July 2026
2 events
07/24–07/25
Tenjin Matsuri
Osaka Tenmangu Shrine and the Okawa River, Kita-ku, Osaka
A festival of boats, and a festival of fire. Osaka's Tenjin Matsuri is one of Japan's three great festivals, alongside K
07/25–07/25
Tenjin Festival Fireworks
Okawa River, Kita, Osaka
This is how a thousand-year-old festival ends. The Tenjin Matsuri, one of the three greatest festivals in Japan, honors
August 2026
4 events
08/11–08/15
Awa Odori
Ainobahama and other stages throughout central Tokushima City, Tokushima
"Fools who dance, fools who watch — if you're going to be a fool, you might as well dance."
This chant, sung to the rhy
08/15–08/16
Sasayama Dekansho Festival
Sannomaru Plaza, Sasayama Castle Ruins, Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo
"Dekansho, Dekansho, and half the year is spent." So begins the song that has defined summer in this castle town for fou
08/16–08/16
Gozan no Okuribi
Five mountains around the Higashiyama and Kitayama districts, Kyoto
Characters are drawn on the mountains in fire. Kyoto's Gozan no Okuribi takes place on the night of August 16, sending t
08/17–08/17
Kumano Grand Fireworks Festival
Shichiri-mihama Beach, Kumano, Mie
Here the sea becomes the stage. For more than three centuries, fireworks have risen over Shichiri-mihama, the long pebbl
September 2026
1 events
09/12–09/13
Kishiwada Danjiri Festival
Kishiki Shrine and throughout the city, Kishiwada, Osaka
They take the corner at full speed. In Kishiwada, Osaka, hundreds of men race wooden floats weighing more than four tons
January 2027
2 events
01/09–01/11
Nishinomiya Toka Ebisu
1-17 Shake-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo (Nishinomiya Shrine)
You run, and you seize the year's fortune. In Nishinomiya, Hyogo, stands the head shrine of the three thousand Ebisu shr
01/20–02/28
Nada Sake Brewery Open Days
A thin band of land between the sea and the mountains.
Nada, in Kobe, is the largest sake-producing district in Japan,
Year-round
毎年8月第2土曜
Shanshan Festival: Ten Thousand Bells in Tottori
Central Tottori City, Tottori
The sound comes before the sight. Thousands of bells, each attached to a paper umbrella, producing a collective shimmer
通年（舟屋日和などのイベントは季節限定）
Ine Funaya: Houses That Open Directly onto the Sea
Ine Town, Yosa-gun, Kyoto
The funaya of Ine Bay are houses built directly over the water, with their ground floors serving as garages for fishing
2026年8月中旬（例年8月上旬〜中旬）
Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks Festival
Yodo River, Osaka
The people made this one themselves. The Yodogawa fireworks began in 1989 not as a municipal project but as a grassroots
2026年7月下旬（例年7月）
Himeji Minato Festival Sea Fireworks
Himeji Port, Himeji, Hyogo
This is the sea festival of the city of the white castle. Himeji is crowned by its great fortress—a World Heritage site,
2026年8月10日（例年8月10日前後）
Shirahama Fireworks Festival
Shirarahama Beach, Shirahama, Wakayama
On the white sand, you wait for the fireworks. Shirahama in southern Wakayama has one of the most beautiful beaches in J
2026年8月16日（例年8月16日）
Miyazu Lantern Float Fireworks Festival
Miyazu Bay, Miyazu, Kyoto
Here lanterns and fireworks overlap on the sea. Miyazu Bay is known for Amanohashidate, the pine-covered sandbar counted
2026年8月中旬（阿波おどり前夜・例年8月）
Awa Odori Eve Fireworks Festival
Shinmachi River, Tokushima City
This is the eve of the dancing fools. "The dancers are fools and the watchers are fools," goes the famous chant of the A
2026年8月中旬（例年8月）
Takamatsu Festival Fireworks
Sunport Takamatsu, Takamatsu, Kagawa
Fire opens over the Seto sea. Takamatsu, capital of Kagawa on the island of Shikoku, is a port town facing the Inland Se
毎年10月22日（雨天順延）
Jidai Matsuri: Kyoto Walks Through Eleven Centuries
Kyoto Imperial Palace to Heian Shrine, Kyoto
On October 22nd, Kyoto walks through its own memory. The Jidai Matsuri—the Festival of the Ages—is a procession of some
毎年10月22日
Kurama Fire Festival: A Corridor of Flame North of Kyoto
Around Yuki Shrine, Kurama, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
On the same night Kyoto's grand costume procession ends, thirty minutes north by mountain railway, a very different cere
毎年1月第4土曜（荒天順延）
Wakakusa Yamayaki: The Night Nara Sets a Mountain on Fire
Mount Wakakusa and Nara Park, Nara
On the fourth Saturday of January, Nara sets a mountain on fire. Wakakusa-yama is the grass-covered hill that rises dire