暦 · Calendar
What's On in Japan
Seasonal highlights happening now and in the months ahead. Dates for blossoms, leaves and illuminations are weather-dependent — always confirm before you travel.
Happening now
- Around 1–31 Jul 2026Nature
Furano Lavender Fields
Farm Tomita's rolling fields peak in a wash of purple lavender, with Furano's dedicated Lavender Festa held in early July.
📍 Furano, Hokkaido - 1–31 Jul 2026Festival
Gion Matsuri
Kyoto's month-long festival centered on Yasaka Shrine; the great Yamaboko float parades fall on July 17 and 24.
📍 Kyoto - Around 1 Jul – 31 Oct 2026Illumination
Jozankei Summer Lanterns
Paper lanterns and projection-mapped light wash Jozankei Onsen's shrine and steamy hot-spring streets nightly from early summer into autumn.
📍 Jozankei Onsen, Sapporo, Hokkaido - Around 1 Jul – 10 Sep 2026Nature
Mount Fuji Climbing Season Opening
A mountain-opening ceremony at Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine marks the start of the official climbing season on the Yoshida and Subashiri trails.
📍 Mount Fuji, Yamanashi - Around 11 Jul – 5 Sep 2026Festival
Gujo Odori
Japan's largest and longest-running bon-odori dance runs some 32 nights through Gujo Hachiman's old town, with all-night dancing during Obon.
📍 Gujo Hachiman, Gifu - Around 18 Jul – 31 Aug 2026Nature
Nokonoshima Island Sunflower Fields
Around 50,000 sunflowers bloom in staggered fields across this island park in Hakata Bay, with picking allowed at peak.
📍 Nokonoshima, Fukuoka - Around 30 Jul – 1 Aug 2026Festival
Sumiyoshi Matsuri
Osaka's grand summer purification rite draws crowds who pass through a giant reed ring before a mikoshi is carried across the Yamato River.
📍 Sumiyoshi Taisha, Osaka
Aug 2026
- 2–7 Aug 2026Festival
Aomori Nebuta Matsuri
Enormous illuminated warrior-shaped floats are paraded through central Aomori nightly, ending with a harbor fireworks finale.
📍 Aomori - 2–3 Aug 2026Fireworks
Nagaoka Fireworks Festival
One of Japan's three great fireworks shows — colossal shells over the Shinano River, including the Phoenix sequence.
📍 Nagaoka - 3–6 Aug 2026Festival
Akita Kanto Matsuri
Performers balance towering bamboo poles strung with dozens of paper lanterns on their hands, hips and foreheads.
📍 Akita - 5–14 Aug 2026Illumination
Nara Tokae Lantern Festival
Some 20,000 candle lanterns light Nara Park's ponds, lawns and temple approaches over ten summer evenings.
📍 Nara - 5–7 Aug 2026Festival
Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri
Thousands of dancers in straw hats decorated with safflowers parade downtown — one of Tohoku's four great summer festivals.
📍 Yamagata - 6–8 Aug 2026Festival
Sendai Tanabata Matsuri
Thousands of handmade paper streamers fill the covered arcades downtown.
📍 Sendai - 12–15 Aug 2026Festival
Awa Odori
Japan's largest dance festival — groups of dancers wind through the city to taiko and shamisen.
📍 Tokushima - 15 Aug 2026Fireworks
Lake Suwa Fireworks
Tens of thousands of shells reflected off the lake and amplified by the surrounding mountains — among Japan's largest.
📍 Lake Suwa - 16 Aug 2026Festival
Gozan Okuribi (Daimonji)
Five giant bonfires are lit in sequence on the hills around Kyoto to send ancestral spirits home at the close of Obon.
📍 Kyoto - 29–30 Aug 2026Festival
Koenji Awa Odori
Tokyo's largest Awa Odori fills the streets around Koenji Station with dance troupes over two nights.
📍 Tokyo - 29 Aug 2026Fireworks
Omagari Fireworks Competition
Japan's most prestigious fireworks competition — the country's top pyrotechnicians compete for the Prime Minister's Award.
📍 Daisen
Sep 2026
- 1–3 Sep 2026Festival
Owara Kaze no Bon
Hauntingly graceful lantern-lit dances to shamisen and kokyu in the old streets of Yatsuo — a 300-year harvest rite.
