 1,000 years of Kyoto history, from Heian nobles to Meiji revolutionaries.
2026/10/22 12:00 Kyoto免费
Official即将举行© ja:User:Si-take. · CC BY-SA 3.0Men in loincloths haul flaming 80-kg torches through a mountain village after dark in one of Kyoto's wildest, most primal night festivals.
2026/10/22 18:00 Kyoto免费
Official即将举行© そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0博多おくんち 2026（10月23日–24日）是福冈栉田神社的免费秋季例大祭，历史长达1200年 — 以10月24日的牛车巡游最为著名。日期、行程与交通指南如下。
2026/10/23 10:00 Fukuoka免费
Official即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0One of Japan's three great 'fighting' festivals, where teams ram a giant drum-float and mikoshi together to a thundering 'ton-ten-ton' beat.
2026/10/24 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Dariusz Jemielniak · CC BY-SA 3.0Three costumed demons roam the streets of hillside Onomichi, tapping children with sticks to bring them good health.
2026/11/01 09:00 Hiroshima免费
Official即将举行© Qiuqizhenghong · CC BY-SA 3.0The Yaeyama Islands' biggest festival fills central Ishigaki with a citizens' parade, island music and a closing fireworks display over the harbour town.
2026/11/01 11:00 Okinawa免费
Official即将举行© Sanjo · CC BY-SA 4.0The original Kagoshima Ohara Matsuri (Nov 2–3, 2026) fills Tenmonkan with 16,500+ dancers — not to be confused with Tokyo's May Shibuya version.
2026/11/02 18:50 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Pekachu · CC BY-SA 4.0Fourteen colossal lacquered floats — golden lions, samurai helmets and dragons up to 7 m tall — are dragged through town and onto a beach where they sink in sand.
2026/11/02 19:30 Fukuoka免费
Official即将举行© Fuchu · CC BY-SA 4.0On November's rooster days, Asakusa's Otori Shrine fills with stalls selling glittering 'kumade' rakes meant to scoop up luck and fortune for the year ahead.
2026/11/07 10:00 Tokyo免费
Official即将举行© senngokujidai4434 · CC BY 2.0Every god in Japan is said to gather at Izumo Taisha for Kamiari-zuki (Nov 9-Dec 8, 2026) -- the one shrine where the 'godless month' becomes the 'month with gods'.
2026/11/18 19:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© David Stanley · CC BY 2.0From nightly hour-long showings at Takachiho Shrine to the free two-day, all-33-dance Yokagura Matsuri and month-long hamlet sessions each winter, Takachiho Yokagura is one of Kyushu's most accessible sacred night rituals -- a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property since 1978.
2026/11/22 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Katorisi · CC BY 4.0Chichibu Night Festival 2026 runs Dec 2 (Wed)–3 (Thu); the main night is Dec 3, when lantern-lit UNESCO floats are hauled up Dangozaka and winter fireworks fill the sky for about two hours. Free to attend; about 80 minutes from Ikebukuro — dates, venue and access below.
2026/12/02 14:00 Tokyo免费
Official即将举行© Wikimedia Commons · Public domainSix lantern-lit floats are hauled up steep Dango-zaka as winter fireworks burst overhead — one of Japan's three great float festivals and a UNESCO heritage event.
2026/12/03 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Degueulasse · CC BY-SA 3.0A 890-year-old festival whose daytime parade marches costumes from the Heian through Edo eras through central Nara.
2026/12/15 09:00 Nara免费
Official即将举行© Saigen Jiro · CC0Some two million Osakans cross the arched Sorihashi bridge to greet the year at 'Sumiyossan,' head shrine of Japan's 2,300 Sumiyoshi shrines.
2026/12/31 22:00 Osaka免费
Official即将举行© Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY-SA 4.0Kyoto's head Inari shrine welcomes some 2.5 million New Year worshippers who pray for prosperity beneath endless tunnels of vermilion torii.
2026/12/31 23:00 Kyoto免费
Official即将举行© Nightcrafter · CC BY-SA 4.0Roughly three million people stream through the towering torii to pray at Tokyo's grandest shrine in the first three days of the year.
2026/12/31 23:00 Tokyo免费
Official即将举行© Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0Around a million people pack Osaka's Imamiya Ebisu Shrine over January 9-11 to pray to 'Ebessan', the god of business prosperity - collecting a lucky fukuzasa bamboo branch from kimono-clad 'fuku-musume' maidens to the chant 'come with your bamboo for a thriving business'.
2027/01/09 09:00 Osaka免费
Official即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0One of Japan's three great fire festivals: villagers defend a giant wooden shrine with blazing torches as attackers try to set it alight in a wild snowbound battle.
