July 2026
3 events
07/20–07/21
Tsuchizaki Shinmeisha Festival Float Procession
Tsuchizaki Shinmeisha and surroundings, Tsuchizaki-minato, Akita
Behind each float hangs a placard mocking the times. In the port town of Tsuchizaki in Akita, summer brings a procession
07/20–07/20
Shiogama Minato Festival
Shiogama Shrine and Shiogama Port, Shiogama, Miyagi
The gods cross the sea by boat. In summer, the two portable shrines of Shiogama Shrine in Miyagi are placed aboard lavis
07/31–08/04
Hachinohe Sansha Taisai: Three Shrines, One Midsummer Night
Chojayama Shinra Shrine and others, Hachinohe City, Aomori
Three shrines — Chojayama Shinra, Shinmeigu, and Ogami — send their portable shrines through the streets of Hachinohe si
August 2026
8 events
08/01–08/04
Morioka Sansa Odori
The largest number of drums in the world.
The Morioka Sansa Odori holds a Guinness record for the most Japanese drums p
08/01–08/07
Hirosaki Neputa Festival
Dotemachi and surrounds, Hirosaki City, Aomori
Where Aomori's Nebuta moves fast and loud, Hirosaki's Neputa is slow and contemplative.
The floats are fan-shaped — pai
08/02–08/07
Aomori Nebuta Festival
Shinmachi-dori and surrounds, Aomori City, Aomori
Nine meters wide, five meters tall — the nebuta floats move through the streets of Aomori like creatures from another wo
08/04–08/08
Goshogawara Tachineputa
Tachineputa Museum and city streets, Goshogawara, Aomori
Look up, and your neck will ache. The towering floats of Goshogawara's summer festival rise some twenty-three meters, as
08/05–08/07
Yamagata Hanagasa Festival: Ten Thousand Flower Hats
Central Yamagata City, Yamagata
Ten thousand dancers, each carrying a broad hat decorated with red safflower blossoms. The Hanagasa Festival moves throu
08/06–08/08
Sendai Tanabata Festival
Central arcade shopping district, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi
On the morning of August 6, the arcades of central Sendai are transformed overnight.
Enormous streamers of washi paper
08/16–08/18
Nishimonai Bon Odori
Honmachi-dori, Nishimonai, Ugo-cho, Akita
The dancers keep their faces hidden. Beneath deep woven hats or black hoods, they move through firelight without reveali
08/29–08/29
Omagari National Fireworks Competition
Omono River, Daisen, Akita
Once a year, in a small city in Akita, the question is settled: who makes the finest fireworks in Japan. The Omagari com
September 2026
2 events
09/11–09/13
Hanamaki Festival
Streets around Hanamaki Station, Hanamaki, Iwate
Many performing arts converge in a single festival. Hanamaki's autumn celebration fills the streets for three days with
09/19–09/23
Aizu Festival
Tsuruga Castle and central Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima
A town of the defeated never forgets its pride. In Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima, the Aizu Festival sends a grand procession
October 2026
1 events
10/03–10/03
Omagari Fireworks: Autumn Chapter
Omono River, Daisen, Akita
The autumn fireworks at Omagari are not a competition.