📍 Toyama - 4–6 Sep 2026Festival
Zento Eisa Matsuri
Okinawa's biggest Eisa festival gathers dance troupes from across the island for two nights of drumming and dance.
📍 Okinawa City, Okinawa - 5 Sep 2026Fireworks
Akiyoshidai Tourism Festival Fireworks
Fireworks burst over the moonlit limestone pinnacles of Akiyoshidai, Japan's largest karst plateau.
📍 Akiyoshidai Karst Plateau, Mine, Yamaguchi - 7–9 Sep 2026Festival
Kakunodate Matsuri
Eighteen ornately decorated floats are deliberately crashed into one another through this historic samurai town.
📍 Kakunodate, Akita - Around 12 Sep – 4 Oct 2026Festival
Sapporo Autumn Fest
Odori Park turns into a kilometer-long open-air food hall as Hokkaido's chefs, farmers, and fishmongers serve the island's autumn harvest under the changing leaves.
📍 Odori Park, Sapporo, Hokkaido - Around 13–21 Sep 2026Festival
Fujisaki Hachimangu Boshita Matsuri
Kumamoto's largest shrine festival spans a week of ceremonies, climaxing with a horse procession through the city on September 20.
📍 Kumamoto - Around 13 Sep – 26 Oct 2026Nature
Sanuki Mannou Park Cosmos Fields
Waves of lemon, apricot and rose-coloured cosmos ripple across Sanuki Mannou Park's Blue Dragon Valley beneath its namesake waterfall.
📍 Sanuki Mannou Park, Manno, Kagawa - 14–16 Sep 2026Festival
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Reitaisai
Kamakura's grand shrine festival, climaxing with yabusame — archers loosing arrows at full gallop.
📍 Kamakura - Around 19 Sep – 4 Oct 2026Nature
Higanbana (red spider lilies)
Five million scarlet spider lilies carpet the forest floor at Kinchakuda — Japan's largest higanbana field.
📍 Saitama - 19–20 Sep 2026Festival
Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri
Four-tonne wooden floats hauled at a sprint through narrow streets — thrilling and a little wild.
📍 Osaka - Around 20 Sep – 10 Oct 2026Nature
Sounkyo Gorge Autumn Foliage
Among the first places in Japan to turn each year, the cliffs of Sounkyo Gorge and the slopes of Mount Kurodake above Sounkyo Onsen blaze red and gold from mid-to-late September.
📍 Sounkyo Gorge, Kamikawa, Hokkaido
Oct 2026
- Around 1–31 Oct 2026Fireworks
Lake Toya Long-Run Fireworks Festival
A boat glides along Lake Toya's shoreline launching a nightly fireworks display that runs from spring through the end of October.
📍 Toyako Onsen, Lake Toya, Hokkaido - 7–9 Oct 2026Festival
Nagasaki Kunchi
A vivid, Chinese- and Dutch-influenced festival of dragon dances and spinning float performances at Suwa Shrine.
📍 Nagasaki - 9–10 Oct 2026Festival
Takayama Autumn Festival
Ornate festival floats parade through the old town against early autumn colour.
📍 Takayama - Around 10–12 Oct 2026Festival
Naha Great Tug-of-War
A Guinness-record straw rope over 200 metres long is pulled by crowds on Kokusai Dori in Naha, Okinawa.
📍 Naha, Okinawa - Around 10 Oct – 18 Nov 2026Festival
Nihonmatsu Chrysanthemum Doll Festival
Life-sized dolls dressed entirely in living chrysanthemum blooms act out scenes from history and folklore across the grounds of Nihonmatsu's former castle.
📍 Kasumiga-jo Park, Nihonmatsu, Fukushima - Around 10–11 Oct 2026Festival
Saijo Sake Festival
The streets of Saijo's historic sake district fill with tasting stalls as breweries from across the country pour in Chuo Park's Sake Square.
📍 Saijo, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima - 14–15 Oct 2026Festival
Nada no Kenka Matsuri
The 'fighting festival' — teams violently ram massive portable shrines together in a roar of crowds and drums.
📍 Himeji - 16–18 Oct 2026Festival
Niihama Taiko Matsuri
Around 150 men lift each of dozens of multi-tonne drum floats in a harvest-festival contest across Niihama's districts.
