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Guide

Festivals in Japan by month

A good Japanese festival is worth building a trip around, but most are fixed to a calendar date rather than a day of the week, so it is worth checking them before you buy a flight. We have gathered here 41 events in the cities the site covers and around them, with the date, the hour that is really worth turning up for, and what costs money. The dates were checked against the organisers' and shrines' websites, and where the 2027 date has not been published yet, we have written the rule by which it is set.

Sakura, autumn colour and the Japanese New Year are in the seasons guide.

January

  • Hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year

    1 to 3 January every year. At Meiji Jingu the gates stay open all night from 31 December into 1 January.

    During the first three days of the year millions of Japanese queue to pray for a good year, buy a new charm and draw a fortune slip. Meiji Jingu in Tokyo stays open all through New Year's night, and according to the shrine the heaviest crowds are between 22:00 and 03:00 and from 10:00 on each of the three days. If you want the atmosphere without the big queues, come on 2 or 3 January when the gates open at 06:40. This is also the week when most museums and restaurants are closed, so the shrines are what is open in the city.

    Cost Free. Charms and fortune slips cost extra; the zodiac-year charm is 1,000 yen.

  • Toka Ebisu at Imamiya Ebisu Shrine

    9 to 11 January every year.

    Three days when Osaka business people come to ask Ebisu, the god of commerce, for a good year. You receive a bamboo branch, and the shrine's young women (fukumusume) tie charms onto it. The branch is handed out from 07:00 to 01:00 at night, but the young women are at the stalls only from 09:00 to 21:00, so it is best to come before 21:00. The palanquin procession (hoe-kago), which began as a visit by geisha from the Minami district, will take place in 2027 on 9 January according to the shrine (the Osaka tourism site says 10 January), and the times have not been published yet. Roads around the shrine are closed, so come by train: Nankai's Imamiya-Ebisu Station is right next to it.

    Cost Entry is free, and the branch itself is free. The charms tied onto it cost money, and the shrine does not publish a price list on its site.

  • Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Fire Festival

    15 January every year, in the evening. Preparations start on 13 January. In 2027, 15 January is a Friday, so it falls on Friday night, the start of Shabbat.

    The village builds a shrine from beech wood, and men aged 25 and 42 defend it against the other villagers, who try to set it alight with torches. On the 2026 schedule the fireworks started at 20:00, the adults' fire-lighting at 20:50, and it was all over by about 22:00. That evening you get in only with a ticket, and tickets go only to village residents and people staying in the village, so a room in Nagano city or Iiyama is not enough. Visitors only watch, and bottles, cans and alcohol may not be brought in. The 2027 rules have not been published yet, so ask your hotel about tickets before you book.

    Cost The official page lists no ticket price. You ask your lodging in the village for the ticket.

  • Wakakusa Yamayaki, the burning of Mount Wakakusa in Nara

    The fourth Saturday of January. In 2027: 23 January.

    After about 600 fireworks at 18:15, about 300 volunteer firefighters set the whole hillside alight at 18:30. The flames are strongest in the first half hour, until 19:00, and by about 19:30 there is almost no fire to see. You can watch for free from the Nara Park lawns, Kasugano and Ukigumo, but they get very crowded, and spreading a mat or saving a place is forbidden. If the event is cancelled because of the weather, there is no backup date. Between about 18:00 and 19:30 some roads are closed even to buses and taxis, so walk from Kintetsu Nara Station, about 20 minutes to the Iraka hall.

    Cost Watching from the lawns is free. There are two paid areas: the foot of the hill, standing only and with a printed ticket, and the roof of the park's bus terminal. The 2027 prices had not been published when we checked, and they appear on the prefecture site. If even one firework goes off there is no refund, even if the hill is not burned.

February

  • Setsubun in Kyoto: Yoshida Shrine and Mibu-dera

    Setsubun day, the day before the start of spring in the Japanese calendar, plus the day before it and the day after it. Usually 2 to 4 February, but in 2025 Setsubun fell on 2 February and everything moved a day earlier.

    At Yoshida Shrine, on the day before Setsubun, a figure in a four-eyed mask drives out demons in a ritual preserved since the Heian period, and on Setsubun day old charms are burned in a huge fire pit. On these two days there are about 800 stalls, and according to the shrine about 500 thousand visitors come each year. Do not count on a time for the demon ritual: the Kyoto information centre wrote in 2025 that it is not published, to avoid crowding. If you want a sure time, go to Mibu-dera: on the day before Setsubun there is a procession of mountain monks at 13:30 and a big fire ritual at 14:00. On that day and on Setsubun day the comic play 'Setsubun' from the Mibu Kyogen repertoire is performed four times, on the hour from 17:00.

