Events 催し

Every summer Gyoda plants a picture across its paddies with four varieties of rice whose leaves grow in different colours; about a thousand people planted this year's over two days in June. Guinness World Records lists it as the world's largest rice paddy art, and the whole picture can be seen only from the observation deck of Gyoda Tower, 50 metres up in Kodai Hasu no Sato. The picture changes every year: 2025 was Tanjiro from Demon Slayer, and 2026 is a collaboration with Minecraft. Its colours shift as the rice grows, until the harvest in mid-October. About an hour from Ueno on the JR Takasaki Line to Gyoda, then the city loop bus.

Dates

11 Jul – 20 Oct

Where

Kodai Hasu no Sato, Gyoda, SaitamaGoogle Maps

Open

From 1 September 9:00–16:30 · last entry 16:00 · closed on Mondays except holidays, and on the day after a holiday except at weekends · Closed 24 Sep, 28 Sep, 5 Oct, 13 Oct and 19 Oct

Tickets

Gyoda Tower, the only place the whole picture can be seen from: adults ¥400, children ¥200, under-sixes free.

Holidays

Marine Day, Mountain Day, Respect for the Aged Day, Citizens' Holiday, Autumnal Equinox Day, Sports Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-24

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Nori Norisa · CC BY 4.0
2. Nori Norisa · CC BY 4.0

Fifteen days of sumo in the sport's home arena, the last Tokyo tournament of the year. Bouts run from early morning to the top division around 16:00–18:00; the building fills as the ranks rise. Sit in the arena for the sound of the bodies meeting, then eat yakitori from the basement kitchens.

Dates

13–27 Sep

Where

Ryogoku Kokugikan, TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Open every day · Doors 8:45 (10:30 on 25–26 Sep, 10:00 on the 27th) · top divisions from about 14:00 · ends about 18:00

Tickets

Tickets sell out weeks ahead; a limited number of same-day general-admission seats go on sale at 07:45. On sale since 8 AugBuy ticketsKlook

Holidays

Respect for the Aged Day, Citizens' Holiday, Autumnal Equinox Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-12

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Simon Q · CC BY 2.0
2. Gregg Tavares · CC BY 2.0
3. GI Jack · CC BY-SA 3.0
4. Gregg Tavares · CC BY 2.0

The one surviving flower garden of the Edo townspeople, opened in the early nineteenth century, and it still keeps their moon-viewing: for three evenings around the harvest moon the garden stays open until 21:00, painted lanterns are lit along the paths from 17:50 and a koto plays from 18:00 to 20:00. The 30 m tunnel of bush clover flowers in the same weeks.

Dates

24–26 SEP

Where

TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

9:00–17:00, last entry 16:30 · ¥150 · closed 29 Dec – 3 Jan

Survive

In 2026 the evenings are 24–26 September, last entry 20:30; tea in the tea house on the 25th and 26th, 15:00–20:00, ¥1,500. The koto and the opening ceremony are cancelled in rain.

Access

Higashi-Mukojima Stn on the Tobu Skytree Line, 8 min on foot; Keisei Hikifune, 13 min.

Heritage

Place of Scenic Beauty and Historic Site · 1978 向島百花園 名勝・史跡

Source

Official siteMoon-viewing page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. na0905 · CC BY 2.0
2. Arashiyama · CC BY-SA 3.0

The first autumn colour in Japan, in mid-September, a month before the hills of Honshu turn. At 1,600 m on the flank of Hokkaido’s highest peak the red is not maple but mountain ash, with alpine bearberry and Aleutian avens colouring the ground, under the steaming vents of the volcano. A 1.7 km loop of about an hour from the upper ropeway station passes Sugatami Pond.

Dates

08–28 SEP

Where

HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Open

Ropeway in September 6:00–17:30, 1–20 Oct 6:30–17:30 · round trip ¥3,500, children ¥1,750 · closed for maintenance 16 Nov – 10 Dec

Survive

It can snow here before the end of September: bring a windproof layer and proper shoes, the loop is rocky. On peak weekends the ropeway queue builds through the morning, so take the first cars.

Holidays

Respect for the Aged Day, Citizens' Holiday, Autumnal Equinox Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Ropeway from Asahidake Onsen, 10 min, every 15 min in season. The base station is about 1 h 50 from Asahikawa Stn by the Ideyu-go bus (¥1,800, four a day), which also calls at Asahikawa Airport.

Heritage

Special Natural Monument · Daisetsuzan, 1977 大雪山 特別天然記念物

Source

Official siteAutumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. pakku · CC BY 3.0
2. lumoplank · CC0

Two windows back to back in a former air base in Tachikawa. Four million yellow cosmos cover the Flower Hill from mid-September, followed by 200,000 Sensation cosmos in October. Then the ginkgo avenues turn: 106 trees along the Canal in early to mid-November, 98 more on the 300 m Katarai avenue in mid to late November.

Dates

12 SEP – 25 OCT

Where

TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

9:30–17:00, to 18:00 at weekends April–September, to 16:30 November–February · ¥450, children free · closed 31 Dec, 1 Jan and Monday to Friday of the third week of January

Survive

The park covers about 170 hectares and the Flower Hill is at the far end from the Tachikawa gate: enter from Nishi-Tachikawa or hire a bicycle inside.

Holidays

Respect for the Aged Day, Citizens' Holiday, Autumnal Equinox Day, Sports Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

JR Ome Line to Nishi-Tachikawa, 2 min on foot to the gate; or 10–18 min on foot from Tachikawa Stn, about 40 min from Tokyo Stn.

Source

Official siteCosmos page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0
2. Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0
3. Kakidai · CC BY-SA 4.0
4. Kakidai · CC BY-SA 4.0

A former imperial villa in Sagano, whose Osawa Pond was dug in the ninth century so the moon could be watched from a boat. The temple's moon-viewing evenings, Kangetsu no Yube, are held on the nights around the harvest moon: dragon-headed boats cross the pond and the moon rises twice, once in the sky and once on the water.

Dates

25–27 SEP

Where

KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

9:00–17:00 · last entry 16:30 · ¥500

Survive

Heavy. In 2026 the evenings are 25–27 September, starting on the night of the harvest moon: gates 17:30–21:00, last entry 20:30, and the evening is ticketed separately, so daytime visitors are asked to leave first. The boat ride with tea was sold by advance lottery, ¥7,000, applications 6–24 July, now closed; without it you can still walk the pond and watch from the shore. The temple decides at 11:00 each day whether the evening goes ahead. The dates move with the lunar calendar: check the temple's site each year.

Access

Kyoto Bus 28 or 91 to Daikakuji, about 50 min from Kyoto Stn; or a 20 min walk from JR Saga-Arashiyama Stn.

