Festivals & events

41 celebrations through the year — pick a day to see what's on.

• New Year's Day (1, Kantō) — Japan's most important holiday when families gather, visit shrines, and celebrate the new year with traditional foods and customs. The enti…
• Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival) (2, Hokkaido) — Sapporo's iconic winter festival featuring massive snow sculptures, ice sculptures, and food stalls transforming Odori Park into a winter w…
• Coming of Age Day (1, Kantō) — A national holiday celebrating young adults who have turned 20, with ceremonies held at local government offices and celebrations in tradit…
• Ume Matsuri (Plum Festival) (2, Kansai) — Celebrated at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto, this festival honors the plum blossoms and features traditional performances, tea ceremonies…
• Omizutori Festival (Water-Drawing Festival) (3, Kansai) — Held at Todai-ji Temple in Nara, this ancient Buddhist ceremony features monks in elaborate robes performing water-drawing rituals with sac…
• National Foundation Day (2, Kantō) — A national holiday commemorating the legendary founding of Japan and the enthronement of the first emperor. Celebrated with flag displays a…
• Takayama Matsuri (4, Chūbu) — A spectacular spring festival in the mountains of Takayama featuring ornate festival floats with mechanical puppets, traditional music, and…
• Vernal Equinox Day (3, Kantō) — A national holiday marking the spring equinox when day and night are equal length. Families visit graves and enjoy time outdoors celebratin…
• Aoi Matsuri (Hollyhock Festival) (5, Kansai) — One of Kyoto's three major festivals held at Kamo Shrines, featuring a grand procession of participants in Heian-period court costumes deco…
• Children's Day (Kodomo no Hi) (5, Kantō) — A national holiday celebrating children with colorful koinobori (carp-shaped windsocks) flying across rooftops and special family gathering…
• Gion Matsuri (7, Kansai) — Kyoto's most famous summer festival lasting the entire month, culminating in the Yamaboko Procession featuring massive decorated floats. A…
• Sumida River Fireworks Festival (7, Kantō) — Tokyo's iconic summer fireworks festival with thousands of fireworks illuminating the Sumida River, drawing over a million spectators. A be…
• Awa Odori Festival (8, Shikoku) — Tokushima's spirited summer dance festival where thousands of dancers in colorful costumes perform traditional Awa dances through the stree…
• Tanabata Festival (Star Festival) (8, Tōhoku) — Sendai's major festival with elaborate bamboo decorations adorned with colorful paper streamers and ornaments celebrating the legend of sta…
• Respect for the Aged Day (9, Kantō) — A national holiday honoring elderly citizens, typically observed with family gatherings and special events at community centers. A reflecti…
• Autumnal Equinox Day (9, Kantō) — A national holiday marking the autumn equinox when day and night are equal. Families visit graves and celebrate the harvest season with tra…
• Takayama Matsuri (Fall Festival) (10, Chūbu) — The autumn counterpart to the spring festival featuring the same ornate floats and spectacular processions in Takayama's mountain setting.…
• Sports Day (10, Kantō) — A national holiday promoting health and sports with athletic events and school competitions held throughout the country. Celebrates the ope…
• Jidai Matsuri (Festival of Ages) (10, Kansai) — Kyoto's grand historical festival with a procession of 2,000 participants in costumes spanning 1,200 years of Japanese history. A spectacul…
• Hachioji Matsuri (8, Kantō) — A vibrant summer festival in western Tokyo featuring traditional dances, food stalls, and portable shrines paraded through the streets. A l…
• Nagasaki Kunchi Festival (10, Kyushu) — A 370-year-old festival blending Japanese, Chinese, and Dutch cultural influences with ornate floats and energetic dances. A unique reflect…
• Noto Konko Matsuri (9, Chūbu) — A harvest festival in the Noto Peninsula celebrating the autumn season with local food, crafts, and performances. A charming celebration of…
• Chinowa-kuguri (Ring Purification Ritual) (6, Kantō) — A Shinto purification ritual held at shrines nationwide where people pass through large straw rings to cleanse themselves before winter. An…
• Okunchi Festival (10, Kyushu) — Fukuoka's atmospheric autumn festival with traditional dances and portable shrines paraded through historic neighborhoods. A deeply rooted…
• Culture Day (11, Kantō) — A national holiday celebrating Japanese arts, culture, and academic achievements with exhibitions and ceremonies throughout the country. A…
• Shichigosan (Seven-Five-Three Festival) (11, Kantō) — A children's celebration where three, five, and seven-year-olds dress in traditional kimono and visit shrines for blessings. A picturesque…
• Labor Thanksgiving Day (11, Kantō) — A national holiday honoring workers and celebrating labor with community events and festivals. Originally an ancient harvest festival and s…
• Hakata Dontaku (5, Kyushu) — Fukuoka's exuberant Golden Week festival featuring parades, music, and street performances celebrating spring and prosperity. One of Japan'…
• Reitaisai Festival (5, Tōhoku) — Aomori's spiritual festival honoring ancestors with elaborate lantern floats featuring traditional designs. A deeply moving and visually st…
• Neputa Festival (8, Tōhoku) — Hirosaki's summer festival featuring giant fan-shaped float lanterns with bold designs paraded through streets lit by thousands of spectato…
• O-Doro Nagashi (Lantern Floating Festival) (8, Kyushu) — Nagasaki's poignant festival where thousands of paper lanterns float on the harbor to honor ancestors and remember atomic bomb victims. A s…
• Yosakoi Matsuri (8, Shikoku) — Kochi's dynamic dance festival where hundreds of teams perform energetic choreographed dances blending traditional and modern styles. A you…
• Karatsu Kunchi (11, Kyushu) — An ancient festival in Saga with seven large ornate floats called hikiyama paraded through the streets under dramatic lantern illumination.…
• Okayama Hadaka Matsuri (Naked Festival) (2, Chūgoku) — A wild and energetic festival where thousands of barely-clothed participants jostle to grab sacred sticks thrown from a shrine platform. A…
• Miyako Odori (4, Kansai) — Kyoto's springtime dance performances by geisha and maiko featuring traditional kabuki-influenced choreography and elegant costumes. An int…
• Pushkin Festival (5, Okinawa) — Okinawa's spring festival celebrating local culture with traditional music, dance, food, and crafts. A colorful expression of Okinawan isla…
• Kobo Daishi Festival (12, Shikoku) — A major pilgrimage festival at Koyasan celebrating the birth of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, with temple ceremonies and cu…
• Omisoka (New Year's Eve) (12, Kantō) — Japan's year-end celebration when families clean their homes, eat soba noodles, and prepare for New Year's with temple visits and midnight…
• Samurai Festival (5, Tōhoku) — Aomori's celebration of samurai culture with costumed processions, horse parades, and historical reenactments honoring the region's feudal…
• Kanda Matsuri (5, Kantō) — One of Tokyo's three major festivals held at Kanda Myojin Shrine with parades of portable shrines and traditional music. A vibrant urban ce…
• Sanno Matsuri (6, Kantō) — One of Tokyo's three major festivals at Hie Shrine featuring elaborate portable shrines and sacred processions through Shibuya and surround…