    Cost Entry to Yoshida is free, and the play at Mibu-dera is free. Yoshida sells lucky beans with a raffle ticket, 300 yen in 2024.

  • Sapporo Snow Festival

    Eight days in early February. In 2027: 4 to 11 February.

    Giant snow sculptures along Odori Park in the city centre, ice sculptures on the main street of Susukino, and snow slides for children at the Tsudome hall. In the evening the sculptures in Odori are lit, and that is the best time to come. Hotels in Sapporo sell out early for this week, so book as soon as you buy your flight.

    Cost Entry to all three venues is free.

  • Nagasaki Lantern Festival

    About 17 days from early February, no longer tied to the Lunar New Year. In 2027: 5 to 21 February.

    About 15,000 Chinese lanterns decorate the Shinchi Chinatown and the city centre, at an event that began as the Chinese community's New Year celebration. The lanterns are lit from 17:00 to 22:00, and in Shinchi and Hamanmachi already from 12:00, and the dragon dance takes place every day. The Emperor's Parade is on 13 and 20 February, planned from 14:00 to 16:30, and the procession of the goddess Mazu is on 7 and 14 February in the afternoon. The lanterns look best at night, so it is worth staying in the city, and hotels fill up early on weekends. Much of the street food here is pork, such as the kakuni bun.

    Cost Walking among the lanterns and the stage shows need no ticket and no booking. Paid: the Confucius Shrine 880 yen for adults, and the candle tour of four prayer halls 1,000 yen.

  • Otaru Snow Light Path (Yuki Akari no Michi)

    Eight days in February, 17:00 to 21:00. In 2027: 6 to 13 February.

    Volunteers from the city and beyond light candles in the snow all over Otaru, about 60 thousand in 2026. On the canal about 200 glass fishing floats drift with a candle inside, and along the old Temiya railway line, which lies under the snow, there is an avenue of candles and snow sculptures. Everything is lit at 17:00 and goes out at 21:00, and the canal is about 10 minutes on foot from Otaru Station. There is no parking, and from Sapporo the rapid train takes about 35 minutes. 6 to 11 February overlap with the Sapporo Snow Festival, so you can do both on the same trip.

    Cost Free. Paid, at 2026 prices: a candle with your own message 100 yen, and a wax bowl workshop 2,000 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for children.

  • Nara Rurie, the blue light evenings in Nara Park

    Seven evenings in mid-February, 18:00 to 21:00. In 2026 and 2027: 8 to 14 February.

    Deep blue lighting links Kasuga Taisha, Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji on winter evenings, and you walk between them. The detailed 2027 programme has not been published yet, and the details here are from 2026. You do not enter the Buddha hall at Todai-ji: from 18:00 to 20:00 you see it from outside, through the opened window, so if you are coming for the statue, visit during the day as well. The main hall of Kasuga Taisha opens on only three evenings, in 2026 on 8, 11 and 14 February. The last evening has fireworks, and in 2026 entry to the light garden was restricted that evening and it was closed for a short time.

    Cost Walking around the park is free. Paid, at 2026 prices: the light garden at the Iraka hall 1,000 yen, the main hall of Kasuga Taisha 700 yen, and the east hall of Kofuku-ji 500 yen.

March

  • Omizutori, the torch ceremony at Todai-ji

    1 to 14 March every year, at the Nigatsu-do hall of Todai-ji temple.

    Every evening monks carry huge burning torches up the covered stairway of Nigatsu-do and swing them from the balcony, and a rain of sparks falls on the crowd below. According to the temple the torches burn on most evenings from 19:00 to about 19:25, on 12 March from 19:30 to 20:10, and on 14 March from 18:30 to 18:40. The plaza below holds about 3,000 people; when it is full, visitors are sent to a second viewing area, and when that is full too you see nothing. The temple itself recommends not coming on 12 March and choosing another evening.

    Cost Free. No booking and no saving places.

April

  • Miyako Odori, the geiko dances of Gion

    1 to 30 April every year. 2027 is the 153rd edition.

