Japan Festivals & Events Calendar by Month

A month-by-month calendar of 38 major, well-established annual festivals across Japan, each linked to its prefecture guide. Timing is typical for each event: always confirm exact dates for the year you travel.

January

• Takasaki Daruma Market — Gunma: Stalls sell round, red Daruma wish dolls beneath Shorinzan temple to mark the new year. (January events)

February

• Sapporo Snow Festival — Hokkaido: A week of massive snow and ice sculptures filling Sapporo's Odori Park. (February events)
• Saidaiji Eyo — Okayama: Thousands of loincloth-clad men compete for sacred sticks thrown into the crowd. (February events)
• Mito Plum Festival — Ibaraki: Thousands of plum trees bloom at Kairakuen, one of Japan's three great gardens. (February events)

March

• Omizutori — Nara: Monks wave giant flaming torches from the balcony of Nara's Todai-ji temple. (March events)

April

• Takayama Matsuri — Gifu: One of Japan's most elaborate float festivals, held each spring and autumn in Hida-Takayama. (April events)
• Kamakura Festival — Kanagawa: A week of processions and horseback archery honouring Kamakura's samurai-era history. (April events)

May

• Nikko Toshogu Spring Festival — Tochigi: A costumed procession re-enacts a samurai-era parade at Nikko's shrine complex. (May events)
• Sanja Matsuri — Tokyo: Asakusa's biggest festival, with dozens of portable shrines carried through the streets. (May events)
• Hiroshima Flower Festival — Hiroshima: A large parade and festival held around Peace Boulevard each Golden Week. (May events)

June

• Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Matsuri — Ishikawa: A parade celebrating the feudal lord who founded Kanazawa, in period costume. (June events)

July

• Gion Matsuri — Kyoto: Kyoto's month-long festival, famous for its towering, hand-pulled yamaboko floats. (July events)
• Tenjin Matsuri — Osaka: One of Japan's top three festivals, culminating in a river procession of lit boats. (July events)
• Hakata Gion Yamakasa — Fukuoka: Teams race through Fukuoka's streets carrying decorated wooden floats at dawn. (July events)
• Soma Nomaoi — Fukushima: Armoured riders on horseback re-enact a centuries-old samurai training exercise. (July events)
• Sawara Grand Festival — Chiba: Tall, ornately carved floats are pulled through a canal-side merchant town in summer and autumn. (July events)
• Nachi Fire Festival — Wakayama: Enormous flaming torches are carried down the stone steps beside Nachi Falls. (July events)

August

• Nebuta Matsuri — Aomori: Huge illuminated warrior floats parade through Aomori city each August night. (August events)
• Sendai Tanabata Matsuri — Miyagi: Streets across Sendai are draped in thousands of colourful paper streamers. (August events)
• Akita Kanto Matsuri — Akita: Performers balance towering bamboo poles hung with dozens of lit lanterns. (August events)
• Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri — Yamagata: Dancers in flower-decorated straw hats fill the streets of Yamagata city. (August events)
• Awa Odori — Tokushima: Japan's largest dance festival, with thousands of dancers filling Tokushima's streets. (August events)
• Yosakoi Matsuri — Kochi: The energetic dance festival that started in Kochi and later spread across Japan. (August events)
• Morioka Sansa Odori — Iwate: One of Japan's largest taiko drum festivals, with thousands of drummers and dancers parading together. (August events)
• Yoshida Fire Festival — Yamanashi: Giant roadside torches are lit along the streets beneath Mount Fuji, one of Japan's most unusual festivals. (August events)

September

• Owara Kaze no Bon — Toyama: Dancers move slowly through lantern-lit streets to melancholic shamisen and folk singing. (September events)

October

• Takayama Matsuri — Gifu: One of Japan's most elaborate float festivals, held each spring and autumn in Hida-Takayama. (October events)
• Nagoya Festival — Aichi: A downtown parade themed around three of Japan's great historical warlords. (October events)
• Jidai Matsuri — Kyoto: A costumed procession spanning centuries of Kyoto history, from Heian nobles to samurai. (October events)
• Nagasaki Kunchi — Nagasaki: A centuries-old festival blending Japanese, Chinese and Dutch influences in its dances and floats. (October events)
• Naha Great Tug-of-War — Okinawa: One of the world's largest tug-of-war events, using a rope over 200 metres long. (October events)
• Sawara Grand Festival — Chiba: Tall, ornately carved floats are pulled through a canal-side merchant town in summer and autumn. (October events)
• Ueno Tenjin Matsuri — Mie: Ornate floats and lion dancers parade through the castle town of Iga. (October events)
• Otsu Matsuri — Shiga: Elaborate floats fitted with mechanical karakuri dolls parade through the streets of Otsu. (October events)
• Konpira Grand Festival — Kagawa: A major festival at Kotohira-gu, the hilltop shrine long revered by sailors and travellers. (October events)
• Saijo Danjiri Matsuri — Ehime: Dozens of elaborately decorated floats are pulled and paraded through the streets of Saijo. (October events)

November

• Karatsu Kunchi — Saga: Elaborately lacquered festival floats, some shaped like dragons and lions, are pulled through town. (November events)
• Ohara Matsuri — Kagoshima: Thousands of dancers fill central Kagoshima's streets in one of Kyushu's largest dance festivals. (November events)

December

• Chichibu Night Festival — Saitama: Ornately decorated floats are pulled through Chichibu after dark, lit by lanterns. (December events)
• Kobe Luminarie — Hyogo: Elaborate illuminated light arches fill Kobe's streets in memory of the 1995 earthquake. (December events)

Last updated: 9 October 2026 · Japan47.org, by Francesco Consalvo.