July 2026
8 events
07/01–07/15
Hakata Gion Yamakasa
Kamikawabata-machi, Hakata, Fukuoka (Kushida Shrine)
At 4:59 in the morning on July 15, the streets of Hakata erupt.
Seven teams — called nagare, each representing a distri
07/11–09/01
Gujo Odori
Hachiman, Gujo, Gifu
Every summer evening from July 11 to September 5 — thirty-one nights in all — music rises from the streets of Gujo Hachi
07/14–07/14
Nachi Fire Festival
Nachisan, Nachikatsuura, Wakayama (Kumano Nachi Taisha)
Once a year, the twelve deities of Kumano Nachi Taisha return to the great waterfall where they were first enshrined, 1,
07/17–07/17
Gion Matsuri
Yasaka Shrine and central Kyoto
It began as a way to quell a plague. Kyoto's Gion Matsuri, one of Japan's three great festivals, is a long rite that fil
07/20–07/21
Tsuchizaki Shinmeisha Festival Float Procession
Tsuchizaki Shinmeisha and surroundings, Tsuchizaki-minato, Akita
Behind each float hangs a placard mocking the times. In the port town of Tsuchizaki in Akita, summer brings a procession
07/20–07/20
Shiogama Minato Festival
Shiogama Shrine and Shiogama Port, Shiogama, Miyagi
The gods cross the sea by boat. In summer, the two portable shrines of Shiogama Shrine in Miyagi are placed aboard lavis
07/24–07/25
Tenjin Matsuri
Osaka Tenmangu Shrine and the Okawa River, Kita-ku, Osaka
A festival of boats, and a festival of fire. Osaka's Tenjin Matsuri is one of Japan's three great festivals, alongside K
07/25–07/25
Abekawa Fireworks Festival
Abe River banks, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka
The fireworks began as a memorial. In Shizuoka, the Abekawa Fireworks Festival sends around fifteen thousand shells over
August 2026
12 events
08/01–08/01
Hyuga Hyottoko Summer Festival
Around Hyuga-shi Station, Hyuga, Miyazaki
Wearing a Hyottoko mask, they dance while comically stumbling. In Hyuga, Miyazaki, the Hyottoko Summer Festival sends da
08/01–08/07
Hirosaki Neputa Festival
Dotemachi and surrounds, Hirosaki City, Aomori
Where Aomori's Nebuta moves fast and loud, Hirosaki's Neputa is slow and contemplative.
The floats are fan-shaped — pai
08/02–08/07
Aomori Nebuta Festival
Shinmachi-dori and surrounds, Aomori City, Aomori
Nine meters wide, five meters tall — the nebuta floats move through the streets of Aomori like creatures from another wo
08/04–08/08
Goshogawara Tachineputa
Tachineputa Museum and city streets, Goshogawara, Aomori
Look up, and your neck will ache. The towering floats of Goshogawara's summer festival rise some twenty-three meters, as
08/06–08/08
Sendai Tanabata Festival
Central arcade shopping district, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi
On the morning of August 6, the arcades of central Sendai are transformed overnight.
Enormous streamers of washi paper
08/07–08/09
Numata Festival
Around Numata Station, Numata, Gunma
A Tengu walks through the town. In Numata, Gunma, the summer festival sends a procession bearing great Tengu masks throu
08/11–08/15
Awa Odori
Ainobahama and other stages throughout central Tokushima City, Tokushima
"Fools who dance, fools who watch — if you're going to be a fool, you might as well dance."
This chant, sung to the rhy
08/15–08/16
Sasayama Dekansho Festival
Sannomaru Plaza, Sasayama Castle Ruins, Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo
"Dekansho, Dekansho, and half the year is spent." So begins the song that has defined summer in this castle town for fou
08/16–08/16
Gozan no Okuribi
Five mountains around the Higashiyama and Kitayama districts, Kyoto
Characters are drawn on the mountains in fire. Kyoto's Gozan no Okuribi takes place on the night of August 16, sending t
08/16–08/18
Nishimonai Bon Odori
Honmachi-dori, Nishimonai, Ugo-cho, Akita
The dancers keep their faces hidden. Beneath deep woven hats or black hoods, they move through firelight without reveali
08/22–08/23
Tanegashima Gun Festival
Around Nishinoomote Port, Nishinoomote, Kagoshima
The island where guns first came to Japan. Tanegashima lies in the East China Sea, far south of the mainland's southern
08/26–08/27
Yoshida Fire Festival
5558 Kamiyoshida, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi
On the evening of August 26, more than seventy torches — each three meters tall — are lit simultaneously along a two-kil
September 2026
5 events
09/01–09/03
Owara Kaze no Bon
Yatsuo, Toyama City, Toyama
Every year, for three nights in early September, the sloping lanes of Yatsuo are given over to sound and slow movement.
