Japan best festivals

Matsuri, festivals in Japan, are often spectacular, filled with color, exuberance, and tradition. Japan has perhaps more unique festivals than any other country in the world, and taking in a matsuri is an unforgettable experience.

If you want to see Japan at its liveliest, a high-energy matsuri is the place to do it! The celebrations themselves vary widely depending on the occasion, but almost always involve spirited processions of participants vigorously chanting, dancing, and bearing massive, intricately-decorated mikoshi (portable shrines) or floats.

As if all of this weren’t enough, festivals in Japan are also one of the best places to sample an incredible array of unique, casual, and seasonal foods. To the surprise of many, street food is not very prevalent in Japan (unlike in many other parts of Asia). But at matsuri you’ll find the streets lined with yatai (food stall) after colorful yatai, offering a remarkable selection of healthy (and not-so-healthy) festival snacks.

The Best Japanese Festivals

Japan has too many fantastic matsuri to include in one list, and some of the most delightful are unsung festivals held in small neighborhoods throughout Japan. In our guide to Japan’s festivals below, we provide an introduction to what we consider some of the best and most interesting Japanese festivals, including:

• Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri

• Osaka’s Tenjin Matsuri

• Aomori’s Nebuta Matsuri

• The Awa Odori festival in Tokushima

• And many more!

Upcoming Festivals (Matsuri) in Japan in 2024

• February 4-11: Sapporo Yuki Matsuri Snow Festival (Sapporo)

• April 14-15: Takayama Spring Festival (Takayama)

• May 15: Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto)

• May 17-19: Sanja Matsuri (Tokyo)

• Month of July: Gion Matsuri (Kyoto) (Main parades, evenings of July 17th and 24th)

• July 24-25: Tenjin Matsuri (Osaka)

• July 27: Katsushika Noryo Fireworks Festival (Tokyo)

• July 27: Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival (Tokyo)

• August 2-7: Nebuta Matsuri (Aomori)

• August 3: Edogawa Fireworks Festival (Tokyo)

• August 3: Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks Festival (Osaka)

• August 12-15: Awa Odori (Shikoku)

• August 13-15: Hokkai Bon Odori (Sapporo) (15th day of the 7th lunar month; lasts for three days)

• August 16: Kyoto Gozan Okuribi, aka Daimonji Festival (Kyoto)

• October 9-10: Takayama Fall Festival (Takayama)

• October 22: Kurama Fire Festival (Kyoto)

• October 22: Jidai Matsuri (Kyoto)

• November 5, 17, & 29: Asakusa Torinoichi Fair (Tokyo) (Held on Days of the Rooster in November; Days of the Rooster occur every 12 days throughout the month)

• December 2-3: Chichibu Yomatsuri (Saitama)