Heritage

Place of Scenic Beauty · Osawa Pond, 1922 大沢池 附 名古曽滝跡 名勝

Source

Official siteMoon-viewing page · checked 2026-09-21

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. ttshr1970 · CC BY 3.0
2. m-louis .® · CC BY-SA 2.0
3. ignis · CC BY-SA 3.0

On the night of the harvest moon the shrine holds its Kangetsu-sai on the Sorihashi, the steep arched bridge over its pond. From 18:00 priests chant the winning poems of a national contest in the old court manner, and then bugaku court dance and the Sumiyoshi-odori are performed on the bridge. In 2026 the harvest moon is on 25 September.

Dates

25 SEP

Where

OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

Precinct open daily, free · Kangetsu-sai from 18:00 on the night of the harvest moon

Survive

Free and unreserved: come by 17:30 for a place with a view of the bridge.

Access

Sumiyoshitaisha Stn on the Nankai Main Line, 3 min on foot; the Hankai tram stops at the gate.

Source

Official siteMoon-viewing page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. chiron3636 · CC BY 2.0
2. そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0

The autumn festival of Munakata Taisha, the World Heritage shrine of three sanctuaries, opens at sea. The deities of the two island sanctuaries are brought from Oshima to the mainland escorted by more than a hundred fishing boats flying their big-catch flags. The fleet leaves Oshima at 9:30 and reaches Konominato at 10:40; a land procession carries on to the main sanctuary, Hetsu-miya, which it enters just after noon. Horseback archery follows on the morning of the 2nd, and the festival closes at 18:00 on the 3rd with sacred dance at Takamiya, the open-air altar in the woods.

Dates

1–3 Oct

Where

Oshima island to Konominato port, then Munakata Taisha, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Thu 1 Oct · Sea procession: leaves Oshima 9:30, reaches Konominato 10:40 · land procession from 11:10, enters Hetsu-miya at 12:10Fri 2 Oct · Yabusame horseback archery at 8:00 · main rite at 11:00, followed by the Okina danceSat 3 Oct · Takamiya autumn rite 10:00 · shrine rite with Urayasu dance 11:00 · tea offering 14:00 · Takamiya Kannabi-sai with sacred dance 18:00

Tickets

Free. Watch from the quay at Konominato, where the fleet passes 100–150 metres offshore; three car parks by the ferry terminal, ¥200–300. Nishitetsu bus 1 or 1-2 from JR Togo Stn: about 10 min to Munakata Taisha-mae, then on to Konominato Hatoba; roughly one bus an hour.

Heritage

World Heritage · Munakata and Okinoshima, 2017 「神宿る島」宗像・沖ノ島と関連遺産群 世界遺産

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Amaknowjp · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. そらみみ (Soramimi) · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. そらみみ (Soramimi) · CC BY-SA 4.0

The autumn thanksgiving of Kitano Tenmangu, on the same five days every year. The farmers of Nishinokyo build a mikoshi whose roof is thatched with zuiki, taro stems, and whose ornaments are all made of vegetables, grains and dried flowers. On the 1st the deity is carried in procession to the otabisho, its resting place in Nishinokyo; on the 4th it returns, and the zuiki mikoshi parades by a route of its own.

Dates

1–5 Oct

Where

Kitano Tenmangu and its otabisho in Nishinokyo, KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

Thu 1 Oct · Shinko-sai: the procession leaves the shrine in the afternoon for the otabishoSun 4 Oct · Kanko-sai: the procession leaves the otabisho at 13:00 and reaches the shrine about 17:00

Tickets

Free. The zuiki mikoshi stands on view at the otabisho from the 1st to the 4th and is taken apart on the 5th.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

Photo credit

1. lumoplank · CC0

About eight million cosmos of 20 varieties on 4.2 hectares outside Kameoka, 20 minutes from Kyoto by train. It pairs with the Sagano scenic railway, which ends in Kameoka, and with the Hozu river boats, which start there.

Dates

01 OCT – 08 NOV

Where

KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

1 Oct – 8 Nov 2026, 9:00–16:30, last entry 16:00 · ¥800 on weekdays, ¥1,000 at weekends and on holidays

Survive

Open only in the season, every day: 1 October – 8 November in 2026.

Holidays

Sports Day, Culture Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

JR Sagano Line rapid from Kyoto to Kameoka, about 20 min, then a Keihan Kyoto Kotsu bus, about 10 min, to Undo-koen-mae.

Source

Official siteCosmos page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

Photo credit

1. Kumamushi · CC BY-SA 3.0

A flower park at the northern end of a small island in Hakata Bay, ten minutes by ferry from the city. In autumn a whole slope of cosmos runs down towards the sea: about 200,000 early plants flower from early to late October, and about 300,000 later ones take over from late October into early November, so the hill stays in flower for about five weeks.

Dates

05 OCT – 08 NOV

Where

FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Open every day of the year · Mon–Sat 9:00–17:30, Sundays and holidays 9:00–18:30 · ¥1,500, children ¥800, ages 3 and up ¥500

Survive

On fine October weekends expect queues for the ferry and for the island bus: go on a weekday or take a morning boat.

Holidays

Sports Day, Culture Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Nishitetsu bus to Noko Tosenba, the ferry pier at Meinohama; ferry to Nokonoshima, about 10 min; then the island bus to Island Park, about 13 min.

Source

Official siteCosmos page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

Photo credit

1. 水だらけのプール · CC0

Nagasaki's autumn festival is where Dutch, Chinese and Portuguese trade history turns into dance: a Chinese dragon dance, a Dutch ship on wheels, whaling boats spun on the shoulders of forty men. Each neighbourhood performs once every seven years, so the programme is never the same twice.

Dates

7–9 Oct

Where

Suwa Shrine and the old town, NagasakiGoogle Maps

Open

Wed 7 Oct · Suwa Shrine from 7:00, Central Park from 8:10, Otabisho from 9:10 · evening: Suwa Shrine 16:00, Central Park 17:10Thu 8 Oct · Yasaka Shrine 7:00–9:30, Central Park 8:00–10:30 · evening: Suwa Shrine from 16:20Fri 9 Oct · Otabisho from 7:00, Suwa Shrine from 8:20

Tickets

Paid seats at Suwa Shrine and Otabisho sell out early; the Central Park stand sells through Ticket Pia; free viewing along the town route. On sale since 3 AugBuy tickets

Heritage

Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property · 1979 長崎くんちの奉納踊

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-22

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Masoud Akbari · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. Masoud Akbari · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Masoud Akbari · CC BY-SA 3.0
4. Marufish · CC BY-SA 2.0

Ainu from across Hokkaido gather at Lake Akan for three days of kamuy-nomi prayers around the marimo, the lake’s protected balls of green algae: they are welcomed from the water, guarded, and carried back out on a dugout canoe. A torch procession crosses the hot-spring town at night, with classical Ainu dance. Held on the same three dates every year since 1950, when it began as a way to return marimo to the lake.