In August, this same riverbed hosts the contest that decides who
Year-round
Year-round
Tono Festival
Tono City, Iwate
Tono is a town in the mountains of Iwate Prefecture that seems to remember things other places have forgotten. It was he
Year-round
Namahage Sedo Festival
Shinzan Shrine, Kitaura Shinzan, Oga, Akita
The Oga Peninsula in winter is a different country. Cold comes in off the Japan Sea, the cedar forests around Shinzan Sh
Year-round
Soma Nomaoi — The Wild Horse Chase
Hibaragahara Festival Grounds & Soma Nakamura Shrine, Minamisoma / Soma, Fukushima
The origin story is a thousand years old: Taira no Masakado, the warlord, released wild horses on the plains of what is
Daily
Towada Oirase Art Festival
Lake Towada, Oirase Gorge and the city center, Towada, Aomori
The sound of the mountain stream becomes part of the work. In Towada, Aomori, lies Lake Towada and the Oirase Gorge that
Daily
Yamagata Biennale
Tohoku University of Art and Design and venues across Yamagata City
A university opens up a town. In Yamagata City, an art festival is held once every two years, organized by the Tohoku Un
Daily
Kesennuma Fisherman Experience
Kesennuma, Miyagi
Betrayed by the sea, and still living with the sea. Kesennuma in Miyagi is a port town of Tohoku with one of the world's
Daily
Nanbu Ironware Foundry Tour
Mizusawa, Oshu, Iwate
Black, heavy, made to last a lifetime. Oshu in Iwate is the home of Nanbu ironware, known above all for iron kettles. Na
Daily
Reborn-Art Festival
Oshika Peninsula and central Ishinomaki, Miyagi
On the scars of the tsunami, art rises. Ishinomaki in Miyagi, and the Oshika Peninsula, were struck hard by the Great Ea
毎年2月中旬の金・土
Aizu Painted Candle Festival
Tsurugajo Castle and Oyakuen Garden, Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima
They are painted with flowers — peonies, chrysanthemums, the blossoms of seasons not yet arrived. Each February these Ai
毎年5月3〜5日
Mizusawa Fujiwara Festival: Heian Pageant of the North
Mizusawa, Oshu City, Iwate
The Oshu Fujiwara clan built their capital in Hiraizumi — a northern court to rival Kyoto, some said, at the edge of the
毎年8月6・7日
Noshiro Tanabata: Towers of Light in Akita
Noshiro City, Akita
Twenty-four meters. That is the height of the largest lantern tower that moves through the streets of Noshiro on the nig
毎週土曜 15:00〜20:00（5月〜11月）
Morioka Zaimokucho Evening Market: The City's Living Room
Zaimokucho, Morioka City, Iwate
On Saturday afternoons from May through November, the Zaimokucho district of Morioka becomes something between a market
毎週土曜（早朝〜午前中）
Sendai Wholesale Market: Open to Everyone on Saturdays
Oroshimachi, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai, Miyagi
The Sendai wholesale market operates six days a week supplying the city's restaurants and hotels. On Saturday mornings,
週末・祝日（4月〜11月）
Nasu Kogen Farmers Market: The New Countryside
Nasu Town, Nasu-gun, Tochigi
The farmers at the Nasu Kogen market did not all grow up farming. A significant portion moved here from Tokyo — people w
通年（フェリーで約50分）
Tashirojima: The Island That Belongs to Cats
Tashirojima, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi
The human population of Tashirojima is roughly sixty, most of them elderly. The cat population is comparable. The cats a
通年
Gojome: Half Farming, Half Whatever You Want to Be
Gojome Town, Minamiakita-gun, Akita
The concept of han-nou han-X — half farming, half whatever else you want to do — was developed as a philosophy of rural
通年
Tono: Sleeping Inside Japan's Most Famous Folktale Landscape
Tono City, Iwate
Tono is the setting of Yanagita Kunio's 'Legends of Tono,' published in 1910 — a collection of folktales gathered from l
通年
Tsuruoka: Japan's UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy
Tsuruoka City, Yamagata
Tsuruoka has more than two hundred varieties of heirloom vegetables — crops that have been cultivated in this region for
毎年8月第1金〜日（みちのく芸能まつり）
Kitakami Oni Kenbai: The Demon Sword Dance of Iwate
Kitakami City, Iwate
The dancers wear the masks of demons and carry swords, and the dance they perform is fast, percussive, and formally stru
毎年4月上旬〜中旬（桜の開花に合わせる）
Okawara Hitome Senbon Zakura: A Thousand Cherry Trees in One Glance
Shiroishi River embankment, Ogawara Town, Shibata-gun, Miyagi
