Events & Gatherings

Market Kanto K

Daily (closed Wed)

Katsuura Morning Market

Shimohoncho and Nakahoncho streets, Katsuura, Chiba

In the fishing town of Katsuura on the Boso Peninsula, a morning market has been held almost every day since 1591. It w

Market Kanto F

Every Sat & Sun

Farmer's Market at the United Nations University

United Nations University plaza, 5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

In the middle of the city, you can talk to the people who grew it. In Aoyama, Tokyo, on the plaza before the United Nati

Market Kanto T

Daily

Tokyo Flea Market

Keiokaku, 4-31-1 Tamagawa, Chofu, Tokyo

Old things alone draw this many people. In Chofu, Tokyo, twice a year, in spring and autumn, the Tokyo Flea Market is he

Market Kanto T

Daily (closed Sun)

Tsukiji Outer Market

Tsukiji 4-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

The market moved, but the town remained. In Tsukiji, Tokyo, there once stood one of the world's largest fish markets. In

Market Kanto D

Daily

Design Festa

Tokyo Big Sight, 3-11-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo

Whether it is good or not is beside the point. The only question is whether you made it. At Tokyo Big Sight, twice a yea

Gathering Kanto K

Daily

KENPOKU ART (Ibaraki North Art Festival)

Northern Ibaraki, including Hitachi, Hitachiota, and Daigo

Sea and mountains: two faces in a single festival. Northern Ibaraki has a coastal area facing the Pacific and a mountain

Workshop Kanto M

Daily

Mashiko Pottery Experience

Mashiko, Haga District, Tochigi

Beauty in the vessels of everyday use. Mashiko in Tochigi is a leading pottery town of the Kanto region, with many studi

Festival Kanto S

毎年7月（本祭）・10月（秋祭）

Sawara Grand Festival: Floats on the Waterway

Suwa Shrine / Yasaka Shrine, Sawara, Katori City, Chiba

The floats barely fit through the streets. This is the defining experience of the Sawara Grand Festival: watching a stru

Market Kanto S

不定期（月1〜2回）

Shimokitazawa Vintage Market: The Neighborhood as Archive

Around Shimokitazawa Station, Setagaya, Tokyo

Shimokitazawa is the neighborhood that Tokyo's musicians, actors, and writers moved to before they were successful, and

Workshop Kanto E

通年（各工房により異なる）

Edo Kiriko: Cutting Glass the Way Tokyo Once Did

Sumida-ku / Koto-ku, Tokyo

The grinding wheel turns, and you press the glass against it. The glass resists, then yields — a shallow cut forming, ca

Workshop Kanto Y

通年（要予約）

Yuki Tsumugi: Threading the Oldest Silk Loom in Japan

Yuki City, Ibaraki

Yuki tsumugi begins with the cocoon. The silk is drawn by hand from the cocoons, spun by hand into thread, and woven on

Market Kanto O

毎月第1・第3土曜（不定期あり）

Omiya Hikawa Shrine Antique Market: Sacred Ground, Old Things

Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine, Omiya-ku, Saitama City, Saitama

The approach to Hikawa Shrine extends for more than two kilometers through Omiya — a zelkova-lined path that is one of t

Market Kanto Y

季節ごとに開催（春・秋が中心）

Yokohama Yamashita Park Marché: Port City Produce by the Sea

Yamashita Park, Naka-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa

Yamashita Park runs along the Yokohama waterfront, with the passenger ship terminal visible to the north and the bay ope

Festival Kanto A

例年2月・4月・5月・7月〜12月

Atami Sea Fireworks Festival

Atami Bay, Atami, Shizuoka

The fireworks thunder at the bottom of a bowl. Atami is a hot-spring town wedged between mountains and sea, and its bay

Festival Kanto O

例年7月下旬〜8月

Oarai Sea Fireworks Festival

Oarai Sun Beach, Oarai, Ibaraki

Fireworks stand up against the Pacific. Oarai is a seaside town on the Ibaraki coast, and what opens before it is the gr

Festival Kanto T

例年7月中旬

Tonegawa Grand Fireworks Festival

Tone River, Sakai, Ibaraki

This is the grand stage of Bando Taro. That was the old name for the Tone River—"Bando Taro," the eldest son of the east