2027/01/15 19:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0In a Daisetsuzan gorge, ice domes and towers fill a riverside field, lit nightly in shifting colors with weekend fireworks over the snow.
2027/01/23 13:00 Across JapanCooperation fee around ¥500 (junior-high+); free for younger children.
Official即将举行© Inlet Masu · CC BY-SA 3.0Sculptors spray the clear blue waters of Lake Shikotsu onto frames to build towering turquoise ice domes and tunnels, glowing in jewel tones after dark.
2027/01/30 10:00 SapporoDonation around ¥500 (high-school age+); free for younger children.
Official即将举行© Jean-Pierre Dalbéra · CC BY 2.0Kyoto's most famous Setsubun rite, where a masked exorcist drives off blue, red and yellow demons in an ancient court ceremony, ringed by 800 food stalls.
2027/02/02 18:00 Kyoto免费
Official即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0Sumo wrestlers and celebrity 'lucky men' hurl tonnes of beans from Naritasan's great hall, where the chant is only 'fortune in' — no demons to expel.
2027/02/03 11:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© 京浜にけ · CC BY 3.0Hokkaido's second-biggest snow fest pairs colossal stage-sized snow sculptures by the Ishikari River with an international ice-carving championship.
2027/02/05 09:00 Sapporo免费
Official即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0Demon-masked 'namahage' brandishing torches stampede down a snowy mountainside at Shinzan Shrine in a fierce, firelit Oga winter spectacle.
2027/02/12 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Rarisan · CC0Hundreds of candlelit snow igloos glow across Yokote while children inside invite passersby in for sweet sake — plus 4,000 mini-kamakura lighting the riverbed.
2027/02/15 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Every February 17-20, dozens of Enburi troupes dance through Hachinohe in tall black eboshi hats to summon an early spring and good harvest - a roughly 800-year-old rite tracing to the Kamakura era, now a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
2027/02/17 07:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainThousands of loincloth-clad men pack a freezing temple hall at midnight, surging to seize two sacred shingi sticks flung into the throng — one of Japan's wildest rites.
2027/02/20 22:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0Japan's hot-spring capital throws its biggest party of the year — a fire festival on Mount Ogi, free baths across the city and a mikoshi parade thanking the springs.
2027/04/01 11:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© 江戸村のとくぞう (Edomura no Tokuzo) · CC BY-SA 4.0Kofu's streets fill with roughly 1,500 armour-clad marchers and around 30 horses re-enacting the Koshu army's departure for battle - a Guinness World Record 'largest gathering of people dressed as samurai,' held on the first weekend of April.
2027/04/02 12:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Chris 73 · CC BY-SA 3.0Thirteen three-tiered floats with karakuri puppets parade below Inuyama Castle, glowing with lanterns under the cherry blossoms.
2027/04/03 09:00 Nagoya免费
Official即将举行© z tanuki · CC BY 3.0Twelve ornate Edo-era yatai floats with karakuri puppets parade through old Takayama, glowing with around 100 lanterns each at the night festival.
2027/04/14 09:00 Nagoya免费
Official即将举行© teru · Public domainOn the night of April 19, hundreds of near-naked men carry a giant drum on a tall wooden tower through Hida-Furukawa while rival neighborhood teams charge in to plant their small drums against it - the wild Okoshi-daiko, heart of a UNESCO-listed festival that also parades nine ornate floats on the 20th.
2027/04/19 09:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Jovandavid · Public DomainThree 12-metre, 20-ton wooden floats — among Japan's largest — are hauled through Nanao's narrow streets.
2027/05/03 09:00 Kanazawa免费
Official即将举行© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0Giant kites duel over the Nakatajima dunes by day; by night, illuminated palace-style floats and brass bands fill downtown Hamamatsu.
2027/05/03 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© フェレス · CC BY-SA 2.1 jpOne of Japan's biggest festivals: around 2 million people watch 750-plus troupes parade with shamoji clappers, flower floats and stage shows over May 3–4.
2027/05/03 10:00 Fukuoka免费
Official即将举行© Jose Fernando from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY-SA 2.0One of Japan's three great festivals returns in full force: mikoshi processions fill Kanda, Nihonbashi and Akihabara in this 2027 honmatsuri year.
2027/05/15 08:00 Tokyo免费
Official即将举行© Marie-Sophie Mejan · CC BY 4.0A 1,400-year-old imperial procession of 500 people in Heian-era robes winds 8km through Kyoto, oxen and ox-carts adorned with hollyhock leaves.