📍 Niihama, Ehime - 17–18 Oct 2026Festival
Kawagoe Matsuri
UNESCO-listed Edo-style floats parade through Kawagoe's old town and clash in musical battles when they meet.
📍 Kawagoe, Saitama - Around 17 Oct 2026 – 31 May 2027Illumination
Nabana no Sato Winter Illumination
One of Japan's largest light displays — a sea of LEDs and walk-through tunnels of light running into late spring.
📍 Mie - Around 20 Oct – 5 Nov 2026Nature
Oirase Gorge Autumn Foliage
A footpath winds beside the tumbling Oirase stream as beech and maple along the gorge turn red, orange and gold against dark conifers.
📍 Oirase Gorge, Aomori - Around 20 Oct – 10 Nov 2026Nature
Nikko Autumn Foliage
Colour sweeps down from Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls in late October to the temple approaches and Shinkyo Bridge in Nikko's town below by early November.
📍 Nikko, Tochigi - 22 Oct 2026Festival
Jidai Matsuri
A 2,000-strong costume procession through Kyoto spanning 1,200 years of history.
📍 Kyoto - 22 Oct 2026Festival
Kurama Fire Festival
Villagers carry flaming torches up to Yuki Shrine in a dramatic mountain fire ritual.
📍 Kyoto - Around 25 Oct – 8 Nov 2026Nature
Naruko Gorge Autumn Leaves
A river canyon in northern Miyagi where crimson and gold foliage frames the arched Ofukazawa Bridge above sheer cliffs.
📍 Naruko Gorge, Osaki, Miyagi
Nov 2026
- Around 1 Nov 2026 – 28 Feb 2027Illumination
Huis Ten Bosch Kingdom of Light
Japan's largest illumination transforms this Dutch-themed park with an epic winter light program running into late February.
📍 Sasebo, Nagasaki - Around 1–30 Nov 2026Nature
Korankei Momiji Festival
Thousands of maples along the Tomoe River are lit up each evening, turning the red Taigetsukyo Bridge and its reflection into a glowing autumn tableau.
📍 Korankei Gorge, Asuke, Toyota, Aichi - Around 1–3 Nov 2026Festival
Shuri Castle Reconstruction Festival
Hundreds of costumed performers restage a Ryukyu Kingdom royal procession through Naha's streets, honouring the ongoing rebuild of the fire-damaged Shuri Castle.
📍 Shuri Castle Park, Naha, Okinawa - 2–4 Nov 2026Festival
Karatsu Kunchi
Fourteen enormous lacquered floats — a samurai helmet, a sea bream, a dragon — hauled through the streets of Karatsu.
📍 Karatsu - Around 13 Nov – 25 Dec 2026Illumination
Tokyo Winter Illuminations
Millions of lights drape Marunouchi, Roppongi and Shibuya — the capital's glittering run-up to the holidays.
📍 Tokyo - Around 14–30 Nov 2026Nature
Miyajima Momijidani Park Autumn Leaves
Around 700 maple trees near Itsukushima Shrine turn colour, with an evening illumination through the season.
📍 Miyajima, Hiroshima - Around 14 Nov 2026 – 9 May 2027Illumination
Sagamiko Illumillion
One of Kanto's largest illuminations covers the hillsides above Lake Sagami with millions of lights and a musical water show.
📍 Sagamihara, Kanagawa - Around 15–30 Nov 2026Nature
Autumn leaves (koyo) — Kyoto peak
Maples turn at Tofuku-ji, Eikando and Arashiyama; exact peak shifts yearly — check the koyo forecast.
📍 Kyoto - Around 15 Nov – 5 Dec 2026Nature
Kyushu Autumn Leaves
Kyushu's colours peak later than central Japan, with the Yabakei and Takachiho gorges typically vivid into early December.
📍 Oita / Miyazaki - 15 Nov 2026Festival
Shichi-Go-San
Families in kimono visit shrines to celebrate children aged three, five and seven — a charming, photogenic tradition.
📍 Nationwide - Around 15 Nov 2026Festival
Tokushima Yokai Festival
Villagers deep in the Iya Valley mountains don handmade yokai costumes and parade through a century-old wooden schoolhouse to keep local ghost folklore alive.