The name means 'a thousand trees visible in a single glance,' and along the eight kilometers of the Shiroishi River emba
毎年4月下旬（さくらまつり期間中）
Tendo Human Shogi: Living Pieces on a Giant Board
Maizuruyama Park, Tendo City, Yamagata
Tendo produces more shogi pieces than anywhere else in Japan, and the Human Shogi festival is the city's annual celebrat
毎年12月上旬〜31日
Sendai Pageant of Starlight: Six Hundred Thousand Lights in Zelkova Trees
Jozenji-dori Avenue, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi
The zelkova trees that line Jozenji-dori, Sendai's most elegant boulevard, are bare in December. From early in the month
4月〜11月（定期開催）
Hirosaki Dote no Ichi: The Market That Outlasted the Feudal Doma
Dotecho shopping district, Hirosaki City, Aomori
Hirosaki is the center of Japan's apple-growing region, and the market at Dotecho brings this fact into the city with a
9月第1日曜（山形市の大鍋）、9月全般は各地で芋煮会
Yamagata Imoni-kai: River Bank Stew as Community Ritual
Mamigasaki River bank, Yamagata City, Yamagata
Each September, the riverbanks of Yamagata fill with smoke. Groups of friends, colleagues, and families set up gas burne
毎週日曜（通年）
Aizu Nanukamaichi Morning Market: Two Hundred Years on the Same Street
Nanukamaichi, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima
The Nanukamaichi morning market has been running every Sunday for more than two hundred years, which means it has contin
2026年8月5日（水）19:00〜20:00
Sendai Tanabata Fireworks Festival
Nishikoen, Hirose River, Sendai, Miyagi
This is the eve of the festival of paper wishes. The Sendai Tanabata—one of the three great festivals of the Tohoku nort
2026年8月初旬（花笠まつり前後・例年8月）
Yamagata Hanagasa Festival Fireworks
Mamigasaki River, Yamagata City
This is the summer of the flower hats. The Hanagasa Festival fills the streets of Yamagata with dancers holding straw ha
2026年8月（例年夏季）
Matsushima Summer Festival Fireworks
Yamoto Seaside Park, Higashimatsushima, Miyagi
Fireworks rise over a sea that recovered. Higashimatsushima sits near Matsushima Bay—one of the three most celebrated vi
2026年8月（例年夏季）
Okitama Fireworks Festival
Mogami River, Yonezawa, Yamagata
Fireworks rise over the town of the Uesugi. Yonezawa was the castle seat of Uesugi Yozan, one of the most admired lords
通年（要予約・工房により異なる）
Kakunodate Cherry Bark Craft Experience
Bukeyashiki-dori, Kakunodate, Semboku, Akita
Cherry bark becomes treasure here. Kakunodate, a town of preserved samurai residences sometimes called "the little Kyoto
岩手・早池峰山麓（大償・岳）に伝わる神楽。例大祭や定期公演で奉納されます。日程は年により異なります。
Hayachine Kagura
A dance offered to the mountain god.
Hayachine Kagura comes from the foot of Mount Hayachine in Iwate, bound up with th
例年8月下旬に開催。豪華な山車（やたい）の行列。ユネスコ無形文化遺産。日程は年により異なります。
Shinjo Festival
The floats become stories.
At the Shinjo Festival in late August, twenty floats called yatai move through the town, eac
毎年10月第1土・日・月曜
Nihonmatsu Chochin Matsuri: The Lantern Festival of Fukushima
Nihonmatsu Shrine and city center, Nihonmatsu, Fukushima
Fire is passed from a shrine's flame to the lanterns, and the festival begins.
On an October night in Nihonmatsu, in th
毎年8月16日（送り盆）
Morioka Funekko Nagashi: Burning Boats on the Kitakami River
Upstream of Meiji Bridge on the Kitakami River, Morioka, Iwate
A boat is set on fire and floated down the river.
In Morioka, in Iwate, on the sixteenth of August—the night that close
例年10月下旬〜11月上旬が見頃
Naruko Gorge in Autumn: A Canyon of Color and Hot Water
Naruko Gorge, Naruko Onsen, Osaki, Miyagi
Narukokyo is a gorge a hundred meters deep, cut by the Oya River through the mountains of northern Miyagi, and for two w
毎年9月7日〜9日
Kakunodate Festival: When the Samurai Town Collides
Central Kakunodate, Semboku, Akita
For most of the year, Kakunodate is the quietest kind of famous: a preserved samurai town in the Akita mountains, black
毎年2月15日・16日
Yokote Kamakura Festival: Rooms Made of Winter
City hall area, Haguro-cho, and sites across Yokote, Akita
In Yokote, deep in the snow country of Akita, February brings rooms made of winter. Kamakura are snow huts, some three m
毎年2月17日〜20日
Hachinohe Enburi: Going Out into the Snow to Call In Spring
Central Hachinohe and Chojasan Shinra Shrine, Aomori
In Hachinohe, on the snowbound Pacific coast of Aomori, spring does not arrive on its own. It has to be summoned. From F