    Normally you see geiko, as geisha are called in Kyoto, and maiko only in a teahouse, but here anyone can buy a ticket. The show lasts about an hour and runs three times a day, at 12:30, 14:30 and 16:30, at the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo theatre, whose major renovation finished in 2023. With a tea ticket you get matcha and a sweet before the show while a geiko prepares the tea, and you sit on chairs at a table. Tickets for 2026 went on sale on the official site on 6 January at 10:00, and the 2027 sale date has not been published yet, so check the site in early January. The show runs all month, including the week of Pesach.

    Cost Reserved seats only. First-class seat with tea 7,000 yen, first-class seat 6,000 yen, second-class seat 4,000 yen. In 2026 a student in a second-class seat paid 2,000 yen, and the programme cost 1,000 yen.

  • Takayama Spring Festival (Sanno Matsuri)

    14 and 15 April every year.

    Decorated festival floats (yatai) stand in the streets of the old town, and on some of them mechanical puppets (karakuri) perform at 10:00 and 14:00, about fifty minutes each show. The big moment is the evening of 14 April, from 18:00 to 20:30, when the floats come out into the street lit with dozens of lanterns. In rain the floats stay in their storehouses and the lantern evening is cancelled, with no postponement. The festival is on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

    Cost Free.

  • Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival

    From mid-April to 5 May. In 2027: 16 April to 5 May. The organisers move the start according to the bloom: in 2026 it was brought forward a week, to 10 April.

    About 2,600 cherry trees surround Hirosaki Castle and its moats, and in the evening the park is lit from sunset to 22:00. Pesach 2027 begins on the evening of 21 April, when the bloom in Tokyo and Kyoto is usually already over, so this is the likely direction for cherry blossoms at Pesach, but it is no promise. The peak of the Somei-yoshino variety was 23 to 25 April in 2025 and 19 to 22 April in 2024, but 13 to 15 April in 2023, and around 15 April in 2026. If the peak has passed, you still have the petals covering the moat for a few days after it and the late varieties, six of which were still in bloom on 1 May 2026. The bloom forecast comes out in February, so do not fix your lodging without a cancellation option.

    Cost Most of the park is free. Two areas are paid, at 2026 prices: the castle centre (Honmaru and Kitanokuruwa) and the botanical garden, 320 yen for adults and 100 yen for children each. A combined ticket, including the Fujita garden, is 520 yen. Some ticket booths take cash only, and the inside of the castle keep is closed to visitors. Outside the paid hours you can enter the castle centre without paying: in 2026 fees were charged from 09:00 to 21:00 between 17 and 30 April, and until 17:00 for the rest of the festival.

May

  • Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa

    Friday to Sunday around the third Saturday of May. In 2027: 14 to 16 May.

    Three days in which all of Asakusa carries portable shrines (mikoshi) on its shoulders. On Friday at 13:00 there is a big procession of musicians and dancers, on Saturday around noon about a hundred mikoshi from 44 neighbourhoods go out into the streets, and on Sunday at 07:00 the three main mikoshi leave the shrine and return to it in the evening, between 19:00 and 20:00. The streets around Senso-ji are very crowded all weekend, so it is best to stay nearby and head out early in the morning.

    Cost Free.

  • Kanda Matsuri

    The full festival is held only in odd-numbered years, in mid-May: the procession on Saturday and the mikoshi on Sunday. 2027 is a full-festival year, and the dates have not been published yet.

    On Saturday a procession of priests, riders and floats passes during the day through Kanda, Nihonbashi, Otemachi and Marunouchi, and Akihabara. On Sunday the neighbourhoods carry their mikoshi to Kanda Myojin shrine, near Ochanomizu. In 2026 there was no procession and no mikoshi entry, because it was an off year. In 2025 the procession was on 10 May.

    Cost Free.

  • Aoi Matsuri in Kyoto

    15 May every year. In rain it moves to 16 May; the decision is made around 18:00 the evening before.

    A procession of about 500 people in Heian-period court dress, with 36 horses and four oxen, over about 8 km. It leaves the Kyoto Imperial Palace at 10:30, reaches Shimogamo Shrine at 11:40 and continues in the afternoon to Kamigamo Shrine, arriving at 15:30. It is a quiet, slow procession with no loud music and no mikoshi, so it suits people who like costume and history more than commotion.

    Cost Free along the route. Paid seats at the palace and at Shimogamo: 5,000 to 6,500 yen, and a seat with English commentary 18,000 to 20,000 yen (2026). Sales opened on 1 April.