Festival Kanto K

例年10月上旬

Konosu Fireworks Festival

Arakawa Riverbank, Konosu, Saitama

The largest shell in the world rises here. Konosu, on the wide gravel banks of the Arakawa River in Saitama, ends its di

craft Kanto N

通年（要予約・工房により異なる）

Nikko-bori Wood Carving Experience

Nikko City, Tochigi

You become heir to the hands that carved Toshogu. The Nikko Toshogu shrine, with its dazzling sculptures—the sleeping ca

Festival Kanto H

例年11月中旬〜下旬が見頃

Hakone: Where Autumn Walks Down the Mountain

Hakone, Ashigarashimo, Kanagawa

Autumn here comes down the mountain rather than arriving all at once. The color starts at Lake Ashi, high near the pass

Gathering Kanto S

定期公演・神社祭礼で上演

Sagami Puppet Theatre

Puppet theatre, three to a figure. Sagami Ningyo is the puppet drama of western Kanagawa, around Odawara and Atsugi—the

Festival Kanto S

例年7月（七夕の時期）

Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival

The sky disappears. At the Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata, the shopping streets are buried under enormous bamboo decorations

Festival Kanto K

例年8月上旬

Kiryu Yagibushi Festival

They beat on barrels. At the Kiryu Yagibushi Festival in August, the whole town rings with yagibushi—empty barrels stru

Festival Kanto N

例年7月上旬の金〜日

Narita Gion Festival

Floats race up the temple approach. At the Narita Gion Festival in July, ten floats and stalls parade before Naritasan

Market Kanto S

12月・1月の15日・16日

Setagaya Boroichi Market

Boroichi-dori, Setagaya 1-chome, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

Tokyo's oldest market is not in Tsukiji or Ueno but on a narrow street in residential Setagaya, and it happens on four f

Festival Kanto K

2月下旬〜3月3日

Katsuura Big Hina Festival

Tomisaki Shrine and central Katsuura, Chiba

Every morning during the festival, volunteers in Katsuura carry some 1,800 hina dolls up the sixty stone steps of Tomisa

Festival Kanto I

5月下旬〜6月下旬

Itako Iris Festival

Suigo Itako Ayame Park, Itako, Ibaraki

The bride is real. That is the first thing to understand about Itako's iris festival, held from late May to late June in

Gathering Kanto A

10月中旬〜2月中旬

Ashikaga Flower Park Illumination

Ashikaga Flower Park, Ashikaga, Tochigi

Ashikaga Flower Park is famous for one tree: a 160-year-old wisteria whose canopy, each spring, draws visitors from arou

Festival Kanto O

毎年大晦日夜〜元旦

Oji Fox Parade

Shozoku Inari to Oji Inari Shrine, Kita-ku, Tokyo

There is an old Edo story that on New Year's Eve, foxes from all over the Kanto plain would gather beneath a great hackb

Gathering Kanto S

例年11月中旬〜4月上旬

Sagamiko Illumillion

1634 Wakayanagi, Midori-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa

An hour west of Tokyo, the lights of the city thin out, the hills darken, and then — abruptly, extravagantly — six milli

Festival Kanto T

例年10月上旬〜中旬が見頃

Tanigawadake

Yubiso, Minakami, Gunma

The colour starts on the fifth of October, more or less. Minakami's tourism association publishes dates for each of its

Festival Kanto T

例年10月中旬〜下旬が見頃

Teriha-kyo

Fujiwara, Minakami, Gunma

Teriha-kyo means, roughly, the gorge where the leaves shine, and the name was given by the haiku poet Mizuhara Shuoshi,

Festival Kanto I

例年10月中旬〜11月上旬が見頃

Irohazaka

Akechidaira, Hosoo, Nikko, Tochigi

Forty-eight curves, and you are up. Irohazaka is the road linking central Nikko to Lake Chuzenji and the highlands beyon

Festival Kanto L

例年10月中旬〜11月上旬が見頃

Lake Chuzenji

Chugushi, Nikko, Tochigi

The lake was made by an accident. Around twenty thousand years ago Mount Nantai erupted, lava ran down into the valley b

Festival Kanto F

例年10月下旬〜11月上旬が見頃

Fukiware-no-taki

Fukiware Falls, Numata, Gunma

Late October to early November is the window at Fukiware. Fukiware is not a waterfall in the usual shape. The Katashina

Festival Kanto N

例年10月下旬〜11月上旬が見頃

Nakatsu-kyo

Nakatsu-kyo, Chichibu, Saitama

Colour comes to Nakatsu-kyo late October to early November. Nakatsu-kyo is a ten-kilometre gorge in the far west of Chic