2027/05/15 10:30 Kyoto免费
Official即将举行© Ray in Manila · CC BY 2.0Nikko Toshogu's Spring Grand Festival returns May 17-18, 2027: yabusame archery and a 1,200-person samurai procession reenacting Ieyasu's journey to Nikko.
2027/05/17 09:00 Tokyo免费
Official即将举行© Jonathan Mercieca · CC BY-SA 4.0One of Hokuriku's three great festivals: six towering 6-metre warrior floats crowned with giant musha-ningyo figures are hauled through old port-town streets.
2027/05/19 08:00 Kanazawa免费
Official即将举行© Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France · CC BY 2.0Asakusa's wildest weekend returns in 2027: roughly 100 mikoshi and two million visitors expected to pack the streets around Senso-ji and Asakusa Shrine.
2027/05/21 11:00 Tokyo免费
Official即将举行© Hajime NAKANO · CC BY 2.0Hundreds of riders in full samurai armour thunder across Fukushima's coast for armoured horse races and a wild scramble to catch sacred flags shot into the sky.
2027/05/29 09:00 Across JapanThe main-day grounds (Hibarigahara) are ticketed for grandstand seating; street processions are free to watch. Exact 2027 dates (last weekend of May) confirmed in advance.
Official即将举行© Z3144228 · CC BY-SA 4.0Kanazawa's grandest festival reenacts feudal lord Maeda Toshiie's triumphant entry into the castle, with a costumed warrior procession, tea ceremonies and lantern-lit dances.
2027/06/04 09:00 Kanazawa免费
Official即将举行© Ogiyoshisan · Public domainOsaka's Aizen Matsuri (fixed every Jun 30–Jul 2) just wrapped its 2026 run — here's what happened, and the reliable placeholder for 2027.
2027/06/30 10:00 Osaka免费
Official即将举行© 8-Forest · CC BY-SA 4.0For five days every July 31-August 4, 27 towering, gold-leafed floats and three shrines' mikoshi processions fill Hachinohe's streets - a 300-year-old harvest-thanksgiving festival and UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage that draws over a million visitors.
2027/07/31 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official即将举行© Vetalapancavimsatika · CC BY-SA 4.0Held in full only in even-numbered years, Hie Shrine's grand procession sends a 500-strong parade of courtly costumes and portable shrines on a ten-hour route past the Imperial Palace and Ginza.
2028/06/08 07:30 Tokyo免费
Official已结束© Kinori · Public DomainHokkaido's winter wonderland: giant snow and ice sculptures fill Odori Park, drawing over two million visitors each February.
2026/02/04 10:00 Sapporo免费
Official已结束© Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY-SA 4.0Monks brandish giant flaming torches along Todaiji's Nigatsudo balcony each March, showering sparks over the crowd in a 1,200-year-old rite.
2026/03/12 19:00 Nara免费
Official已结束© Banzai Hiroaki · CC BY 2.0Okinawa's Golden Week dragon-boat festival packs Naha's port with thundering paddle races, music stages and fireworks over the harbor.
2026/05/03 09:00 Okinawa免费
Official已结束© Taisyo · CC BY 3.0A vibrant Golden Week celebration along Peace Boulevard, with flower parades, yosakoi dancing, music stages and a giant flower tower.
2026/05/03 09:30 Hiroshima免费
Official已结束© Jose Fernando from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY-SA 2.0One of Tokyo's three great festivals: hundreds of portable shrines parade through Akihabara and the old Edo districts.
2026/05/09 08:00 Tokyo免费
Official已结束© Torsodog · CC BY-SA 3.0Asakusa's wildest weekend: nearly 100 portable shrines and two million people flood the streets around Senso-ji Temple.
2026/05/15 11:00 Tokyo免费
Official已结束© Danko Georgiev · CC BY-SA 3.0A grand samurai procession reenacts a feudal lord's entry into Kanazawa, complete with armor, geisha and lantern-lit floats.
2026/06/05 14:00 Kanazawa免费
Official已结束© Dariusz Jemielniak · CC BY-SA 3.0Hiroshima's beloved summer kickoff: locals don yukata and fill the downtown streets for three festive nights.
2026/06/05 16:00 Hiroshima免费
Official已结束© OKJaguar · CC BY-SA 4.0Sapporo erupts in color as thousands of dancers perform high-energy yosakoi routines through the streets each June.
2026/06/10 10:00 Sapporo免费
Official已结束© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0One of the Kanto region's largest Tanabata festivals, where central Hiratsuka disappears beneath giant, gaudy bamboo streamers up to ten metres tall.