June

  • Hyakumangoku Matsuri in Kanazawa

    Friday to Sunday in early June, and the big procession is always on Saturday. In 2026 it was 5 to 7 June, and the 2027 date has not been published yet.

    The festival marks the entry of Maeda Toshiie, founder of the Kaga domain, into Kanazawa Castle in 1583. The peak is a procession in period costume: in 2026 it left the east plaza of Kanazawa Station at 14:20 and reached the castle park by 17:30, and on the stretch between the castle and Kenrokuen garden it passed from about 15:15. According to the tourism association about 400 thousand people come to see it, so take a spot early. At 18:00 a street dance starts in the city centre, and at the previous festival about 9,000 dancers took part. On Friday evening, from 19:00, lanterns float on the Asano river.

    Cost Free along the route. Paid seats between the castle and Kenrokuen: 5,000 yen, and in the front row 6,000 yen (2026). Sales opened on 1 April through e+. There is no roof, umbrellas stay closed, and if the procession is cancelled for rain there is no refund.

  • YOSAKOI Soran Festival in Sapporo

    Five days in June, Wednesday to Sunday. In 2027: 9 to 13 June.

    Teams of up to 150 dancers perform in Odori Park and on other stages around Sapporo, and according to the city's tourism office about 30 thousand dancers take part. There are only two rules: you dance with naruko, a small wooden clapper, and the music includes a phrase from the folk song Soran Bushi. Most happens at the weekend: in 2026 teams performed all over the city on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, and on Sunday from 18:30 to 21:00 the final was on the main stage. At the Wao-dori square in the park the audience can join the dance too. The festival goes ahead in rain, and umbrellas are not allowed in the seats, so bring a raincoat.

    Cost Free in most places. Paid seats in Odori Park (2026): a parade 1,000 yen, the Saturday night parade 2,000 yen, and the second part of the final 3,000 to 6,000 yen. Tickets are at Lawson and 7-Eleven, and during the festival also at stands in the park if any remain.

July

  • Hakata Gion Yamakasa in Fukuoka

    1 to 15 July every year. The main race is on 15 July at 04:59 in the morning.

    From 1 July, 14 decorated display floats stand around the city and can be seen for free. Seven other floats, each weighing about a ton, are carried at a run on the shoulders along a course of about 5 km. The peak is Oiyama, on 15 July at 04:59, when the floats leave Kushida Shrine one after another and race through the city before sunrise. On 12 July there is a rehearsal run, which is easier to see. The festival has been on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2016.

    Cost Free along the route. There are limited paid seats at Kushida Shrine for 12 and 15 July.

  • Gion Matsuri in Kyoto

    All of July. The float processions are on 17 July and 24 July every year, and the yoiyama evenings on 14 to 16 and 21 to 23 July.

    The Yasaka Shrine festival lasts a whole month, but two days matter most: on 17 July and 24 July, 34 huge floats (yamaboko) pass through central Kyoto, and at the intersections they are turned on the spot over wet bamboo. On the three evenings before each procession the floats stand in the streets lit with lanterns, with flute and drum music, and the old houses display family folding screens. These evenings are free and often more beautiful than the procession itself. July in Kyoto is very hot and humid, so come to the procession early in the morning with water.

    Cost Free. Paid seats on Oike-dori: 6,000 to 8,000 yen, and a seat with commentary 9,500 to 11,500 yen (2026). Sales opened on 1 June.

  • Tenjin Matsuri in Osaka

    24 and 25 July every year. The peak is the evening of 25 July.

    Osaka Tenmangu shrine describes it as one of Japan's three great festivals, and according to the shrine more than a million people fill the streets and the banks of the Okawa river. On 25 July there is a procession on foot in the afternoon, and in the evening a boat procession on the river and fireworks from 19:30. You can watch the boats and fireworks for free from the riverbanks, but the good spots are taken by the afternoon.

    Cost Free from the riverbanks. Paid seats and boats are sold through travel agencies.

  • Sumida River Fireworks

    Usually the last Saturday of July. In 2026: 25 July, 19:00 to 20:30.

    Fireworks from two launch sites on the Sumida river, near Asakusa, for an hour and a half. It is an evening when many people go out in summer kimono (yukata), and the streets around the river are closed to traffic and fill up by the afternoon. In heavy rain the event is cancelled, and the official site does not mention a backup date.

    Cost Free. Paid sponsor seats sold out in early July 2026.

August

  • Aomori Nebuta Matsuri

    2 to 7 August every year.