Dates

8–10 Oct

Where

Lake Akan Onsen, Kushiro, HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Tickets

Free. Lake Akan is about 2 h by bus from Kushiro Stn, and the lakeside has few inns: book a room first.

Heritage

Special Natural Monument · the marimo of Lake Akan 阿寒湖のマリモ 特別天然記念物

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

Photo credit

1. 663highland · CC BY 2.5

Eleven gilded festival floats, most of them eighteenth-century and all national cultural properties, pulled through the preserved merchant streets. On the evening of the 9th they parade lit by a hundred lanterns each; one performs marionette plays worked by strings from inside.

Dates

9–10 Oct

Where

Sakurayama Hachiman Shrine, old town, GifuGoogle Maps

Open

Fri 9 Oct · Floats on show 9:30–17:00 · marionettes 12:00 and 14:00 · lantern parade 18:15–20:30Sat 10 Oct · Floats on show 9:30–16:00 · marionettes 11:00 and 13:00

Tickets

Free; the town's inns book out months ahead — stay in Gero or Hida-Furukawa and take the train.

Heritage

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · 2016 山・鉾・屋台行事（ユネスコ無形文化遺産代表一覧表）Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property · 1979 高山祭の屋台行事

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-08

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Chme82 · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Chme82 · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. Sjaak Kempe · CC BY 2.0
4. 大野 一将 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Teams of several hundred pull a four-tonne carved wooden danjiri through the streets at a run and swing it round right-angle corners without slowing, the yarimawashi, with a carpenter dancing on the roof. The famous September festival by the castle is over for this year; in October the districts towards the hills hold theirs, with the same kind of float, the same corners and a thinner crowd.

Dates

10–11 Oct

Where

Hill-side districts of Kishiwada, OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

Sat 10 Oct · Eve festival: floats run 6:00–22:00Sun 11 Oct · Main festival: floats run 7:00–22:00

Tickets

Free. Stand well back from the outside of a corner: floats do run wide. A trial run is held on 4 October, 13:00–17:00. Pulling times differ by district.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0

The memorial of the priest Nichiren, who died here in 1282. On the night of the 12th more than a hundred groups, about three thousand people, carry mando, lantern towers hung with paper cherry blossom, along two kilometres of streets to the temple, to drums and flutes, from about 18:00 until late at night. The temple counts over 300,000 visitors, and almost nothing about it is written in English.

Dates

11–13 Oct

Where

Ikegami Honmon-ji, Ota, TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Mon 12 Oct · Robing ceremony 10:00 · memorial service 14:00 · lantern procession from about 18:00 until late at nightTue 13 Oct · Sermon and the service of Nichiren’s death from 7:00

Tickets

Free. The streets around the temple are closed to cars on all three days; come by the Tokyu Ikegami Line to Ikegami Stn.

Holidays

Sports Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. tak1701d · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. NY066 · CC BY-SA 3.0

A float festival within reach of Tokyo, forty minutes from Ikebukuro. Two dozen towering floats meet at crossroads after dark for hikkawase: the musicians face off and the crowd decides who played harder. The warehouse-lined streets of Little Edo are the set.

Dates

17–18 Oct

Where

Kawagoe old town, SaitamaGoogle Maps

Open

Streets closed to traffic 10:00–22:00 both daysSat 17 Oct · Yoiyama: floats lit by lanterns, music on board · hikkawase face-offs after darkSun 18 Oct · Float parade past the city hall · hikkawase face-offs after dark

Tickets

Free. Go after 18:00 for the face-offs; the last trains back are crowded but frequent.

Heritage

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · 2016 山・鉾・屋台行事（ユネスコ無形文化遺産代表一覧表）Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property · 2005 川越氷川祭の山車行事

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-08

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Kounosu · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. 江戸村のとくぞう · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. 江戸村のとくぞう · CC BY-SA 4.0
4. 江戸村のとくぞう · CC BY-SA 4.0

An hour of fireworks set to music over the Yodo river, launched between the Shin-Midosuji bridge and Route 2, within walking distance of Umeda. The 38th edition; an August event until 2024, it moved to October in 2025. More than 450,000 people line the banks in a usual year.

Dates

17 Oct

Where

Yodogawa riverbank, Juso, OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

19:00–20:00

Tickets

The banks are free and fill from mid-afternoon. Paid seats are sold on the official site.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. jetsun · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. inoue-hiro · CC BY-SA 3.0

A two-kilometre procession of two thousand people in costume, walking backwards through a thousand years of Kyoto: Meiji soldiers first, Heian courtiers last. The costumes are researched to the dye recipe. It leaves the palace at noon and reaches Heian Shrine mid-afternoon.

Dates

22 Oct

Where

Kyoto Imperial Palace to Heian Shrine, KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

Procession leaves Kyoto Gyoen at 12:00; about two hours to pass any point

Tickets

Paid seats at the palace, on Oike-dori and Jingu-michi, ¥5,000–7,500, sold through Kyoto City Tourism Association; free anywhere along the route. On sale since 8 SepBuy tickets

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-12

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Peter 111 · Public domain
2. Corpse Reviver · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Corpse Reviver · CC BY-SA 3.0
4. Corpse Reviver · CC BY-SA 3.0

The same evening as Jidai Matsuri, an hour up the Eizan line: villagers carry pine torches up to five metres long through a single mountain street until the shrine steps are a wall of fire. It starts at 18:00 and peaks around 21:00; trains back run past midnight.

Dates

22 Oct

Where

Yuki Shrine, Kurama, KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

From 18:00 into the night

Tickets

Free, but the small station is capacity-controlled — arrive before 17:00 or expect to queue.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-08

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Indiana jo · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Indiana jo · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. Indiana jo · CC BY-SA 4.0

1,500 Takato-kohigan cherry trees — a variety that grows only here, with smaller and markedly pinker flowers than the usual Somei-yoshino. The park sits on the ruins of the castle of the Takato clan, vassals of the Takeda.

Dates

25 OCT – 10 NOV

Where

NaganoGoogle Maps

Open

Open at all hours · ¥600 during the cherry festival, ¥1,000 on the two busiest days, paid entry only while the trees are in flower; free the rest of the year, autumn included

Survive

Opens at 06:00 specifically because of the crowds. After 10:00 there are queues for both the entrance and the car park. Admission is charged only in season.

Holidays

Culture Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

JR Ina-shi Stn, then 25 min by bus. Direct buses run from Shinjuku during the blossom season.

Heritage

Historic Site · Takato Castle ruins, 1973 高遠城跡 史跡

Source

Official siteAutumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-22

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Ina City Tourism Association · ⓒ伊那市観光協会
2. Ina City Tourism Association · ⓒ伊那市観光協会
3. MaedaAkihiko · CC BY-SA 4.0
4. 江戸村のとくぞう · CC BY-SA 4.0

Japan's main film festival, the 39th edition: competition premieres, a Japanese cinema strand with English subtitles, and open-air screenings in Hibiya. The easiest ten days of the year to see new Japanese films with subtitles in Tokyo.