📍 Miyoshi, Tokushima - Around 21–29 Nov 2026Nature
Meiji Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue
Tokyo's most iconic ginkgo-lined avenue turns gold in late November, with an evening light-up.
📍 Tokyo - Around 21 Nov – 25 Dec 2026Illumination
Sapporo White Illumination
Odori Park glows with light displays and a Christmas market as Sapporo's signature winter illumination lights up downtown.
📍 Sapporo
Dec 2026
- 2–3 Dec 2026Festival
Chichibu Night Festival
A UNESCO-listed festival pairing huge illuminated floats with rare winter fireworks over the town.
📍 Chichibu - Around 5–27 Dec 2026Illumination
Sendai Pageant of Starlight
Tohoku's largest illumination strings hundreds of thousands of lights through the zelkova trees along Jozenji-dori Avenue.
📍 Sendai - 14 Dec 2026Festival
Ako Gishi-sai
Ako marks the anniversary of the 47 ronin's revenge with a costumed memorial parade through the castle town.
📍 Ako - Around 14–25 Dec 2026Illumination
Osaka Hikari-Renaissance
Nakanoshima's riverside park glows with light art and projection mapping on the retro Central Public Hall.
📍 Osaka - 15–18 Dec 2026Festival
Kasuga Wakamiya On-Matsuri
Nara's great winter rite: an 880-year-old procession of courtiers, warriors and sacred dance for the Wakamiya deity.
📍 Nara - 17–19 Dec 2026Festival
Asakusa Hagoita-ichi
Senso-ji's year-end fair sells ornate battledore paddles painted with kabuki stars and the year's famous faces.
📍 Tokyo - 21 Dec 2026Festival
Shimai Kobo year-end market
The year's final Kobo-san flea market packs To-ji's grounds with antiques, kimono and New Year foods.
📍 Kyoto - 31 Dec 2026Festival
Joya no Kane
Temple bells across Japan are struck 108 times through the night to close out the year and cleanse worldly desires.
📍 Nationwide - 31 Dec 2026Festival
Namahage New Year's Eve visits
On Oga Peninsula, ogre-masked namahage stomp house to house on New Year's Eve scolding the lazy — a UNESCO-listed ritual.
📍 Oga Peninsula
Jan 2027
- 1–3 Jan 2027Festival
Hatsumode (New Year shrine visits)
The year's first shrine visit — millions head to Meiji Jingu, Fushimi Inari and beyond.
📍 Nationwide - Around 1 Jan – 22 Feb 2027Nature
Zao Onsen Juhyo (Snow Monster) Illumination
Rime-ice-covered conifers known as 'snow monsters' form on Mt. Zao's upper slopes and are lit up at night via ropeway.
📍 Yamagata - 10 Jan – 8 Mar 2027Nature
Atami Plum Garden Festival
Japan's earliest big plum-blossom display thanks to Atami's mild coastal climate, with some 470 trees across 60 varieties.
📍 Atami, Shizuoka - 15 Jan 2027Festival
Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival
One of Japan's wildest matsuri — villagers wield torches against a giant wooden shrine in a blazing nighttime battle.
📍 Nozawa Onsen - Around 16 Jan – 1 Feb 2027Nature
Motobu Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival
Kanhizakura cover Mt. Yaedake in Japan's earliest and boldest cherry blossoms, with mountain paths lit after dark.
📍 Motobu, Okinawa - Around 20 Jan – 31 Mar 2027Nature
Abashiri Drift Ice (Ryuhyo)
Pack ice drifting down from the Sea of Okhotsk usually reaches Abashiri's coast in mid-to-late January and lingers into late March, with the Aurora icebreaker cruising out through the floes at their thickest in February.
📍 Abashiri, Hokkaido - 29 Jan – 7 Feb 2027Illumination
Kobe Luminarie
Glowing illuminated arches held in memory of the 1995 earthquake — now staged in late January/February each year.
📍 Kobe - Around 30 Jan – 21 Mar 2027Nature
Izu Oshima Tsubaki Matsuri (Camellia Festival)
This volcanic Izu Islands outpost is home to around 3,000 camellia trees, celebrated each year with a roughly two-month festival of oil-pressing demonstrations and folk dance at Oshima Park's Tsubaki Plaza.