    Giant paper sculptures of warriors and mythological figures, lit from inside, are pulled through the streets of Aomori in the evening, with hundreds of dancers (haneto) in front of them. From 2 to 6 August the parade is in the evening, and on 7 August it is by day, with fireworks and a nebuta parade on boats in the harbour in the evening. Anyone can join as a dancer without registering, provided they wear the full costume: buying it costs about 10,000 yen and renting about 4,000 yen.

    Cost Free along the route. A reserved seat is 4,000 yen per evening, and 9,500 yen for 7 August including the fireworks (2026).

  • Awa Odori in Tokushima

    Mid-August: an opening evening on 11 August, and street dancing on 12 to 15 August.

    Four evenings in which dance groups (ren) move through the streets of Tokushima in the low, swaying step of Awa Odori, with drums, flutes and shamisen. According to the organisers more than a million visitors come. There are paid stages and free stages, and there is also an open group that you join in the street without registering and dance with the dancers. Tokushima is small, and its hotels sell out early for these days.

    Cost Free in the streets and at the free stages. Tickets for the paid stages are sold through Ticket Pia from early July.

  • Gozan Okuribi, the five bonfires on Kyoto's hills

    16 August every year, from 20:00.

    At the end of the Obon holiday, bonfires in the shape of giant characters are lit on five hills around Kyoto to see the spirits of the dead back. The first is the character "dai" (great) on Mount Daimonji at 20:00, then another sign every five minutes, and the last, a torii gate, at 20:20. Each fire burns for about half an hour. The banks of the Kamo river are the traditional place to watch Daimonji, and flying drones is banned over all of central Kyoto.

    Cost Free.

September

  • Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri

    In September, usually on the Saturday and Sunday before Respect for the Aged Day (the third Monday of September). In 2026: 19 and 20 September.

    Heavy wooden carts (danjiri) are pulled at full speed through the streets of Kishiwada in southern Osaka prefecture, and at the street corners they are swung through a right angle without slowing down. This manoeuvre, yarimawashi, is what people come to see. The first day starts at 06:00 and runs until 22:00, and in the evening the carts are lit with lanterns and move slowly. It is a genuinely dangerous festival: stand behind the barriers and do not cross the route when a cart is approaching.

    Cost Free in the streets. There are paid seats near the main corner (Kankan-ba), run by a private operator.

  • Yabusame, horseback archery, at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in Kamakura

    16 September every year, on the last day of the shrine's festival (14 to 16 September).

    Riders in samurai hunting dress gallop along a course of about 250 metres and shoot arrows at three targets. The shrine dates the tradition to 1187, and it is performed by members of the Ogasawara school. In recent years the ceremony has started at 13:00, but the shrine does not publish a time on its page, so confirm it close to the date. The spots along the course fill up long before, so if you want to see it up close, come in the morning.

    Cost Free. You watch standing along the course.

October

  • Nagasaki Kunchi

    7 to 9 October every year.

    The autumn festival of Suwa Shrine, held since 1634. Each year only some of the city's neighbourhoods perform, each with its own show: a Chinese-style dragon dance, ships that are spun at speed, and a float that is thrown into the air (kokkodesho). The main stage is at Suwa Shrine, and anyone without a ticket can see the groups for free as they go round the houses and shops in town (niwasaki-mawari).

    Cost Free in the streets. At Central Park: 4,500 to 7,000 yen a seat (2026), through Ticket Pia from early August. At Suwa Shrine there are four-person boxes, same-day standing tickets, and free steps by advance lottery.

  • Takayama Autumn Festival (Hachiman Matsuri)

    9 and 10 October every year.

    The same decorated floats and mechanical puppets as in spring, this time around Sakurayama Hachimangu shrine in the northern part of the old town. The karakuri puppets perform on 9 October at 12:00 and 14:00, and on 10 October at 11:00 and 13:00. The lantern evening is held only on 9 October, from 18:00 to 21:30. In rain the events are cancelled, not postponed.

    Cost Free.

  • Nada no Kenka Matsuri, the fighting festival in Himeji

    14 and 15 October every year. The peak is on 15 October.