2026/07/03 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© PattayaPatrol · CC BY-SA 4.0Over 30,000 golden lanterns light the approach to Yasukuni Shrine across four summer nights, with Aomori nebuta floats and bon-odori dancing.
2026/07/13 18:00 Tokyo免费
Official已结束© Internet Archive Book Images · No restrictionsTwelve fan-shaped portable shrines representing the gods meet a procession of giant 50-kilogram flaming torches before Japan's tallest waterfall — one of the country's three great fire festivals.
2026/07/14 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© ちょちょじ · CC BY 3.0Fukuoka's adrenaline-fueled finale: teams race one-ton festival floats through the dawn streets of Hakata.
2026/07/15 04:59 Fukuoka免费
Official已结束© Corpse Reviver · CC BY 3.0Gion Matsuri 2026 runs all July at Kyoto's Yasaka Shrine. Saki Matsuri yoiyama is July 14-16 and the float parade is July 17 at 9:00; Ato Matsuri yoiyama is July 21-23 and the parade is July 24 at 9:30. Verified dates, times and access.
2026/07/17 09:00免费
Official已结束© Corpse Reviver · CC BY 3.0Kyoto's grandest festival fills July with towering wooden floats, lantern-lit evening parties, and 1,100 years of tradition.
2026/07/17 09:00 Kyoto免费
Official已结束© Nissy-KITAQ · CC BY-SA 3.0Kokura Gion Daiko 2026 was held July 17-19 around Kokura Castle, Kitakyushu -- free entry, an estimated 300,000 visitors over the three days, 400 years of two-sided drumming. The 2027 dates are not yet announced.
2026/07/17 18:00 Fukuoka免费
Official已结束© Matthide127 · CC0A summer seaside festival at Yamashita Park with parades, a lit-up boat procession and fireworks over Yokohama Bay.
2026/07/18 16:00 Yokohama免费
Official已结束© Qiuqizhenghong · CC BY-SA 3.0Otaru's biggest summer festival fills the port with the mass 'Shio Nerikomi' dance and a closing fireworks display.
2026/07/24 11:00 Sapporo免费
Official已结束© Hasui Kawase · Public domainSado Island's 140th Kozan Matsuri (Jul 25-26) pairs a gold-mine shrine ritual with a town-wide Okesa dance through Aikawa and fireworks over the harbor.
2026/07/25 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© Mr.ちゅらさん · CC BY-SA 4.0Osaka's thousand-year river festival ends with a flotilla of lantern-lit boats and fireworks reflected on the Okawa River.
2026/07/25 15:00 Osaka免费
Official已结束© Chris 73 · CC BY-SA 3.0One of Japan's three great river festivals — lantern-laden 'makiwara' boats glide across the Tenno River by night.
2026/07/25 18:00 Nagoya免费
Official已结束© Adbh266 · CC BY-SA 4.0By night, daytime banner floats transform into 'lantern pyramids' — 12 tiers of 309 glowing lanterns swaying as bearers race them through Kitakyushu.
2026/07/25 18:30 Fukuoka免费
Official已结束© Alan & Flora Botting · CC BY-SA 2.0Nagoya's quirky downtown district throws a lively summer festival with cosplay, world dance and a wet 'kara-okuri' parade.
2026/08/01 10:00 Nagoya免费
Official已结束© そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0Kitakyushu's biggest summer festival sends massive 'Wasshoi' dance parades and mikoshi through Kokura, capped by fireworks.
2026/08/01 15:00 Fukuoka免费
Official已结束© Marho · CC BY-SA 4.0A Guinness-record wall of taiko drums thunders through Morioka as thousands of dancers chant 'Sakkora choiwayasse!'
2026/08/01 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© Rosino · CC BY-SA 2.0Hirosaki's own summer lantern parade (Aug 1–7, 2026) — fan-shaped floats and a calmer chant that set it apart from nearby Aomori Nebuta.
2026/08/01 19:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© Raita Futo · CC BY 2.0Hakodate Port Festival 2026 (Aug 1–5): free Hokkaido summer festival with opening-night bay fireworks on Aug 1 and the famous Ika Odori squid dance Aug 2–3. Dates, times, access.
2026/08/01 19:45 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© MaedaAkihiko · CC BY-SA 4.021,000 fireworks over Lake Shinji across two nights (Aug 1-2, 2026) -- one of western Japan's biggest lake firework shows, with a drone show opening night one.
2026/08/01 20:00 Across JapanPaid reserved seating in 3 lakeside areas (Kohoku, Shirakata, Konan) went on sale June 6, 2026; free public viewing spots are also available around the lake.
