October 2026
3 events
Festival
Kyushu
N
10/07–10/09
Nagasaki Kunchi
長崎市上西山町18-15（諏訪神社）
Every October, a dragon descends the stone steps of Suwa Shrine and moves through the streets of Nagasaki. It has been d
Festival
Kyushu
H
10/23–10/24
Hakata Okunchi: The Autumn Thanksgiving of Kushida Shrine
Kushida Shrine and central Hakata, Fukuoka
A festival of gratitude, in autumn.
In October, at Kushida Shrine, the guardian shrine of Hakata in Fukuoka, the great
Gathering
Kyushu
S
10/30–11/03
Saga International Balloon Fiesta
For five days that straddle the end of October and the start of November, the flood plain of the Kase River in Saga fill
November 2026
5 events
Gathering
Kyushu
O
11/02–11/03
Ohara Festival
The largest festival in southern Kyushu takes over the tram-line avenue of Tenmonkan, Kagoshima's downtown, for two days
Festival
Kyushu
K
11/02–11/04
Karatsu Kunchi
3-13 Minamijounai, Karatsu, Saga (Karatsu Shrine)
Each of the fourteen floats has a name and a story. A red lion. A samurai helmet. A sea bream. A dragon. Urashima Taro o
Festival
Kyushu
Y
11/03–11/03
Yagoro-don Festival
Iwagawa Hachiman Shrine, Osumi-cho, Soo, Kagoshima
He stands four meters eighty-five: a giant in a plum-dyed robe, two swords at his waist, gazing over the rooftops of a s
Gathering
Kyushu
U
11/07–11/08
Usuki Takeyoi Bamboo Lantern Festival
The town of Usuki, on Oita's eastern coast, is a small place — some thirty-seven thousand people, a castle town grown ri
Festival
Kyushu
Y
11/22–11/23
Yatsushiro Myoken Festival
Yatsushiro Shrine and city center, Yatsushiro, Kumamoto
The creature is called Kida, though everyone in Yatsushiro calls it Game: a turtle and a snake fused into one bounding,
February 2027
2 events
Festival
Kyushu
N
02/06–02/20
Nagasaki Lantern Festival
Shinchi Chinatown, Central Park and across Nagasaki
Why is a Japanese town this red? Nagasaki's Lantern Festival, held at the Lunar New Year, lights the city with some fift
Festival
Kyushu
K
02/28–02/28
Kihara Fudoson Spring Festival
Ganeisan Chojuji, 2040 Kihara, Tomiai, Minami-ku, Kumamoto City
At the end of February, people walk barefoot over fire.
Tomiai, in the south of Kumamoto City. The temple's proper name
Year-round
Festival
Kyushu
T
毎年11月中旬〜2月上旬
Takachiho Night Kagura
Takachiho Shrine and village communities, Takachiho, Miyazaki
In the land where the myths were born, people dance through the night. Takachiho in Miyazaki is held to be the place whe
Gathering
Kyushu
K
Daily
Kunisaki Peninsula Art Festival
Kunisaki, Bungotakada and the Kunisaki Peninsula, Oita
In a land of Buddhas, contemporary art takes up residence. The Kunisaki Peninsula in Oita is a round peninsula jutting i
Workshop
Kyushu
A
Daily
Arita Porcelain Kiln Tour and Painting Experience
Arita, Nishimatsuura District, Saga
Japanese porcelain began in this town. Arita in Saga is where, four hundred years ago, Japan's first porcelain was fired
Festival
Kyushu
M
毎年12月第2土曜日前後
Miyakonojo Shiwasu Festival: The Year's End Fire
Miyakonojo City and Kirishima Shrine, Miyazaki
In December, the gods descend from Kirishima. The mountain shrine complex holds its year-end grand festival, and Miyakon
Festival
Kyushu
F
毎年8月第1土曜
Funai Senshi: Oita's Night of Warrior Floats
Chuo-dori, Oita City, Oita
Oita was once called Funai, and the city carries this history with ease. The Funai Senshi festival reclaims the old iden
Market
Kyushu
Y
月〜土 8:00〜17:00頃（日曜・祝日定休）
Yanagibashi Market: Where Hakata's Chefs Begin Their Day
1 Haruyoshi, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City
Before the restaurants open, the chefs of Hakata come here. Yanagibashi Rengo-ichiba has been supplying Fukuoka's food i
Market
Kyushu
A
週末・祝日（通年）
Aoshima Morning Market
Aoshima, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki
Miyazaki grows mangoes that the rest of Japan considers luxury items. At the morning market near Aoshima Shrine, they ar
Market
Kyushu
N
不定期（月1〜2回）
Nagasaki Megane-bashi Bridge Flea Market
Along Nakashima River near Megane-bashi, Nagasaki City
The Megane-bashi — the Spectacles Bridge, named for the double arch reflected in the water — was built in 1634 by Chines
Gathering
Kyushu
A
通年（火山活動状況により立入制限あり）
Aso Kusasenri: The Grassland at the Volcano's Edge
Kusasenrigahama, Aso City, Kumamoto
The Aso caldera is one of the largest in the world, and Kusasenri sits inside it — a circular meadow on the flank of an
Workshop
Kyushu
I
通年（砂蒸し会館 砂楽）
Ibusuki Sand Bath: Being Buried by the Volcanic Earth
5-25-18 Yunohama, Ibusuki City, Kagoshima
You lie down on the beach in a yukata. The attendant begins to cover you with sand — dark volcanic sand, naturally heate
Workshop
Kyushu
K
通年（各工房により異なる）
