September 2026
3 events
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09/18–09/19
Omuro Sengen Shrine Yabusame
Omuro Sengen Shrine, Shimoyoshida, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi
Yabusame, in the usual telling, is archery from horseback: a rider at full gallop loosing arrows at wooden targets, and
Festival
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09/19–09/21
Ishioka Matsuri: One of the Kanto's Three Great Festivals
Hitachi-no-kuni Sosha Shrine and city center, Ishioka, Ibaraki
The lions move through the town.
In Ishioka, in Ibaraki, a three-day festival rises each September, ending on Respect f
Festival
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09/23–09/24
Ohara Hadaka Matsuri
Ohara Beach and central Ohara, Isumi, Chiba
Early in the afternoon of September 23rd, on a stretch of grey sand on the Pacific side of the Boso Peninsula, portable
October 2026
1 events
December 2026
2 events
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C
12/02–12/03
Chichibu Night Festival
1-3 Banba-cho, Chichibu, Saitama (Chichibu Shrine)
In December, when most festivals have long ended, Chichibu lights its winter sky. This is one of Japan's three great flo
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12/20–12/20
Akutai Matsuri (Festival of Abuse)
102 Izumi, Kasama, Ibaraki
Once a year, on the third Sunday of December, it is not merely permitted but correct to hurl insults at a religious proc
March 2027
3 events
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03/01–03/31
Sawara Old Town and Sake Brewery
Along the river, the Edo period remains.
Sawara grew rich on the water trade of the Tone River, a town of merchant hous
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03/09–03/09
Saitosai Festival at Kashima Jingu
Kashima Jingu, Kashima, Ibaraki
The sound is the thing you remember: twenty squads of fifteen men in brilliant costume, singing an ancient refrain — iya
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03/14–03/14
Mt. Takao Fire-Walking Festival
Yakuoin prayer grounds, Mt. Takao, Hachioji, Tokyo
Most festivals ask you to watch. This one, at the foot of Mt. Takao on the second Sunday of March, ends by inviting you
Year-round
Festival
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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
Festival
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
Festival
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
Festival
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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