📍 Izu Oshima, Tokyo - 30 Jan – 23 Feb 2027Illumination
Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival
An open-air ice museum of illuminated sculptures built from the lake's exceptionally clear water.
📍 Chitose
Feb 2027
- Around 1 Feb – 20 Mar 2027Nature
Dazaifu Tenmangu Plum Blossoms
Around 6,000 plum trees bloom at this shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, led by the legendary early-blooming Tobiume tree.
📍 Dazaifu, Fukuoka - 3 Feb 2027Festival
Setsubun
Bean-throwing to drive out demons and welcome spring — 'Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!' at shrines and homes nationwide.
📍 Nationwide - Around 4–11 Feb 2027Festival
Sapporo Snow Festival
Building-sized snow and ice sculptures fill Odori Park, Susukino and Tsudome in early February.
📍 Sapporo - 5–21 Feb 2027Illumination
Nagasaki Lantern Festival
Thousands of Chinese lanterns light Nagasaki City for the 15 days of Lunar New Year.
📍 Nagasaki - Around 7 Feb – 8 Mar 2027Nature
Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival
Early-blooming, long-lasting Kawazu-zakura line about 4km of riverbank — one of Japan's earliest big cherry displays.
📍 Kawazu, Shizuoka - Around 7–14 Feb 2027Illumination
Otaru Snow Light Path
Thousands of candles in hand-carved snow lanterns line the Otaru Canal and the old Temiya rail line.
📍 Otaru - Around 11 Feb – 21 Mar 2027Nature
Mito Plum Blossom Festival (Kairakuen)
One of Japan's three great gardens hosts over 3,000 plum trees of around 100 varieties.
📍 Mito - Around 12–14 Feb 2027Festival
Namahage Sedo Matsuri
Masked namahage demons descend to a bonfire ceremony blending Noh-derived ritual with local folklore.
📍 Oga, Akita - Around 12–13 Feb 2027Festival
Yokote Kamakura Festival
Hundreds of igloo-like snow huts glow with candlelight; children inside offer warm amazake to passers-by.
📍 Yokote - Around 20 Feb – 4 Apr 2027Festival
Awa Katsuura Big Hina Doll Festival
Around 30,000 donated hina dolls fill a hall and the streets of this Tokushima port town, billed as the original inspiration for Chiba's Katsuura festival.
📍 Katsuura, Tokushima - Around 20 Feb – 3 Mar 2027Festival
Katsuura Big Hina Matsuri
Around 1,800 hina dolls line the stone steps of Tomisaki Shrine and the streets of Katsuura ahead of Girls' Day.
📍 Katsuura, Chiba - Around 27 Feb – 14 Mar 2027Nature
Kasado-jima Kawazu-zakura Festival
Early-blooming Kawazu cherry trees line a coastal 'sakura road' on this small island, blooming alongside fields of rapeseed flowers.
📍 Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi
Mar 2027
- 1–14 Mar 2027Festival
Omizutori
Ancient fire-and-water rites at Todai-ji; monks sweep giant flaming torches along Nigatsu-do, raining sparks on the crowd.
📍 Nara - 3 Mar 2027Festival
Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival)
Girls' Day — homes across Japan display tiered sets of ornamental imperial dolls to pray for daughters' happiness.
📍 Nationwide - 13 Mar 2027Festival
Kasuga Matsuri
Kasuga Taisha's annual grand festival brings Heian-era costume, horseback envoys and sacred kagura to Nara.
📍 Nara - Around 14 Mar 2027Festival
Mount Takao Fire-Walking Festival
Yamabushi monks stride barefoot across smouldering embers below Mt Takao — and visitors can follow once the coals cool.
📍 Hachioji, Tokyo - Around 25 Mar – 15 Apr 2027Nature
Cherry blossoms (sakura)
Hanami season; the bloom front moves north and peak lasts only days — follow the forecast.
📍 Nationwide - Around 28–29 Mar 2027Festival
Meguro River Cherry Blossom Festival
Cherry trees lining the Meguro River are strung with paper lanterns each evening, with stalls concentrated on festival weekend.