    At Matsubara Hachiman Shrine three mikoshi, portable shrines, are smashed into each other, and seven neighbourhoods compete with decorated floats (yatai) that are lifted and shaken on the shoulders. On 14 October the floats arrive at the shrine, by the 2026 timetable from 11:00 until after 14:00, and then clash with each other in the grounds. On 15 October 2026 the mikoshi left for Otabiyama hill at 12:25 and came down at 16:50, and most of the clashing is there, about 15 minutes' walk west of the shrine (the times are estimates). There is no parking, and on festival days express trains on the Sanyo line also stop at Shirahama-no-miya station. If a float or mikoshi comes toward you, move away, because it is really dangerous.

    Cost Free.

  • Thousand Warrior Procession at Nikko Toshogu

    Twice a year: in spring, horseback archery on 17 May and the procession on 18 May, and in autumn, horseback archery on 16 October and the procession on 17 October.

    The procession re-enacts the transfer of Tokugawa Ieyasu's grave to Nikko: armoured warriors, banner bearers and priests escort three mikoshi from the shrine to a secondary shrine. It sets off at 11:00. The day before, at 13:00, there is horseback archery (yabusame) on the shrine's main approach. In 2027 the October procession falls during the intermediate days of Sukkot, and the autumn colour in Nikko is starting at that time.

    Cost Free.

  • Jidai Matsuri, the Festival of the Ages in Kyoto

    22 October every year. In rain it moves to 23 October; the decision is made that morning.

    About 2,000 Kyoto residents in costumes spanning a thousand years of history, from the Meiji period back to the founding of the city, walk for about two hours from the Imperial Palace to Heian Shrine. The procession leaves the palace at midday, passes along Oike-dori at around 13:20 and reaches Heian Shrine at around 14:20. It was founded in 1895, marking 1,100 years since the capital moved to Kyoto.

    Cost Free along the route. Paid seats at the palace, on Oike-dori and at Heian Shrine: 5,000 to 7,500 yen, and with commentary 8,500 to 15,500 yen (2026).

  • Kurama Fire Festival in northern Kyoto

    22 October every year, at night. In 2027 that is Friday evening, at the end of Sukkot, the eve of Shabbat and Simchat Torah.

    The night festival of Yuki Shrine in the village of Kurama. At about 18:00 bonfires are lit in front of the houses, and at about 20:00 the torch bearers gather on the steps in front of the gate of Kurama-dera. The problem is getting there and back: from 15:00 cars cannot enter the village, and the Eizan railway runs on a special timetable with boarding limits, so you can wait and still not board, and the police can order the trains to Kurama to stop. In 2026 the last train left Kurama at 23:24, before the end of the ceremony. The Jidai Matsuri procession leaves the same day at midday, and you can see both.

    Cost Free, no booking. The Eizan railway from Demachiyanagi to Kurama costs 470 yen one way.

November

  • Karatsu Kunchi

    2 to 4 November every year, in Karatsu in Saga prefecture. The peak is on 3 November.

    14 huge floats (hikiyama) in the shape of lions, dragons, ships and helmets, made of layers of paper and lacquer, more than 7 metres high and weighing 2 to 3 tonnes, are hauled by hundreds of young people through the streets of the old town. On the evening of 2 November (in 2026 from 19:00 to 21:30) they pass lit up. On 3 November the procession leaves at 09:30, and the big moment is when the floats are hauled onto the sand at Nishi-no-hama and back out. The tourism association warns that there have been accidents: do not sit on the road, walk right behind a float or get close at corners. Karatsu is about 90 minutes from Hakata by direct train.

    Cost Free. According to the tourism association the festival has no paid seats at all, and old information mentioning them is wrong.

  • Tori-no-Ichi at Otori Shrine in Asakusa

    On the rooster days of the zodiac calendar in November. They come every 12 days, so there are two or three a year. In 2026: 7 November (Saturday) and 19 November. In 2027, by the calendar, 2, 14 and 26 November, and the shrine has not published yet.

    The market is open for 24 hours, from midnight to midnight, and opens with drumming at midnight. According to the shrine it has about 150 kumade stalls, decorated bamboo rakes for luck and business, and about 750 more street stalls, and 700 to 800 thousand people come. Walk round all the stalls first. When a sale closes, the sellers and the buyer clap in rhythm (tejime), which is worth seeing even if you do not buy. The shrine is not next to Asakusa station on the Ginza line: it is about 7 minutes' walk from Iriya station and about 15 minutes from Asakusa.

    Cost Entry is free. The price of a kumade depends on its size and decorations. According to the shrine haggling is part of the fun, and it used to be the custom to leave the discount with the seller as a tip.