Dates

26 Oct – 4 Nov

Where

Hibiya, Yurakucho, Marunouchi, TokyoGoogle Maps

Tickets

Screening tickets go on sale about ten days before; popular titles sell out within the hour.

Holidays

Culture Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-08

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Dick Thomas Johnson · CC BY 2.0
2. Syced · CC0
3. Dick Thomas Johnson · CC BY 2.0
4. Dick Thomas Johnson · CC BY 2.0

Three of the authors who turned girls’ manga into literature in the 1970s, shown together in a national museum: Moto Hagio of The Poe Clan, Ryoko Yamagishi of Emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun, Waki Yamato of Haikara-san and The Tale of Genji in manga. More than 800 original drawings, in black and white and in colour.

Dates

28 Oct – 8 Feb

Where

The National Art Center, Tokyo, Roppongi, TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

10:00–18:00, Fridays and Saturdays to 20:00 · last entry 30 min before closing · Closed Tuesdays, 4 Nov and 28 Dec – 5 Jan

Tickets

¥2,200, advance ¥2,000; university students ¥1,000, high school students ¥500. Sold online through e-tix, ARTPASS and Asoview.

Holidays

Culture Day, Labour Thanksgiving Day, New Year's Day, Coming of Age Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Kaz Ish · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. Kakidai · CC BY-SA 4.0

The first large-scale Resident Evil show, staged for the series' thirtieth year: seven themed areas of development material, original artwork and life-size villains — Wesker, Lady Dimitrescu, Leon — built as walk-through sets rather than vitrines. Five minutes from Shibuya Station and open until 21:00, so it fits after a day spent elsewhere.

Dates

30 Oct – 24 Dec

Where

BEAM Gallery, Shibuya, TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Open every day · Weekdays 10:00–21:00, weekends and holidays 9:00–21:00 · last entry 19:59

Tickets

Timed entry by date and slot via Ticket Pia; adults ¥3,300 on weekdays and ¥3,600 at weekends, a little cheaper if bought before 29 October. On sale since 3 AugBuy tickets

Holidays

Culture Day, Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-12

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Capcom France · CC BY 3.0
2. KniBaron · CC BY 2.0
3. Capcom France · CC BY 3.0
4. Pop Culture Geek · CC BY 2.0

Each autumn since 1965 a preservation foundation opens buildings and treasures that are otherwise not shown. The 62nd edition has 32 sites across the prefecture, among them the lecture hall and five-storey pagoda of To-ji, the Sanmon gate of Chion-in, Kamigamo and Shimogamo shrines, and the Kitayama Kaikan of the Omotesenke tea school, open for the first time. Dates differ from site to site within the period.

Dates

30 Oct – 6 Dec

Where

32 temples and shrines across Kyoto Prefecture, KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

Open every day · Reception 9:00–16:00 at most sites

Tickets

¥1,000 per site, ¥500 for junior high and high school students; a few sites differ. No reservation: pay at each gate.

Holidays

Culture Day, Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-22

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. ONO Masanobu · CC0
2. Andrevan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bunraku was born in Osaka and this is its home stage: puppets worked by three men each, with a chanter and a shamisen player seated to the side. Three separately ticketed programmes a day. This autumn: Shinju Yoi Goshin, the last of Chikamatsu’s love-suicide plays, at 11:00; acts from Imoseyama Onna Teikin at 14:15; and Honcho Nijushiko, with its fox-fire scene, at 17:45.

Dates

31 Oct – 23 Nov

Where

National Bunraku Theatre, Nipponbashi, OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

Programmes at 11:00, 14:15 and 17:45, each about two and a half to three hours · Closed 6 Nov and 16 Nov

Tickets

¥6,500 per programme, students ¥4,600; all three for ¥18,000. Booking by phone and online opens on 8 October at 10:00. Surtitles are shown; the theatre does not say in which language. On sale from 8 Oct · in 14 daysBuy tickets

Holidays

Culture Day, Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Heritage

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · 2008 人形浄瑠璃文楽（ユネスコ無形文化遺産代表一覧表）

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Ivan Fourie · CC BY 2.0
2. Mc681 · CC BY-SA 4.0

For four evenings the temples of Hakata’s old town, the merchant quarter that was Japan’s door to the continent, are lit and opened after dark: 14 paid sites in two areas, Tocho-ji and Joten-ji among them, with free ones around them, Kushida Shrine included. The theme for 2026 is Stars. One ticket covers every paid site.

Dates

31 Oct – 3 Nov

Where

Temples and shrines of Hakata old town, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Open every day · Gokusho and Reisen area 17:30–21:00, last entry 20:45 · Gofukumachi area 17:30–21:30, last entry 21:15

Tickets

¥2,450 digital or ¥2,500 on paper for all paid sites; junior high age and under free with an adult; students ¥1,750 at the booths with ID. An express pass is ¥6,000. On sale since 31 JulBuy tickets

Holidays

Culture Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Hiroshi Kageyama · CC BY 3.0
2. Nick-D · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. 水車 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Chinese chronicle of Wei records that in 239 its emperor sent Himiko, queen of Wa, a hundred bronze mirrors. The candidates are the triangular-rimmed mirrors with gods and beasts found in early burial mounds across Japan. The exhibition gathers them, several of them Important Cultural Properties, with a National Treasure mirror, haniwa and arms, to argue, as its subtitle says, that these mirrors made the Yamato kingship. The museum stands beside Dazaifu Tenmangu.

Dates

31 Oct – 11 Jan

Where

Kyushu National Museum, Dazaifu, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Tue–Fri and Sun 9:30–17:00 · Sat 9:30–19:00 · last entry 30 min before closing · Closed 2 Nov, 9 Nov, 16 Nov, 24 Nov, 30 Nov, 7 Dec, 14 Dec, 21 Dec, 24–31 Dec and 4 Jan

Tickets

¥2,000, university students ¥1,200, high school age and under free. Sold only at the museum during the show: there are no advance tickets.

Holidays

Culture Day, Labour Thanksgiving Day, New Year's Day, Coming of Age Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Nick-D · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Saigen Jiro · Public domain

Four of Kyoto’s five geisha districts stage their public dances in spring; Gion Higashi alone dances in autumn, on the same ten days every year. About an hour of dance by its geiko and maiko, twice a day, with a tea-ceremony seat beforehand for those who take the dearer ticket.