📍 Nakameguro, Tokyo - Around 28 Mar – 12 Apr 2027Nature
Mount Yoshino Cherry Blossoms
Some 30,000 cherry trees bloom in a staggered wave up the mountain, from the lower Shimo Senbon slopes to the upper Oku Senbon.
📍 Yoshino, Nara
Apr 2027
- 1–30 Apr 2027Festival
Miyako Odori
Geiko and maiko of Gion Kobu perform choreographed seasonal dances throughout April.
📍 Kyoto - Around 1–30 Apr 2027Nature
Nezu Shrine Tsutsuji Matsuri (Azalea Festival)
Over 3,000 azalea bushes in around 100 varieties bloom across Nezu Shrine's hillside garden, with peak colour typically falling in mid-April.
📍 Nezu Shrine, Bunkyo, Tokyo - Around 6 Apr – 6 May 2027Nature
Mifuneyama Rakuen Azalea Festival
Around 200,000 azalea bushes erupt into bloom beneath Mifuneyama Rakuen's jagged rock cliff, with peak colour usually falling in late April.
📍 Takeo, Saga - Around 8–14 Apr 2027Nature
Osaka Mint Bureau Cherry Blossom Walk
For one week each April the Japan Mint opens its grounds to walk beneath 340 late-blooming, double-flowered cherry trees.
📍 Osaka - Around 10–20 Apr 2027Nature
Miharu Takizakura
A roughly 1,000-year-old weeping cherry tree, one of Japan's most celebrated individual sakura.
📍 Miharu, Fukushima - Around 11 Apr – 20 May 2027Nature
Wisteria at Ashikaga Flower Park
Cascading violet wisteria, lit after dark — the headline act once the cherries fall.
📍 Tochigi - 14–15 Apr 2027Festival
Takayama Spring Festival
Ornate Edo-era floats with marionettes parade the old streets — one of Japan's most beautiful festivals.
📍 Takayama - Around 15 Apr – 25 Jun 2027Nature
Tateyama Kurobe Snow Corridor (Yuki no Otani)
The Alpine Route traditionally reopens around April 15 with plowed walls of snow towering up to 20 meters over the road at Murodo, a corridor open to walkers into late June.
📍 Murodo, Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, Toyama - Around 15 Apr – 24 May 2027Nature
Fuji Shibazakura Festival
Carpets of pink moss phlox roll out beneath a full-frame Mount Fuji near Lake Motosu.
📍 Yamanashi - Around 17 Apr – 6 May 2027Nature
Nemophila at Hitachi Seaside Park
Around five million baby-blue-eyes turn a whole hillside the same blue as the sky behind it.
📍 Ibaraki - Around 18 Apr – 5 May 2027Festival
Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival
Over 2,600 cherry trees around Hirosaki Castle's moats are the centerpiece of this spring festival; the fixed closing date is May 5, but the opening has trended earlier with warmer blooms.
📍 Hirosaki, Aomori
May 2027
- 3–4 May 2027Festival
Hakata Dontaku
Japan's biggest Golden Week festival — millions watch citizens parade and dance, clapping wooden rice scoops.
📍 Fukuoka - 3–5 May 2027Festival
Hamamatsu Matsuri
Giant kite battles over the dunes by day and ornate, lantern-lit float processions through the city by night.
📍 Hamamatsu - 3–5 May 2027Festival
Hiroshima Flower Festival
One of Japan's largest Golden Week festivals fills Peace Boulevard with parades, Yosakoi dance troupes and flower displays.
📍 Hiroshima - 3–5 May 2027Festival
Naha Hari (Dragon Boat Races)
Okinawa's biggest dragon boat races fill Naha's harbor with crews and drumming crowds over Golden Week, capped with fireworks.
📍 Naha, Okinawa - Around 6–12 May 2027Festival
Kanda Matsuri
One of Tokyo's three great festivals, staged in full only in odd years — mikoshi flood the streets around Kanda Myojin.
📍 Tokyo - Around 14–16 May 2027Festival
Sanja Matsuri
Asakusa's raucous heart — around a hundred portable shrines hoisted through the streets by chanting teams.
📍 Tokyo (Asakusa) - 15 May 2027Festival
Aoi Matsuri
An elegant Heian-era procession of 500 in court costume winding from the Imperial Palace to the Kamo shrines.