09/05–09/06
Okinawa Zento Eisa Festival
Koza Athletic Stadium and city streets, Okinawa City, Okinawa
A dance to send off the ancestors fills the night. When Obon ends, Okinawa begins its eisa. Young people beat drums and
09/11–09/13
Hanamaki Festival
Streets around Hanamaki Station, Hanamaki, Iwate
Many performing arts converge in a single festival. Hanamaki's autumn celebration fills the streets for three days with
09/12–09/13
Kishiwada Danjiri Festival
Kishiki Shrine and throughout the city, Kishiwada, Osaka
They take the corner at full speed. In Kishiwada, Osaka, hundreds of men race wooden floats weighing more than four tons
09/19–09/23
Aizu Festival
Tsuruga Castle and central Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima
A town of the defeated never forgets its pride. In Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima, the Aizu Festival sends a grand procession
October 2026
5 events
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
10/09–10/10
Takayama Autumn Festival (Hachiman Matsuri)
519 Hachimancho, Takayama, Gifu (Sakurayama Hachimangu)
In the same town, the same floats bring a different season. Alongside the spring Sanno Festival, this autumn celebration
10/10–10/12
Naha Great Tug-of-War Festival
Kumoji intersection, National Route 58, Naha, Okinawa
Everyone pulls a rope two hundred meters long. In Naha, Okinawa, the Great Tug-of-War uses the largest straw rope in the
10/14–10/17
Saijo Festival
Isono Shrine and others, Saijo, Ehime
In the autumn, ornate floats wade into a river. Saijo's festival fields more than a hundred floats, called danjiri, and
10/14–10/15
Nada Fighting Festival
Matsubara Hachiman Shrine, Shirahama-cho, Himeji, Hyogo
They smash the shrines together on purpose. In the Nada district of Himeji, three portable shrines are slammed into one
November 2026
1 events
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
December 2026
2 events
12/02–12/03
Chichibu Night Festival
1-3 Banba-cho, Chichibu, Saitama (Chichibu Shrine)
In December, when most festivals have long ended, Chichibu lights its winter sky. This is one of Japan's three great flo
12/05–12/05
Aenokoto Ritual of Oku-Noto
Farmhouses across the Oku-Noto region, Ishikawa
An invisible god is invited into the home and treated as an honored guest. In the farmhouses of Oku-Noto, the Aenokoto r
February 2027
4 events
02/01–02/02
Kurokawa Noh — Ogi Festival
Kasuga Shrine, Kurokawa, Tsuruoka, Yamagata
On the night of February 1st, in the farming village of Kurokawa in Yamagata Prefecture, the noh begins.
It has been go
02/04–02/10
Sapporo Snow Festival
Odori Park and other venues, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
Snow sculptures are made knowing they will vanish in days. In February, giant sculptures rising more than ten meters lin
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
02/14–03/07
Goto Camellia Festival
Fukue Island and across the Goto Islands, Goto, Nagasaki
The islands fill with camellias. The Goto Islands of Nagasaki are a scattering of more than a hundred and forty islands
May 2026
2 events
05/05–05/05
Kamo Kurabeuma Horse Race
339 Kamigamo Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto (Kamigamo Shrine)
Horses race in Heian-era costume. At Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto, on the fifth of May, the Kamo Kurabeuma is run. Nearly a
05/15–05/17
Sanja Matsuri
2-3-1 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo (Asakusa Shrine)
Asakusa fills with portable shrines. In May, the old downtown district of Tokyo holds the Sanja Matsuri, said to draw 1.
Year-round
Year-round
Tono Festival
Tono City, Iwate
Tono is a town in the mountains of Iwate Prefecture that seems to remember things other places have forgotten. It was he
Year-round
Namahage Sedo Festival
Shinzan Shrine, Kitaura Shinzan, Oga, Akita
The Oga Peninsula in winter is a different country. Cold comes in off the Japan Sea, the cedar forests around Shinzan Sh
Year-round
Soma Nomaoi — The Wild Horse Chase
Hibaragahara Festival Grounds & Soma Nakamura Shrine, Minamisoma / Soma, Fukushima
The origin story is a thousand years old: Taira no Masakado, the warlord, released wild horses on the plains of what is
Daily
Ojiya Bullfighting (Ushi no Tsukiai)
Ojiya Bullfighting Arena, Oguriyama, Ojiya, Niigata
There is no winner. Every bout ends in a draw. In the mountains of Echigo, a tradition said to be nearly a thousand year
Daily
Iwami Kagura
Across the Iwami region of western Shimane (Hamada, Masuda, Oda and others)
Serpents writhe across the entire stage. In the Iwami region of western Shimane, performers in dazzling masks and embroi
Daily
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