暦 · Calendar
Seasonal highlights happening now and in the months ahead. Dates for blossoms, leaves and illuminations are weather-dependent — always confirm before you travel.
Blue hydrangeas peak at Kamakura's temples — Meigetsu-in and Hase-dera are the classics.
📍 KamakuraTeams race one-tonne floats through Fukuoka at dawn, climaxing on 15 July.
📍 FukuokaKyoto's month-long festival; the great float parades (Yamaboko Junko) fall on 17 and 24 July.
📍 KyotoSome 30,000 lanterns light Yasukuni Shrine for a glowing summer-evening festival.
📍 TokyoA river procession of lit boats down the Okawa, capped by a fireworks finale.
📍 OsakaAround 20,000 fireworks over the river near Asakusa — Tokyo's biggest hanabi.
📍 TokyoEnormous illuminated warrior floats paraded through the streets after dark.
📍 AomoriThousands of handmade paper streamers fill the covered arcades downtown.
📍 SendaiJapan's largest dance festival — groups of dancers wind through the city to taiko and shamisen.
📍 TokushimaFour-tonne wooden floats hauled at a sprint through narrow streets — thrilling and a little wild.
📍 OsakaOrnate festival floats parade through the old town against early autumn colour.
📍 TakayamaOne of Japan's largest light displays — a sea of LEDs and walk-through tunnels of light.
📍 MieA 2,000-strong costume procession through Kyoto spanning 1,200 years of history.
📍 KyotoVillagers carry flaming torches up to Yuki Shrine in a dramatic mountain fire ritual.
📍 KyotoMaples turn at Tofuku-ji, Eikando and Arashiyama; exact peak shifts yearly — check the koyo forecast.
📍 KyotoGlowing illuminated arches, held each December in memory of the 1995 earthquake.
📍 KobeThe year's first shrine visit — millions head to Meiji Jingu, Fushimi Inari and beyond.
📍 NationwideBuilding-sized snow and ice sculptures fill Odori Park in early February.
📍 SapporoThousands of candles in hand-carved snow lanterns along the Otaru Canal.
📍 OtaruThe first blossoms of the year — fragrant and far quieter than the cherries that follow.
📍 Mito / DazaifuHanami season; the bloom front moves north and peak lasts only days — follow the forecast.
📍 NationwideCascading violet wisteria, lit after dark — the headline act once the cherries fall.
📍 TochigiNo events in this category right now.