📍 Kyoto - Around 15–16 May 2027Festival
Sendai Aoba Matsuri
Suzume Odori sparrow dancers and a Date Masamune-era mikoshi procession fill central Sendai for this Tohoku spring festival.
📍 Sendai - Around 22–24 May 2027Festival
Soma Nomaoi
A thousand-year samurai festival where armoured riders race and chase sacred flags across the plain — moved to late May since 2024 to protect horses from summer heat.
📍 Fukushima - Around 29 May – 4 Jul 2027Nature
Mimurotoji Hydrangea Garden
Around 20,000 hydrangea bushes across some 50 varieties bloom in this Uji temple garden, with weekend evening illuminations in June.
📍 Uji, Kyoto
Jun 2027
- Around 1–30 Jun 2027Nature
Amidaji Temple Hydrangea Festival
Thousands of hydrangeas in dozens of varieties carpet this Hofu temple, one of western Japan's most celebrated ajisai spots.
📍 Hofu, Yamaguchi - Around 1–30 Jun 2027Nature
Hydrangea (ajisai) season
Blue hydrangeas peak at Kamakura's temples — Meigetsu-in and Hase-dera are the classics.
📍 Kamakura - Around 5–20 Jun 2027Nature
Tatsuno Firefly Festival
Thousands of Genji fireflies light up Matsuo Gorge after dark — Japan's premier firefly viewing.
📍 Nagano - Around 6 Jun – 5 Jul 2027Nature
Sanuki Manno Park Hydrangea Festival
Shikoku's largest hydrangea display draws visitors to Manno Park with tens of thousands of blooms across dozens of varieties beneath rented paper umbrellas.
📍 Manno, Kagawa - Around 6–28 Jun 2027Nature
Senkoji Temple Hydrangea Festival
Known as the 'Hydrangea Temple,' Senkoji's hillside grounds fill with thousands of blue and purple ajisai blooms each rainy season.
📍 Kurume, Fukuoka - Around 9–13 Jun 2027Festival
YOSAKOI Soran Festival
300+ teams dance through Odori Park with naruko clappers — high-energy and free to watch.
📍 Sapporo - Around 10–20 Jun 2027Festival
Itoman Haaree Dragon Boat Festival
Crews of local fishermen paddle hand-carved dragon boats through Itoman's harbor in a centuries-old rite timed to the lunar calendar, so its date shifts year to year.
📍 Itoman, Okinawa - 12 Jun 2027Festival
Chagu Chagu Umakko
Around 100 bell-draped horses parade through the Iwate countryside — a designated 'soundscape of Japan'.
📍 Iwate - 14–16 Jun 2027Festival
Hokkaido Shrine Festival
Sapporo's biggest summer festival — mikoshi processions and food stalls at Hokkaido Jingu.
📍 Sapporo - 14 Jun 2027Festival
Otaue Rice-Planting Festival
Sumiyoshi Taisha's costumed planters and sacred dances bless the rice paddies in one of Japan's oldest agricultural rites.
📍 Osaka - 22–24 Jun 2027Festival
Himeji Yukata Matsuri
Himeji fills with cotton-yukata crowds and hundreds of night stalls in Japan's best-known yukata festival.
📍 Himeji
Jul 2027
- 1–31 Jul 2027Festival
Gion Matsuri
Kyoto's month-long festival centered on Yasaka Shrine; the great Yamaboko float parades fall on July 17 and 24.
📍 Kyoto - 1–15 Jul 2027Festival
Hakata Gion Yamakasa
Teams race one-tonne floats through Hakata's streets at dawn, climaxing with the Oiyama race on July 15.
📍 Fukuoka - Around 1–31 Jul 2027Nature
Furano Lavender Fields
Farm Tomita's rolling fields peak in a wash of purple lavender, with Furano's dedicated Lavender Festa held in early July.
📍 Furano, Hokkaido - Around 1 Jul – 31 Oct 2027Illumination
Jozankei Summer Lanterns
Paper lanterns and projection-mapped light wash Jozankei Onsen's shrine and steamy hot-spring streets nightly from early summer into autumn.
📍 Jozankei Onsen, Sapporo, Hokkaido - Around 1 Jul – 10 Sep 2027Nature
Mount Fuji Climbing Season Opening
A mountain-opening ceremony at Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine marks the start of the official climbing season on the Yoshida and Subashiri trails.