Dates

1–10 Nov

Where

Gion Kaikan, KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

Open every day · Performances at 13:30 and 16:00, about one hour; doors open an hour before

Tickets

¥7,000 with the tea-ceremony seat, ¥6,000 without; sold through the district’s own online shop. Buy tickets

Holidays

Culture Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

Photo credit

1. Kirakirameister · CC BY-SA 3.0

From autumn to spring the oyster farmers of Itoshima, west of Fukuoka, open huts on their own quays: you buy oysters by the kilo and grill them yourself at the table. About two dozen huts work five harbours, eleven of them side by side at Kishi. The season runs from October to about April, but each hut opens and closes on its own day; the dates here are the months when all of them are open, and the list for 2026–27 is not published yet.

Dates

1 Nov – 31 Mar

Where

Fishing harbours of Itoshima: Kishi, Funakoshi, Kafuri, Fukuyoshi, Fukae, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Tickets

No tickets. Buses from the north exit of JR Chikuzen-Maebaru serve most of the harbours. Check that the hut you want is open on the tourism association’s list before you go.

Holidays

Culture Day, Labour Thanksgiving Day, New Year's Day, Coming of Age Day, National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday, Vernal Equinox Day, Substitute holiday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. 東広島市 · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Chihaya Sta · CC BY 4.0

Fourteen lacquered floats shaped as lions, a sea bream, a helmet, a phoenix — the oldest from 1819 — dragged through the castle town and, on the 3rd, across the sand of Nishinohama beach. Karatsu's pottery kilns are open the same week.

Dates

2–4 Nov

Where

Karatsu Shrine and the town, SagaGoogle Maps

Open

Mon 2 Nov · Yoiyama: lantern-lit floats through the town from 19:30Tue 3 Nov · Beach day: procession from about 9:30, the floats dragged onto the Nishinohama sandsWed 4 Nov · Town parade: the fourteen floats pulled 8 km through the old castle town and back to their hall

Tickets

Free. Beach day on the 3rd is the one to see.

Holidays

Culture Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Heritage

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · 2016 山・鉾・屋台行事（ユネスコ無形文化遺産代表一覧表）Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property · 1980 唐津くんちの曳山行事

Source

Official site · dates to be confirmed

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. MC MasterChef · CC BY-SA 2.5
2. MC MasterChef · CC BY-SA 2.5
3. MC MasterChef · CC BY-SA 2.5
4. Z001 · Public domain

Two windows back to back in a former air base in Tachikawa. Four million yellow cosmos cover the Flower Hill from mid-September, followed by 200,000 Sensation cosmos in October. Then the ginkgo avenues turn: 106 trees along the Canal in early to mid-November, 98 more on the 300 m Katarai avenue in mid to late November.

Dates

05–25 NOV

Where

TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

9:30–17:00, to 18:00 at weekends April–September, to 16:30 November–February · ¥450, children free · closed 31 Dec, 1 Jan and Monday to Friday of the third week of January

Survive

The park covers about 170 hectares and the Flower Hill is at the far end from the Tachikawa gate: enter from Nishi-Tachikawa or hire a bicycle inside.

Holidays

Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

JR Ome Line to Nishi-Tachikawa, 2 min on foot to the gate; or 10–18 min on foot from Tachikawa Stn, about 40 min from Tokyo Stn.

Source

Official siteAutumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Kakidai · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Kakidai · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0
4. Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0

Male snow crab, matsuba-gani in Tottori and echizen-gani in Fukui, may be landed from 6 November, and the first auctions set the mood of the winter. Port towns from Sakaiminato to Mikuni run crab markets and kaiseki menus from that week until March.

Dates

6 Nov

Where

Sea of Japan ports, San'in to Hokuriku, TottoriGoogle Maps

Tickets

Book a ryokan with a crab course; early-season prices are the highest.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-22

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. さかおり · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Miyuki Meinaka · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. くろふね · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the days of the rooster in November, shops buy a kumade, a bamboo rake hung with gold coins and masks, to rake in next year’s trade, and each sale is sealed with rhythmic hand-clapping from the stall. The market at Otori Shrine in Asakusa runs for a full 24 hours, from midnight to midnight. In 2026 there are only two rooster days, 7 and 19 November.

Dates

7 Nov

Where

Otori Shrine, Asakusa, TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Midnight to midnight

Tickets

Free. Go after dark, when the stalls are lit and the clapping is constant; the smallest rakes start at around ¥1,000.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Mozzucu · CC0
2. Jipanguguru · CC BY 3.0

The year's last tournament, in Fukuoka: a smaller arena, closer seats, easier tickets than Tokyo, and a loud local crowd. Hakata's yatai food stalls are ten minutes' walk from the hall.

Dates

8–22 Nov

Where

Fukuoka Kokusai Center, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Open every day · Doors 8:45 (10:30 on 20–21 Nov, 10:00 on the 22nd) · top divisions from about 14:00 · ends about 18:00

Tickets

Easier than Tokyo; weekday tickets are usually available a week out. On sale since 19 SepBuy ticketsKlook

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-12

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. t-konno · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. Tzuhsun Hsu · CC BY-SA 2.0
3. Simon Desmarais · CC BY-SA 2.0

A mountain temple on the slope of Mount Raizan above Itoshima, said to have been founded by a monk from India, which keeps a standing Thousand-Armed Kannon that is an Important Cultural Property. In its courtyard stands one maple more than 400 years old, about eight metres tall, a natural monument of the prefecture, which turns a single deep red in mid-November. People come for this one tree.

Dates

08–25 NOV

Where

FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Reception 9:00–16:30 · ¥500, junior high age and under free · in November ¥200 more

Survive

Heavy. In November a ¥200 mountain fee for the grounds and the maple is added to the ¥500 admission. On peak weekends the mountain road backs up below the temple: take the weekday bus or arrive at opening.

Holidays

Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Community bus from JR Chikuzen-Maebaru to Raizan Kannon-mae, then about 7 min on foot. In the 2025 season a direct extra bus ran from the south exit on weekdays, 17–28 November, three departures, ¥500 one way. By car about 15 min from Maebaru IC.

Source

Official siteAutumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

Photo credit

1. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The head shrine of Tenjin, the deified scholar Sugawara no Michizane, whose flower is the plum: about 1,500 trees of 50 varieties flower here from January to late March. On 25 February, the day of his death, geiko and maiko of the neighbouring Kamishichiken district serve tea in the open air at the Baikasai. In autumn the shrine opens its maple garden on the Odoi, the earth rampart Hideyoshi raised round the city in 1591: about 350 maples above the Kamiya river.

Dates

10 NOV – 06 DEC

Where

KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

Precinct open daily, free · plum garden in 2026: 1 Feb – 24 May, 9:00–20:30 · maple garden 31 Oct – 6 Dec 2026, 9:00–16:00, lit from mid-November until 20:00

Survive

On the 25th of every month the Tenjin-san flea market fills the approaches: come for it or avoid it. In 2026 the plum garden cost ¥3,000 and was lit every evening; the maple garden is ¥1,500 with tea and a sweet.