  • Hitaki Festival at Fushimi Inari

    8 November every year.

    The shrine gives thanks for the harvest. At 13:00 a ceremony starts in the main hall, and straight after it more than 100 thousand prayer sticks sent by worshippers from all over Japan are burned in the shrine garden, while the priests and participants recite a purification prayer. At 18:00 ancient kagura with dance is performed in front of the main hall, by the light of small fires. This is a religious ceremony and not a show as in Kurama, so if you come only for the flames, come at 13:00 and not in the evening.

    Cost Entry to the shrine is free.

  • Momiji Matsuri, the autumn leaf festival in Arashiyama

    The second Sunday of November. In 2026 the organisers list 7 and 8 November.

    On the Oi river, above Togetsu bridge, decorated boats sail and troupes perform arts connected with Arashiyama from them. The festival runs from 11:30 to 17:00, in honour of the autumn leaves and of Zao Gongen, the guardian deity of the area. It is cancelled in rain. The leaves in Arashiyama usually peak only in late November, so do not count on red leaves on this day.

    Cost Free according to the organisers.

  • Shichi-Go-San at Meiji Jingu

    Around 15 November, mostly on the nearest Saturday and Sunday. There is no schedule for the public.

    This is not a festival but a family rite: girls aged 3 and 7 and boys aged 5 come to the shrine with their parents to ask for a blessing on their growth, the girls in kimono and the boys in hakama, and afterwards it is customary to eat chitose-ame, a sweet for long life. At Meiji Jingu you see them in the grounds and on the way to the kagura hall, where the blessings take place about every half hour from 09:30 to 16:30. In November the gates close at 16:10, so come in the morning. These are families and not a show: ask permission before you photograph a child, and do not block the way.

    Cost Entry to the shrine is free. A family blessing ceremony starts at 5,000 yen, with no advance booking.

December

  • Chichibu Yomatsuri, the Night Festival

    2 and 3 December every year. The peak is the evening of 3 December.

    Six festival floats lit with lanterns, two umbrella-shaped and four house-shaped, are pulled at night through the streets of Chichibu, a mountain town west of Tokyo. On 3 December the procession leaves the shrine after 19:00, and the floats reach the secondary shrine at around 22:00, with winter fireworks in the sky. It is very cold at night in December, and the trains back to Tokyo are full, so it is worth staying in Chichibu or planning the return in advance. The festival is on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

    Cost Free. There are a small number of paid seats near the secondary shrine.

  • Kasuga Wakamiya On-Matsuri in Nara

    15 to 18 December every year. The day that matters is 17 December.

    At 00:00 on 17 December the deity is moved from Kasuga Shrine to a temporary shrine, in total darkness: all the lights on the path are off, and you may not take photos or use a flashlight. At midday, at 12:00, a procession of about 1,000 participants and 50 horses leaves from in front of the prefectural office, in costumes from the Heian to the Edo period, by way of Kintetsu Nara station and Sanjo street. At about 13:00 it stops for short performances under the sacred pine by the first gate. From 14:30 there are performances in front of the temporary shrine, dances and plays that go on into the night, and at about 23:00 the deity returns, again in darkness.

    Cost Free along the route. Paid seats (2026): Noborioji garden 2,000 yen, by the pine 5,000 to 5,500 yen, and in front of the temporary shrine 10,000 yen. Booking until 14 December. If the procession is cancelled for bad weather, the notice goes out by 09:00 that day.

  • Okera Mairi at Yasaka Shrine, and the New Year's Eve bells

    31 December every year, from the evening until the morning of 1 January.

    At 19:00 a ceremony takes place at Yasaka Shrine, after which sacred fire is moved to three lanterns in the grounds. You light a rope (hinawa) from them and swing it so it does not go out, and in the past people took the fire home to cook the first soup of the year. Today you put the rope out before you leave, because you may not board a train with fire. At the same time Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times (joya no kane), and at nearby Chion-in you watch monks pull the beam of the huge bell, in 2025 from 22:40 and with an advance ticket, and you cannot enter with a lit rope. On this night the city buses and the Kyoto subway do not run all night, and if your hotel is far away you go back on the Keihan line.

    Cost Entry to Yasaka is free, and the rope is sold on site. At Chion-in in 2025: 3,000 yen per person, free up to elementary school age. A trial of the bell is held there in late December (in 2026: 27 December, 14:00).

Sources

Checked on 1 November 2026. 2027 dates not yet published are updated in January.

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