📍 Mount Fuji, Yamanashi - Around 3–5 Jul 2027Festival
Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Matsuri
Kanto's largest Tanabata festival lines Hiratsuka's shopping streets with hundreds of towering, elaborately decorated paper streamers and a lively parade.
📍 Hiratsuka, Kanagawa - Around 4 Jul 2027Fireworks
Ocean Expo Park Churaumi Fireworks Festival
Fireworks light up the sky and reflect off Emerald Beach at Ocean Expo Park, one of Okinawa's largest coastal pyrotechnic shows.
📍 Ocean Expo Park, Motobu, Okinawa - Around 11 Jul – 5 Sep 2027Festival
Gujo Odori
Japan's largest and longest-running bon-odori dance runs some 32 nights through Gujo Hachiman's old town, with all-night dancing during Obon.
📍 Gujo Hachiman, Gifu - 11–12 Jul 2027Festival
Ikutama Matsuri
One of Osaka's three great summer festivals, with a mikoshi procession, taiko drumming and lion dances centered on the city's ancient Ikukunitama Shrine.
📍 Osaka - 13–16 Jul 2027Festival
Mitama Matsuri
Some 30,000 lanterns light the approach to Yasukuni Shrine for four nights of dance and festival stalls.
📍 Tokyo - Around 16–18 Jul 2027Fireworks
Toyohashi Gion Festival Fireworks
Held annually the third weekend of July, hand-held tezutsu fireworks at Yoshida Shrine give way to a 12,000-shell display over the Toyo River.
📍 Toyohashi, Aichi - 18–19 Jul 2027Fireworks
Komatsushima Minato Matsuri (Port Festival Fireworks)
Shakudama and message-spelling starmines burst over Komatsushima's harbor on the festival's second night, capping a lively two-day port celebration on Tokushima's coast.
📍 Komatsushima Port, Tokushima - Around 18 Jul – 31 Aug 2027Nature
Nokonoshima Island Sunflower Fields
Around 50,000 sunflowers bloom in staggered fields across this island park in Hakata Bay, with picking allowed at peak.
📍 Nokonoshima, Fukuoka - Around 20 Jul 2027Festival
Kangensai Festival
A lunar-calendar shrine ritual in which a portable shrine is rowed between Miyajima's shrines by torchlit boats to ancient court music.
📍 Miyajima, Hiroshima - 20–21 Jul 2027Festival
Tsuchizaki Shinmeisha Hikiyama Matsuri
An Edo-era, UNESCO-listed shrine festival in Akita's port district in which towering hikiyama floats depicting samurai legends and pop culture are paraded and displayed.
📍 Tsuchizaki, Akita - Around 23–25 Jul 2027Fireworks
Otaru Ushio Matsuri
Thousands of dancers parade through Otaru's historic harbor streets before 5,000 fireworks burst over the bay on the festival's final night.
📍 Otaru, Hokkaido - 24–25 Jul 2027Festival
Tenjin Matsuri
One of Japan's three great festivals — a river procession of lit boats down the Okawa, capped by a fireworks finale.
📍 Osaka - 24–25 Jul 2027Festival
Owari Tsushima Tenno Matsuri
Hundreds of paper lanterns glow atop five wooden boats drifting down the Tenno River in this nearly 600-year-old river festival, held the fourth Saturday and Sunday of July.
📍 Tsushima, Aichi - Around 24–25 Jul 2027Festival
Nagasaki Minato Matsuri & Peiron Championship
Crews of rowers race 14-meter peiron dragon boats across Nagasaki Harbor to drums and gongs, a 350-year-old tradition capped by nightly fireworks.
📍 Nagasaki - Around 31 Jul 2027Fireworks
Sumida River Fireworks
Around 20,000 fireworks launch from two sites along the river near Asakusa — Tokyo's oldest and biggest hanabi, traditionally the last Saturday of July.
📍 Tokyo - Around 31 Jul – 1 Aug 2027Festival
Nago Summer Festival
Eisa drum dancers, sanshin music, and yukata-clad crowds fill Nago's fishing port each evening before fireworks burst over the harbor, on the last weekend of July.
📍 Nago, Okinawa
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