July 2026
4 events
07/11–09/01
Gujo Odori
Hachiman, Gujo, Gifu
Every summer evening from July 11 to September 5 — thirty-one nights in all — music rises from the streets of Gujo Hachi
07/25–07/25
Abekawa Fireworks Festival
Abe River banks, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka
The fireworks began as a memorial. In Shizuoka, the Abekawa Fireworks Festival sends around fifteen thousand shells over
07/25–07/25
Fukuroi Enshu Fireworks Festival
Haranoya River Park, Fukuroi, Shizuoka
This is a showcase of the makers themselves. Each August in Fukuroi, on the Enshu plain of Shizuoka, the most celebrated
07/26–07/26
Gion Kashiwazaki Sea Fireworks Festival
Kashiwazaki Port Beach, Kashiwazaki, Niigata
Here the fire comes off the sea. Kashiwazaki faces the Sea of Japan, and its summer festival—one of the three great fire
August 2026
3 events
08/02–08/03
Nagaoka Grand Fireworks Festival
Shinano River, Nagaoka, Niigata
Some fireworks are only beautiful. These ones mean something more. On the first of August, 1945, Nagaoka burned in an ai
08/07–08/07
Shinmei Fireworks Festival
Fuefuki River, Ichikawamisato, Yamanashi
A town of paper sends up fire. Ichikawamisato has made washi—traditional Japanese paper—for centuries, along with the ca
08/15–08/15
Lake Suwa Fireworks Festival
Suwa Lakeside Park, Suwa, Nagano
A lake doubles everything. The fireworks rise above Suwa, and then they fall again, perfect and inverted, into the still
September 2026
2 events
09/01–09/03
Owara Kaze no Bon
Yatsuo, Toyama City, Toyama
Every year, for three nights in early September, the sloping lanes of Yatsuo are given over to sound and slow movement.
09/11–09/12
Katakai Festival Grand Fireworks
Asahara Shrine, Katakai, Ojiya, Niigata
In a town of a few thousand people, they launch the largest firework on earth. The four-shaku shell weighs four hundred
Year-round
Daily
Ojiya Bullfighting (Ushi no Tsukiai)
Ojiya Bullfighting Arena, Oguriyama, Ojiya, Niigata
There is no winner. Every bout ends in a draw. In the mountains of Echigo, a tradition said to be nearly a thousand year
毎年4月19・20日
Hida Furukawa Festival: The Drums Before Dawn
Keta Wakamiya Shrine, Furukawa, Hida City, Gifu
The drumming begins at three in the morning. This is the essential fact of the Furukawa Festival: it starts before dawn,
毎年9月第3土・日
Oiwake Shukuba Matsuri: The Post Town That Still Knows Its Songs
Oiwake, Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku-gun, Nagano
Oiwake sits at the junction of the Nakasendo highway and the Hokkoku Kaido, one of the branching points in Edo Japan's r
毎年4月第3日曜前後
Okazaki Ieyasu Festival: The Birthplace of the Edo Shogunate
Okazaki Park and surrounding area, Okazaki City, Aichi
Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in Okazaki Castle in 1543. From this starting point, he navigated the chaos of the Sengoku peri
毎年5月3〜5日
Hamamatsu Kite Festival: One Hundred and Seventy Teams in the Sky
Nakatajima Sand Dunes and Hamamatsu Castle Park, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka
The Hamamatsu kite festival began as a private celebration — families flying kites to announce the birth of a child, the
毎年1月15日
Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Matsuri: The Fire Festival of Midwinter
Nozawa Onsen Village, Shimotakai-gun, Nagano
On the evening of January 15th, in the snow of the northern Nagano mountains, a large wooden structure built by the youn
毎年10月第1土曜
Matsumoto Jidai Matsuri: Four Centuries of Castle Town History Walking
Around Matsumoto Castle, Matsumoto City, Nagano
Matsumoto Castle's keep is black — unusual in Japanese castle architecture, which more commonly tends toward white — and
2026年8月上旬（例年8月第1土曜前後）
Gifu Nagaragawa Fireworks Festival
Nagara River, Gifu City, Gifu
Fire falls on the river of the cormorant fishermen. The Nagara is one of Japan's clearest rivers, famous for the ancient
2026年8月上旬（例年8月上旬）
North Lake Biwa Grand Fireworks Festival
Nagahama Port, Nagahama, Shiga
Fire reflects in the largest lake in Japan. Lake Biwa is vast—an inland sea in all but name—and on its northern shore, f
2026年7月中旬（例年7月）
Toyohashi Gion Festival Hand-Held Fireworks
Yoshida Shrine, Toyohashi, Aichi
Here a man holds the fireworks in his arms. The tezutsu is a hand-held firework—gunpowder packed into a length of bamboo
2026年7月下旬（例年夏季）
Shirako Beach Fireworks Festival
Shirako Beach, Suzuka, Mie
Fire scatters over the Ise sea. Shirako, part of Suzuka in Mie, is a seaside town on Ise Bay—a place of craftsmen, famou
例年5月1日に開催。豪華絢爛な御車山（山車）の巡行。ユネスコ無形文化遺産。
Takaoka Mikurumayama Festival
Floats of lavish metalwork.
At the Takaoka Mikurumayama Festival, on the first of May, seven floats process through a t
例年4月中旬に開催。子ども歌舞伎を載せた曳山の巡行。ユネスコ無形文化遺産。日程は年により異なります。
Nagahama Hikiyama Festival
Children perform kabuki.
At the Nagahama Hikiyama Festival in April, child kabuki is staged atop ornate floats—boys bet
例年4月上旬に開催。甲冑姿の武者行列「甲州軍団出陣」。日程は年により異なります。
Shingen-ko Festival
The army of the Takeda returns.
At the Shingen-ko Festival in April, the streets of Kofu fill with armored warriors rec
毎年8月第1日曜（前日土曜が試楽）
Kuwana Ishidori Matsuri: Japan's Noisiest Festival
Around Kasuga Shrine (Kuwana Sosha), Kuwana, Mie
The sound arrives before anything else.
On the first Sunday of August in Kuwana, in Mie, as many as forty festival cars
例年2月中旬〜下旬の金・土・日曜（3日間）
Tokamachi Snow Festival: The Town That Invented Celebrating Snow
Central Tokamachi and sites across the city, Niigata
Tokamachi, in the mountains of Niigata, receives some of the heaviest snowfall of any city in the world—two meters stand