Festival Kanto F

例年11月上旬〜中旬が見頃

Fukuroda Falls

Fukuroda Falls, Daigo, Ibaraki

The peak at Fukuroda runs early to mid-November, and if you want a single date, around the tenth of the month. A band an

Festival Kanto L

例年11月上旬〜下旬が見頃

Lake Kawaguchi

Lake Kawaguchi, Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi

The maples at Kawaguchiko run early to late November — a long band for a single place, and it holds because the lake is

Festival Kanto H

例年11月中旬〜下旬が見頃

Hananuki Gorge

Hananuki Gorge, Nakatogawa Ono, Takahagi, Ibaraki

At Hananuki you cross a bridge under a ceiling of leaves. The gorge runs from the Hananuki dam past Nabarigafuchi to the

Festival Kanto N

例年11月中旬〜下旬が見頃

Nagatoro

Iwadatami, Nagatoro, Chichibu, Saitama

Nagatoro spreads its autumn along a river rather than gathering it in one spot. The peak is mid to late November, though

Festival Kanto M

例年11月中旬〜下旬が見頃

Mount Oyama

Oyamadera, 724 Oyama, Isehara, Kanagawa

On a mountain, autumn refuses to hold still: the top and the bottom of Oyama are never on the same schedule, and can loo

Festival Kanto S

例年11月中旬〜12月上旬が見頃

Shuzenji

Shuzenji Shizen Koen Momijibayashi, Shuzenji, Izu, Shizuoka

The maple grove at Shuzenji turns as a mass, not as trees. Around a thousand of them stand together in the natural park

Festival Kanto Y

例年11月下旬〜12月上旬が見頃

Yoro Valley

Awamata Falls, Awamata, Otaki, Isumi, Chiba

December colour is rare in the Kanto region, and Yoro Valley is where it happens. The Boso peninsula holds its warmth la

Festival Kanto M

例年11月中旬〜12月上旬が見頃

Mount Takao

Mount Takao, Takaomachi, Hachioji, Tokyo

The walk begins about five minutes from the train. Takao is 599 metres high, an hour west of central Tokyo by train, and

Festival Kanto K

例年3月下旬〜4月中旬が見頃

Kamine Park and Heiwa-dori Cherry Blossoms

Kamine Park, 5-2-22 Miyatacho, Hitachi, Ibaraki

Hitachi's cherry season climbs. It starts at the station and finishes on the hill above the town, and the gap between th

Festival Kanto S

例年4月中旬〜下旬が見頃

Shizumine Park Double Cherries

Shizumine Furusato Park, 1720-1 Shizu, Naka, Ibaraki

The cherries here are late on purpose. Shizumine Furusato Park covers twelve hectares in central Ibaraki and holds two t

Festival Kanto A

例年4月上旬〜中旬が見頃

Akagi Nanmen Senbonzakura

2511-2 Naegashimamachi, Maebashi, Gunma

This is a road rather than a park. Around fourteen hundred Somei-yoshino line three and a half kilometres of it, running

Festival Kanto S

例年4月上旬・中旬と11月中旬〜12月中旬が見頃

Sakurayama Park Winter and Spring Cherries

2166-1 Sanbagawa, Fujioka, Gunma

The cherry trees on this hill flower twice a year. Sakurayama Park, in the hills of southwest Gunma, holds about three t

Festival Kanto K

例年3月下旬〜4月上旬が見頃

Kumagaya Sakurazutsumi Cherry Bank

Kumagaya Sakurazutsumi, 2-chome Kawaramachi, Kumagaya, Saitama

The trees stand in a single line along the top of an embankment. Kumagaya Sakurazutsumi is two kilometres of the Arakawa

Festival Kanto N

例年4月上旬〜下旬が見頃

Nagatoro Cherry Blossoms

Kitazakura-dori, 1753-1 Nagatoro, Nagatoro, Chichibu, Saitama

Nagatoro flowers twice, about ten days apart, in two places that have almost nothing in common. The first is Kitazakura

Festival Kanto S

例年3月下旬〜4月上旬が見頃

Shimizu Park Cherry Blossoms

Shimizu Park, 906 Shimizu, Noda, Chiba

The cherry trees at Shimizu Park start before the park does. They line the approach road as well as the grounds, so the

