Events & Festivals

Hokkaido Region

Hokkaido

Sapporo Snow Festival: Japan's largest winter festival featuring giant snow and ice sculptures at three venues: Odori, Susukino, and Tsudome.

Tohoku Region

Aomori

Aomori Nebuta Festival: One of Tohoku's three major festivals where 9m-wide colorful giant Nebuta parade through central Aomori City at night.

Iwate

Morioka Sansa Odori: Midsummer festival holding Guinness World Record as world's largest taiko drum parade.

Miyagi

Sendai Aoba Festival: Festival honoring Lord Date Masamune that colors early summer Sendai.

Akita

Akita Kanto Festival: Fire festival for abundant harvest prayer continuing over 270 years.

Yamagata

Yamagata Hanagasa Festival: One of Tohoku's four major festivals where approximately 10,000 dancers parade through Nanokamachi Boulevard over three days to Hanagasa Ondo music.

Fukushima

Soma Nomaoi: Nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property featuring several hundred armored samurai warriors on horseback racing.

Kanto Region

Ibaraki

Mito Plum Festival: Early spring tradition enjoying about 100 varieties and 3,000 plum trees at Kairakuen and Kodokan.

Tochigi

Nikko Toshogu Spring Grand Festival (1000-Person Procession): A gorgeous festival where a 1000-person procession in warrior attire parades from Toshogu to Otabisho.

Gunma

Maebashi Festival: Maebashi's largest autumn festival with floats, mikoshi portable shrines, and creative danbee dance parading through the city.

Saitama

Chichibu Night Festival: Chichibu Shrine Grand Festival continuing over 300 years.

Chiba

Narita Gion Festival: Summer festival with over 300 years history where 10 lavish floats parade through Naritasan gate town.

Tokyo

Sumida River Fireworks Display: Japan's oldest fireworks display continuing from Edo period.

Kanagawa

Yokohama Port Opening Festival: Citizens' festival commemorating 1859 port opening.

Chubu Region

Niigata

Nagaoka Festival Grand Fireworks Display: Counted among Japan's three major fireworks festivals, featuring 650-meter diameter Phoenix simultaneous launches coloring the night sky.

Toyama

Owara Kaze no Bon: Toyama's representative folk music event where dancers in woven hats perform town processions to melancholic kokyu (three-stringed fiddle) and shamisen melodies.

Ishikawa

Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Festival: Early summer festival recreating Kaga Domain lord Maeda Toshiie's entry into Kanazawa Castle with a daimyo procession as the highlight.

Fukui

Mikuni Fireworks Festival: Hokuriku's largest with over 20,000 fireworks launched at Kuzuryu River mouth near Tojinbo.

Yamanashi

Shingen-ko Festival: Japan's largest-scale warrior procession with over 1,000 armored troops parading through Kofu city streets.

Nagano

Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Fire Festival: Brave New Year festival setting fire to 20m-tall shrine, designated important intangible folk cultural property.

Gifu

Takayama Festival (Spring): Gorgeously decorated floats parade through the city with karakuri puppet performances.

Shizuoka

Hamamatsu Festival: City-wide grand festival featuring powerful kite flying competitions and palace float parades.

Aichi

Inuyama Festival: Spring festival where 13 karakuri floats parade beneath National Treasure Inuyama Castle.

Kinki Region

Mie

Kumano Grand Fireworks Festival: Over 10,000 powerful marine fireworks including 3-shaku ball sea self-explosions and Onigajo grand spectacle.

Shiga

Lake Biwa Fireworks Festival: Approximately 10,000 fireworks bloom on lake surface in major Kansai water fireworks.

Kyoto

Gion Festival: A festival of Yasaka Shrine continuing since the Heian period.

Osaka

Tenjin Matsuri: Festival of Osaka Tenmangu Shrine continuing over 1,000 years.

Hyogo

Kobe Luminarie: Festival of lights commemorating Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake victims and symbolizing recovery wishes.

Nara

Wakakusayama Mountain Burning: Flame festival scorching Nara's winter night sky.

Wakayama

Nachi Fire Festival (Nachi Taisha Fan Festival): Grand fire festival transferring sacred waterfall to 12 giant torches.

Chugoku Region

Tottori

Tottori Shanshan Festival: Tottori City's largest summer festival where about 4,000 people dance while spinning colorful umbrellas with bells.

Shimane

Kamiarisai Festival: Izumo Taisha's largest Shinto ritual welcoming deities from nationwide in lunar October.

Okayama

Saidaiji Eyo (Naked Festival): Magnificent strange festival continuing over 500 years where over 10,000 men compete naked for treasure sticks.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima Flower Festival: Western Japan's largest spring festival decorating Golden Week's Peace Boulevard with flowers, music, and parades.

Yamaguchi

Yamaguchi Tanabata Lantern Festival: Summer tradition where about 10,000 red lanterns illuminate the old Yamaguchi castle town.

Shikoku Region

Tokushima

Tokushima City Awa Odori: Japan's largest bon dance festival with over 400 years of history.

Kagawa

Sanuki Takamatsu Festival: Takamatsu City's largest summer festival featuring fireworks and mass dancing over three days.

Niihama Taiko Festival: One of Shikoku's three major festivals, featuring approximately 50 gorgeously decorated taiko floats weighing 3 tons total parading through town, displaying kakikurabe competitions.

Kochi

Yosakoi Festival: Citizen-participatory dance festival begun in 1954.