Holidays

Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

City bus to Kitano Tenmangu-mae, about 30 min from Kyoto Stn; or the Randen tram to Kitano-Hakubaicho, then 5 min on foot.

Heritage

National Treasure · main halls 北野天満宮 本殿・石の間・拝殿・楽の間 国宝Historic Site · the Odoi earthwork of the maple garden, 1930 御土居 史跡

Source

Official siteAutumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. くろふね · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. pcs34560 · Public domain
3. Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY-SA 4.0
4. Tmv · CC BY-SA 4.0

Asia's largest open art fair: some 6,500 booths of independent illustrators, makers and performers, no jury, everything for sale. Two days, 10:00–18:00. Go to buy original work from people who are not on any gallery's list.

Dates

14–15 Nov

Where

Tokyo Big Sight, TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

10:00–18:00 both days

Tickets

Advance tickets ¥800 online, ¥1,000 at the door; a two-day pass is ¥1,500. On sale since 19 SepBuy tickets

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-12

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Rs1421 · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. Syced · CC0
3. Bject · CC BY-SA 4.0

4,000 maples planted by the monk San'ei around 1634 as an offering along the path to the temple. Eleven different varieties, so the slope turns colour in layers rather than all at once.

Dates

15 NOV – 05 DEC

Where

AichiGoogle Maps

Open

Open at all hours, free · maples lit 1–30 November, from sunset to 21:00 · car park ¥1,000

Survive

Lit until 21:00 throughout November. The approach road gridlocks at weekends — come by bus or on a weekday.

Holidays

Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

45 min by bus from Meitetsu Toyota-shi Stn.

Source

Official siteAutumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-22

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Bariston · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. T.Takida · CC BY 3.0
3. Bariston · CC BY-SA 4.0

A 2.8 km paved path up a wooded gorge, from the Hankyu station to a 33 m waterfall, about 40 minutes each way and closed to all vehicles. The maples along the river colour from mid-November to early December, and the shops on the path sell momiji tempura, maple leaves fried in sweet batter.

Dates

15 NOV – 05 DEC

Where

OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

Open at all hours, free

Survive

Heavy. No parking, and no cars, motorbikes or bicycles on the path. Weekends in late November are shoulder to shoulder by late morning: start before 9:00. Do not feed the wild monkeys.

Holidays

Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Hankyu Minoo Stn, about 30 min from Osaka-Umeda with a change at Ishibashi; the park gate is 5 min on foot from the station.

Heritage

Place of Scenic Beauty · Mount Minoo, 1956 箕面山 名勝

Source

Official siteAutumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. lumoplank · CC0
2. lumoplank · CC0

A 599 m mountain 50 minutes from Shinjuku with two windows. From mid-November to early December the maples colour along the cable car, around Yakuo-in temple and on the summit. Around the winter solstice the sun sets exactly on the summit of Mount Fuji as seen from the top and from Momijidai, five minutes beyond it: Diamond Fuji, at about 16:15.

Dates

15 NOV – 05 DEC

Where

TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Cable car from 8:00, every 15 min, 6 min · last car 17:15–18:00 by season; in 2025 extended to 18:00 on 17–28 Dec · ¥490 one way, ¥980 return

Survive

Heavy. For Diamond Fuji bring a torch and warm clothes: the descent is in the dark, by trail 1 to the cable car, which runs late on those days only in good weather. November weekends mean long queues for the cable car: come on a weekday.

Holidays

Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Keio Line from Shinjuku to Takaosanguchi, about 50 min; the cable car is 5 min on foot from the station, and the summit 40 min on foot from its upper station.

Source

Official siteAutumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Hotate Chan · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. Edomura no Tokuzo · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Tobihino1977 · CC0

On the days of the rooster in November, shops buy a kumade, a bamboo rake hung with gold coins and masks, to rake in next year’s trade, and each sale is sealed with rhythmic hand-clapping from the stall. The market at Otori Shrine in Asakusa runs for a full 24 hours, from midnight to midnight. In 2026 there are only two rooster days, 7 and 19 November.

Dates

19 Nov

Where

Otori Shrine, Asakusa, TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Midnight to midnight

Tickets

Free. Go after dark, when the stalls are lit and the clapping is constant; the smallest rakes start at around ¥1,000.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Jipanguguru · CC BY 3.0
2. Mozzucu · CC0

A small castle town in a side valley of Asakura, once the seat of a branch of the Kuroda. Sugi-no-baba, the 500-metre avenue to the castle, was a cedar-lined riding ground until it was replanted with cherries to mark the victory over Russia: about 200 Somei Yoshino now close over it as a tunnel. In late November about 20 maples redden around Kuromon, the black gate that was the main entrance of the castle.

Dates

20 NOV – 07 DEC

Where

FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Streets and castle site open at all hours, free

Survive

The avenue is not closed to traffic, so watch for cars under the trees, and on blossom weekends the road in jams: come early or by bus. The spring festival is usually on the first Sunday of April. Nothing is lit in autumn, so come in daylight. Akizuki car park, ¥400.

Holidays

Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

From JR Kiyama on the Kagoshima Main Line, the Amagi Railway to its terminus, Amagi, then the Amagi Kanko bus, Akizuki line, about 20 min. By car about 20 min from Amagi IC on the Oita Expressway.

Heritage

Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings · 1998 朝倉市秋月 重要伝統的建造物群保存地区

Source

Official siteAutumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0
4. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0

A free weekend of anime, manga and games: voice-actor stages, exhibitions, cosplay and merchandise in the Kitakyushu Messe hall and in Aruaru City, the building of anime shops that also houses the Kitakyushu Manga Museum. Both are a short walk from the Shinkansen side of Kokura Station. This is the fourth edition; the 2025 one drew 47,854 visitors to the hall.

Dates

28–29 Nov

Where

Kitakyushu Messe and Aruaru City, Kokura, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Tickets

Free entry.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Bmazerolles · CC BY 4.0
2. Asai1920 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Kaomise, face-showing, is the December run in which the leading actors of Tokyo and Osaka kabuki share one bill at Minamiza, the theatre beside the Kamo river on the ground where kabuki began. From late November the facade carries the maneki, wooden boards with each actor’s name brushed in thick black script, which Kyoto reads as the start of winter.

Dates

1–24 Dec

Where

Minamiza, Shijo, KyotoGoogle Maps

Tickets

Seat prices, closed days and the general sale date are posted by Shochiku; its members’ pre-sale comes first.

Heritage

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · kabuki, 2008 歌舞伎（ユネスコ無形文化遺産代表一覧表）

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Conveyor belt sushi · CC BY 2.0
2. Asturio Cantabrio · CC BY-SA 4.0

A street market that began in 1578 as a free market under the lords of Odawara and became a rag fair, which is what its name means: old kimono, tools, antiques, plants and food along one street in Setagaya, a designated folk cultural property of Tokyo. It is held on the same dates every year, 15–16 December and 15–16 January, whatever the weekday.