Festival Kanto I

例年3月下旬〜4月上旬が見頃

Izumi Shizen Park Cherry Blossoms

Izumi Shizen Park, 108 Noromachi, Wakaba, Chiba, Chiba

Some of these trees were given away. Izumi Shizen Park, in the hills east of Chiba city, has a hanami ground of eight th

Festival Kanto M

例年3月下旬〜4月上旬が見頃

Mobara Park Cherry Blossoms

Mobara Park, 1325-1 Takashi, Mobara, Chiba

There is a vermilion hall standing in the middle of the lake. Mobara Park holds more than two thousand cherry trees, mos

Festival Kanto N

例年4月上旬が見頃

Nikko Kaido Cherry Avenue

Nikko Kaido Cherry Avenue, Kamitosakecho, Utsunomiya, Tochigi

The cherry trees along the Nikko Kaido run for about sixteen kilometres. They line both sides of the old highway between

Festival Kanto M

例年4月上旬が見頃

Mount Ohira Cherry Blossoms

Ohirasan Prefectural Natural Park, Hiraicho, Tochigi, Tochigi

The road up the mountain becomes a tunnel. Tochigi prefecture puts four thousand cherry trees along the scenic drive on

Festival Kanto O

例年4月上旬が見頃

Omiya Park Cherry Blossoms

Omiya Park, 4-chome Takahanacho, Omiya, Saitama, Saitama

The cherry trees in this park need work to stay. Saitama prefecture's own page explains why: Somei-yoshino is propagated

Festival Kanto S

例年2月〜4月中旬が見頃

Shinjuku Gyoen Cherry Blossoms

Shinjuku Gyoen, 11 Naitocho, Shinjuku, Tokyo

The cherry trees here start in February. Shinjuku Gyoen holds about nine hundred of them, of some seventy varieties, acc

Festival Kanto U

例年2月〜4月下旬が見頃

Ueno Park Cherry Blossoms

Ueno Park, Uenokoen, Taito, Tokyo

The cherry season at Ueno turns over across more than two months, and the city publishes it variety by variety. Kanzakur

Festival Kanto S

例年3月下旬が見頃

Sumida Park Cherry Blossoms

Sumida Park, 1-chome Mukojima, Sumida, Tokyo

These trees were planted on a shogun's orders, or so the story goes. The tourism association for Sumida ward credits Tok

Festival Kanto K

例年3月下旬が見頃

Koganei Park Cherry Blossoms

Koganei Park, 3-chome Sakuracho, Koganei, Tokyo

Eighty-one hectares. Koganei Park sits in the western half of Tokyo and covers about 810,000 square metres, which is lar

Festival Kanto I

例年3月下旬が見頃

Inokashira Park Cherry Blossoms

Inokashira Park, 1-18-31 Gotenyama, Musashino, Tokyo

Hanami here is not done by looking up. Around Inokashira pond there are some two hundred Somei-yoshino and yama-zakura,

Festival Kanto M

例年4月上旬が見頃

Mitsuike Park Cherry Blossoms

Mitsuike Park, 1-1 Mitsuike Koen, Tsurumi, Yokohama, Kanagawa

There are three ponds, and the park is named after them. Kanagawa prefecture's account says they were dug as irrigation

Festival Kanto K

例年4月上旬が見頃

Kinugasayama Park Cherry Blossoms

Kinugasayama Park, 4-chome Obaru, Yokosuka, Kanagawa

These trees were planted as a memorial. Yokosuka city's account is specific: in 1907 a monument was raised to the men of

Festival Kanto O

例年3月下旬〜4月中旬が見頃

Odawara Castle Cherry Blossoms

Odawara Castle Park, Jonai, Odawara, Kanagawa

You can get the keep and the blossom in the same photograph, which is the reason most people come. The cherry trees at O

Festival Kanto S

例年2月〜4月が見頃

Sakura no Sato Cherry Blossoms

Sakura no Sato, 1317-4 Futo, Ito, Shizuoka

Cherry blossom is visible here from September to May. That is the claim on Ito's own tourism site, which describes Sakur

Festival Kanto F

例年4月中旬が見頃

Fuji Reien Cherry Blossoms

Fuji Reien, 888-2 Oomika, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka

Eight thousand cherry trees stand over a cemetery. Fuji Reien writes that its grounds hold about 1,000 Somei-yoshino and