Official已结束© Kazehayashi · CC BY-SA 4.0Billed as Japan's noisiest festival: dozens of lantern-lit festival cars thunder through Kuwana to a relentless din of drums and gongs deep into the night.
2026/08/02 18:30 Nagoya免费
Official已结束© Fisherman · CC BY-SA 3.0Aomori Nebuta 2026 reserved viewing seats: ¥4,000 prices, the 2026 sale dates (lottery + Jun 27 first-come), how to buy, and access from Tokyo.
2026/08/02 19:00 Across JapanReserved viewing seat ¥4,000 (Aug 7 daytime + fireworks set ¥9,500); handling fee added
Official已结束© MIKI Yoshihito · CC BY 2.0How to buy paid grandstand seats at Japan's summer matsuri in 2026: lottery vs first-come, prices, the on-sale calendar and the official links.
2026/08/02 19:00Paid grandstand seats from ¥1,000 (varies by festival and tier)
Official已结束© Fisherman · CC BY-SA 3.0Giant illuminated warrior floats are paraded through Aomori nightly as chanting dancers leap alongside in a blaze of color.
2026/08/02 19:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0Akita's Kanto Matsuri lights up Kanto Odori with about 280 bamboo poles and 10,000 lanterns, balanced on foreheads, hips and palms like glowing rice sheaves.
2026/08/03 18:45 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© hildgrim · CC BY-SA 2.0Performers balance towering bamboo poles strung with dozens of glowing lanterns on their palms, foreheads and shoulders.
2026/08/03 18:50 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© No machine-readable author provided. Crown of Lenten rose assumed (based on copy · Public domainSome 10,000 dancers twirl flower-adorned straw hats to the rhythmic cry of 'Yassho, makasho!' in one of Tohoku's biggest parades.
2026/08/05 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0Sendai Tanabata Festival 2026 (Aug 6–8): the fixed dates, the giant paper streamers, the Aug 5 fireworks, 5-min access from Sendai Station, and what to see.
2026/08/06 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© Nesnad · CC BY 3.0Japan's grandest star festival drapes Sendai's arcades in thousands of giant, handmade paper streamers.
2026/08/06 10:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© Volfgang · CC BY-SA 3.0Asagaya Tanabata Festival 2026 runs Aug 7–11, free, rain or shine. Tokyo's arcade tanabata is famous for giant handmade papier-mâché figures of the year's characters, right by JR Asagaya Station.
2026/08/07 10:00 Tokyo免费
Official已结束© m-sasaki · CC BY 4.0Fukushima Waraji Matsuri 2026 (Aug 7–9) parades a 12m, 2-ton straw sandal past the station before offering it to Haguro Shrine.
2026/08/07 18:30 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© DAI-nk · CC BY-SA 3.0Niigata Matsuri 2026 runs Aug 7–9: a 15,000-dancer folk parade on the 7th, then a Shinano River fireworks finale on the 9th.
2026/08/07 19:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0Yosakoi Festival 2026 (Aug 9–12, Kochi): Otesuji grandstand seat prices, the 2026 sale dates (general sale opens Jun 29), how to buy, and how to get there.
2026/08/09 13:15 Across JapanPaid grandstand seats ¥1,000–¥3,000 per session (group/parasol tables ¥15,000–¥50,000)
Official已结束© Midori (Wikimedia user) · CC BY-SA 3.0The original yosakoi: 200+ teams and ~18,000 dancers with naruko clappers thunder through Kochi's streets across four August days.
2026/08/09 17:00 Across JapanFree to watch on the streets; paid reserved (shaded) seats sold for the main venues.
Official已结束© Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0Awa Odori 2026 (Aug 12–15, Tokushima): grandstand seat prices, the 2026 on-sale dates, how to buy via Ticket Pia, and how to get there.
2026/08/12 18:00 Across JapanReserved grandstand ¥1,000 (C) – ¥3,000 (S); Minami-uchimachi SS ¥6,000 / Special ¥15,000
Official已结束© Rosino · CC BY-SA 2.0Japan's most famous dance festival: 100,000 dancers and a million spectators fill Tokushima with rhythm every August.
2026/08/12 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© KASEI · CC BY-SA 3.0Tottori's Guinness-record umbrella dance returns Aug 13–14, 2026 for its 62nd edition — free to watch along the city-center parade route.
2026/08/13 18:00 Across Japan免费
Official已结束© American Art Association;
Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912 · No restrictionsOne of Edo's three great festivals returns to its full triennial form in 2026, with 50+ mikoshi paraded as spectators drench bearers in purifying water.
2026/08/16 07:30 Tokyo免费