Dates

15–16 Dec

Where

Boroichi-dori, Setagaya, TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

9:00–20:00

Tickets

Free. The street is shoulder to shoulder by midday: come at 9:00.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Takahashi J · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. おむこさん志望 · CC BY 3.0
3. Edomura no Tokuzo · CC BY-SA 3.0

A 599 m mountain 50 minutes from Shinjuku with two windows. From mid-November to early December the maples colour along the cable car, around Yakuo-in temple and on the summit. Around the winter solstice the sun sets exactly on the summit of Mount Fuji as seen from the top and from Momijidai, five minutes beyond it: Diamond Fuji, at about 16:15.

Dates

17–28 DEC

Where

TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Cable car from 8:00, every 15 min, 6 min · last car 17:15–18:00 by season; in 2025 extended to 18:00 on 17–28 Dec · ¥490 one way, ¥980 return

Survive

For Diamond Fuji bring a torch and warm clothes: the descent is in the dark, by trail 1 to the cable car, which runs late on those days only in good weather. November weekends mean long queues for the cable car: come on a weekday.

Access

Keio Line from Shinjuku to Takaosanguchi, about 50 min; the cable car is 5 min on foot from the station, and the summit 40 min on foot from its upper station.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Tobihino1977 · CC0
2. Hotate Chan · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Edomura no Tokuzo · CC BY-SA 3.0

The New Year run on bunraku’s home stage in Osaka, three separately ticketed programmes a day. At 11:00 the dances Manzai and Sagi Musume with Ashiya Doman Ouchi Kagami, in which the fox Kuzunoha parts from her child; at 14:30 Igagoe Dochu Sugoroku, including the Numazu scene; at 18:45 Kuruwa Bunsho.

Dates

3–24 Jan

Where

National Bunraku Theatre, Nipponbashi, OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

Programmes at 11:00, 14:30 and 18:45 · Closed 14 Jan

Tickets

Programmes 1 and 2 ¥6,700 each, students ¥4,700; programme 3 ¥5,500, students ¥3,900. Booking by phone and online opens on 8 December at 10:00. Surtitles are shown, and the theatre has an English information page. On sale from 8 Dec · in 75 daysBuy tickets

Holidays

Coming of Age Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Heritage

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · 2008 人形浄瑠璃文楽（ユネスコ無形文化遺産代表一覧表）

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Gunther Hagleitner · CC BY 2.0
2. Mc681 · CC BY-SA 4.0

A rite of driving out demons held on the night of 7 January for more than 1,600 years, counted among Japan’s three great fire festivals and a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property since 1994. Several hundred young men in loincloths raise six torches, each 13 metres long, a metre across at the head and 1.2 tonnes, and carry them burning round the precinct.

Dates

7 Jan

Where

Daizenji Tamataregu, Kurume, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Rites from 13:00 · in 2026 the great torches were lit about 20:40 and the night ended about 23:10 · the 2027 timetable is not published yet

Tickets

Free, held rain or shine. Daizenji Stn on the Nishitetsu Tenjin–Omuta Line, 5 min on foot.

Heritage

Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property · 1994 大善寺玉垂宮の鬼夜

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Pontafon · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The New Year rite of merchant Osaka: over three days about a million people come to the shrine of Ebisu, god of trade, for a fukuzasa, a bamboo branch given out free, and have the fuku-musume, shrine maidens chosen each year, hang paid charms on it. On the 10th the Hoekago procession of decorated palanquins brings geisha, kabuki actors and bunraku puppets to the shrine.

Dates

9–11 Jan

Where

Imamiya Ebisu Shrine, Naniwa, OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

In 2026 branches were given out 7:00–1:00 on all three days, with the fuku-musume on duty 9:00–21:00Sun 10 Jan · Main day, with the Hoekago palanquin procession to the shrine

Tickets

Free to enter; you pay for the charms hung on the branch. The 10th is the most crowded day.

Holidays

Coming of Age Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Mixtribe Photo · CC BY 2.0
2. Ogiyoshisan · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Mixtribe Photo · CC BY 2.0

A street market that began in 1578 as a free market under the lords of Odawara and became a rag fair, which is what its name means: old kimono, tools, antiques, plants and food along one street in Setagaya, a designated folk cultural property of Tokyo. It is held on the same dates every year, 15–16 December and 15–16 January, whatever the weekday.

Dates

15–16 Jan

Where

Boroichi-dori, Setagaya, TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

9:00–20:00

Tickets

Free. The street is shoulder to shoulder by midday: come at 9:00.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Edomura no Tokuzo · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. Takahashi J · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. おむこさん志望 · CC BY 3.0

Sapporo’s triennale, a winter festival since its 2024 edition. The theme, Planet Snow, carries two Ainu subtitles: upas mintar, snow garden, for those who live here, and upas nociw, snow star, for those who arrive. Creative director Hideaki Ogawa spreads the work over eleven venues, among them Isamu Noguchi’s Moerenuma Park, the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, a 500 m underground gallery and the Odori site of the Snow Festival, which falls inside the run on 4–11 February.

Dates

16 Jan – 21 Feb

Where

Eleven venues across Sapporo, including Moerenuma Park, HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Tickets

Ticket and passport prices are not announced yet. Four of the venues keep their own dates within the run.

Holidays

National Foundation Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-22

Photos

Photo credit

1. Tsuyoshi Yoshida · CC BY-SA 3.0

A farming hamlet in the mountains north of Kyoto where 39 of the 50 houses keep their thatched roofs, a national preservation district since 1993. Under snow, from late January through February, it is the old countryside intact. For the eight evenings of the winter lantern festival, 30 January – 6 February in 2027, the lanes and houses are lit from 17:00 to 19:00 with about 80 paper lanterns and 200 more.

Dates

20 JAN – 25 FEB

Where

KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

Village open at all hours, free · lantern festival 30 Jan – 6 Feb 2027, lit 17:00–19:00

Survive

During the lantern festival every car needs a parking reservation made in advance, on all days. Snow tyres are required on the road in. The winter fireworks of earlier years are not held.

Holidays

National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

About 80 min by car from Kyoto. By public transport, the JR Sagano Line to Hiyoshi and then the Nantan city bus to Kita; check the last bus back before you go.

Heritage

Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings · 1993 南丹市美山町北 重要伝統的建造物群保存地区

Source

Official siteSnow page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. 経済特区 · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. 経済特区 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The shrine built over the grave of Sugawara no Michizane, the exiled scholar worshipped as Tenjin, whose flower is the plum: about 6,000 trees of 200 varieties flower in the grounds from late January to early March. The first to open is the Tobiume to the right of the main hall, the tree said to have flown from Kyoto in one night to follow him. The main hall reopened for worship in September 2026 after a restoration of three and a half years, its first in 124 years, and 2027 brings the grand festival held once in 25 years, 1,125 years after his death; its dates are not published yet.