Kurume Kasuri: Weaving with Indigo-Dyed Thread
Kurume City, Fukuoka
Kurume kasuri begins with thread. Specifically, with thread that has been bound at intervals before dyeing — the bound s
Workshop
Kyushu
O
通年（各窯元により異なる）
Onta Yaki: Pottery at a Mill-Powered Kiln
Sarayama, Motosakae, Hita City, Oita
Nine kilns. That is all there are, and all there will be. The Sarayama valley in the mountains above Hita City has produ
Workshop
Kyushu
A
通年（体験事業者により異なる）
Amakusa Pottery Stone: Finding the Material That Made Arita Famous
Amakusa City, Kumamoto
The whiteness of Arita porcelain comes from here. Amakusa pottery stone — a white mineral found in the islands of wester
Workshop
Kyushu
S
通年（要予約）
Satsuma Kiriko: The Glass That Disappeared and Returned
Kagoshima City, Kagoshima
Satsuma kiriko was invented in the 1840s by the Satsuma domain, which brought in European glassworkers to develop a luxu
Residency
Kyushu
A
通年
Aya: Japan's Organic Farming Pioneer
Aya Town, Higashi-Morokata-gun, Miyazaki
Aya Town began its commitment to organic agriculture in the 1980s — a decision by the town government, supported by loca
Residency
Kyushu
O
通年
Ojika Island: A Slow Life on Japan's Most Beautiful Rural Inn
Ojika Town, Kitamatsuura-gun, Nagasaki
Ojika Island sits in the northern part of the Goto archipelago, more than three hours by ferry from Sasebo. The journey
Residency
Kyushu
M
通年
Minami-Oguni: Long Stay in Japan's Most Beloved Onsen Village
Minami-Oguni Town, Aso-gun, Kumamoto
Kurokawa Onsen sits in a narrow valley in the mountains of South Oguni, a small town in the Aso region of Kumamoto. The
Festival
Kyushu
U
毎年4月第3金〜日
Ushibuka Haiya Festival: The Dance That Crossed the Sea
Ushibuka, Amakusa City, Kumamoto
The Haiya dance originated among the fishermen of Ushibuka, at the southern tip of the Amakusa islands. The boats that f
Festival
Kyushu
O
毎年10月第3土・日
Obi Jokamachi Festival: The Little Kyoto of Kyushu
Obi, Nichinan City, Miyazaki
Obi is called the Little Kyoto of Kyushu, and the designation is more accurate than most such nicknames. The castle town
Festival
Kyushu
C
毎年2月下旬〜3月上旬
Chiran Hina Matsuri: Samurai Town Dolls
Chiran Town, Minami-Kyushu City, Kagoshima
The samurai district of Chiran — stone-walled garden paths, carefully maintained machiya houses, one of the best-preserv
Festival
Kyushu
O
2026年7月下旬（例年7月）
Omuta Djaiyama Festival Fireworks
Suwa River, Omuta, Fukuoka
This is the summer when the great serpent breathes fire. Omuta in Fukuoka was once a coal-mining town, one of the engine
Festival
Kyushu
N
2026年7月下旬（例年7月）
Nagasaki Minato Festival Sea Fireworks
Nagasaki Port, Nagasaki
Fire reflects in a foreign-touched harbor. Nagasaki was, during Japan's centuries of self-imposed isolation, the single
Festival
Kyushu
K
2026年8月下旬（例年8月）
Kagoshima Kinkowan Summer Night Fireworks
Kinkowan Bay, Kagoshima City
Fireworks rise before a mountain of fire. Across Kinkowan Bay from Kagoshima stands Sakurajima—an active volcano that st
Festival
Kyushu
I
例年10月下旬に開催。荒神輿と団車のぶつかり合い。日程は年により異なります。
Imari Tontenton Festival
Portable shrine and float collide.
At the Imari Tontenton Festival in October, a fighting shrine and a fighting float c
Gathering
Kyushu
H
例年11月上旬〜翌春
Huis Ten Bosch Kingdom of Light
1-1 Huis Ten Bosch-cho, Sasebo, Nagasaki
On the western edge of Kyushu, a Dutch city that never was puts on thirteen million lights and becomes, for half the yea
Festival
Kyushu
T
例年1月3日
Tamaseseri Ball-Catching Festival
Hakozakigu Shrine, 1-22-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka
On the third of January, while much of Japan is still drowsing through the New Year, the men of Hakozaki in Fukuoka stri
Festival
Kyushu
O
例年1月7日
Oniyo Fire Festival
Daizenji Tamataregu Shrine, Daizenji-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka
A week into the new year, on the plain of the Chikugo River near Kurume, one of Japan's three great fire festivals sets
Festival
Kyushu
H
例年1月中旬（四王子神社）
Hamayumi-sai - The Matobakai
Shioji Shrine, Nagasu, Tamana District, Kumamoto
It ends in the sea.
Nagasu faces the Ariake, a sea of tides and mudflats. In the grounds of Shioji Shrine, men in loinc
Festival
Kyushu
Y
例年2月の毎週金・土曜（全8夜）
Yamaga Lantern Romance - Hyakka Hyakusai
Buzen-kaido, between the Yachiyoza and Sakura-yu, Yamaga, Kumamoto
The light comes down to the town.
In summer, the women of Yamaga carry golden lanterns on their heads and dance. In win
Festival
Kyushu
A
例年3月（田作祭7日間のうち4日目・申の日）
Aso Shrine Hifuri - The Fire-Swinging Rite
Aso Shrine, Miyaji, Ichinomiya-machi, Aso, Kumamoto
A wedding, welcomed with swinging fire.
The Tatsukuri rite at Aso Shrine runs seven days. The god Kunitatsu lodges each