Dates

25 JAN – 10 MAR

Where

FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Gates open 6:30 from the autumn equinox and 6:00 from the spring equinox · close 18:30 Dec–Mar, 19:00 Apr–May and Sep–Nov, 19:30 Jun–Aug · free

Survive

Heavy. January and February are exam season, and Tenjin is the god of learning: at weekends the approach is packed from the station to the hall. Come at gate opening, 6:30 in winter, and see the plums before the crowd arrives.

Holidays

National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Nishitetsu from Fukuoka (Tenjin) with a change at Futsukaichi, about 35 min, then 5 min on foot from Dazaifu Stn. The direct bus Tabito takes about 45 min from Hakata Bus Terminal and about 25 min from the international terminal of Fukuoka Airport.

Heritage

Important Cultural Property · main hall, 1907 太宰府天満宮本殿 重要文化財

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. 酒呑みおやぢ · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0

The head shrine of Tenjin, the deified scholar Sugawara no Michizane, whose flower is the plum: about 1,500 trees of 50 varieties flower here from January to late March. On 25 February, the day of his death, geiko and maiko of the neighbouring Kamishichiken district serve tea in the open air at the Baikasai. In autumn the shrine opens its maple garden on the Odoi, the earth rampart Hideyoshi raised round the city in 1591: about 350 maples above the Kamiya river.

Dates

01 FEB – 25 MAR

Where

KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

Precinct open daily, free · plum garden in 2026: 1 Feb – 24 May, 9:00–20:30 · maple garden 31 Oct – 6 Dec 2026, 9:00–16:00, lit from mid-November until 20:00

Survive

On the 25th of every month the Tenjin-san flea market fills the approaches: come for it or avoid it. In 2026 the plum garden cost ¥3,000 and was lit every evening; the maple garden is ¥1,500 with tea and a sweet.

Holidays

National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday, Vernal Equinox Day, Substitute holiday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

City bus to Kitano Tenmangu-mae, about 30 min from Kyoto Stn; or the Randen tram to Kitano-Hakubaicho, then 5 min on foot.

Heritage

National Treasure · main halls 北野天満宮 本殿・石の間・拝殿・楽の間 国宝Historic Site · the Odoi earthwork of the maple garden, 1930 御土居 史跡

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Tmv · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. くろふね · CC BY-SA 4.0
4. pcs34560 · Public domain

Two windows inside one moat. The plum grove east of the inner moat has about 1,245 trees of 105 varieties, from wintersweet in January to the late Bungo plums in March, free and always open. Then Nishinomaru Garden, the lawn west of the keep, flowers with about 300 cherry trees under the castle tower, and stays open after dark in the blossom weeks. Normal first flowering in Osaka is 13 February for plum and 27 March for cherry, with full bloom on 4 April.

Dates

01 FEB – 10 MAR

Where

OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

Plum grove always open, free · Nishinomaru Garden 9:00–17:00, to 16:30 November–February, closed Mondays, ¥200

Survive

The plum grove is at its best from mid-February to early March. In the cherry weeks of 2026 Nishinomaru charged ¥350 and stayed open until 21:00, lit from 18:00: go at opening time for the lawn without the crowd.

Holidays

National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Osakajokoen Stn on the JR Loop Line or Tanimachi 4-chome on the metro, each 10 min on foot to Nishinomaru Garden; the plum grove is on the far, eastern side of the keep.

Heritage

Special Historic Site · 1953 大坂城跡 特別史跡

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Mc681 · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Mc681 · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. Midori · Public domain
4. Reginald Pentinio · CC BY 2.0

It began in 1950, when local school pupils set up six snow statues in Odori Park; the 2026 edition drew 2.54 million people. The Odori site lines the park with snow statues the size of buildings, several raised by the Ground Self-Defense Force, which has taken part since 1955. Susukino, a site since 1983, has the ice carvings, and Tsudome the snow slides.

Dates

4–11 Feb

Where

Odori Park, Susukino and Tsudome, Sapporo, HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Open

Open every day · Odori Park statues lit until 22:00

Tickets

Free at all three sites. Sapporo’s hotels sell out for the week: book in autumn. Site hours for 2027 are published from mid-December.

Holidays

National Foundation Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. t-konno · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. 京浜にけ · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Materialscientist · CC BY-SA 3.0

The Sea of Okhotsk is the southernmost sea in the northern hemisphere to freeze: ice born off the Amur estuary drifts about a thousand kilometres south and reaches this coast around the start of February. The icebreaker Aurora rides up onto the floes and breaks them under its own weight, on a cruise of about an hour.

Dates

04 FEB – 15 MAR

Where

HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Open

Sails daily 20 Jan – 31 Mar, three to five departures between 9:00 and 15:30, about 1 h · ¥7,000, children ¥3,500 at last season’s fares; 2027 fares not yet posted

Survive

Wind can push the ice offshore overnight, so allow two days. The normal dates for 1991–2020 are 22 Jan for the first ice on the horizon and 4 Feb for ice at the shore. A sailing with 15 bookings or fewer may be cancelled: reserve ahead.

Holidays

National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

The Aurora sails from the Ryuhyo Kaido Abashiri roadside station, 10 min by bus from JR Abashiri Stn.

Source

Official siteSnow page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. kkawamura · CC BY 4.0
2. Lkj12344321 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Candles set in snow lanterns along the canal and the old railway line, lit by hand each evening by volunteers, many of whom travel from Korea, China and Taiwan for the week. It started in 1999 and takes its name from a 1926 poetry collection by Ito Sei, who grew up in Otaru. The 29th edition overlaps the Sapporo Snow Festival on 6–11 February, and Otaru is about 35 min from Sapporo by rapid train.

Dates

6–13 Feb

Where

Otaru Canal area, HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Tickets

Free. Venues and lighting hours for 2027 are not announced yet; in past years the candles burned from 17:00 to 21:00.

Holidays

National Foundation Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. t-konno · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. t-konno · CC BY-SA 3.0

About 300 plum trees, most of them the white Shirokaga, in the precinct of the shrine of the god of learning. The plum festival runs on the same dates every year, 8 February to 8 March, which is also exam season: the racks of votive tablets left by students stand among the blossom.

Dates

08 FEB – 08 MAR

Where

TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Precinct open daily, free

Survive

Weekends bring stage shows, open-air tea and crowds; the blossom is usually at its best from mid-February.

Holidays

National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Yushima Stn on the Chiyoda Line, 2 min on foot; Ueno-Hirokoji on the Ginza Line, 5 min.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Kentaro Mame · CC0
2. pelican · CC BY-SA 2.0

In Yanagawa the hina dolls of the girls’ festival are flanked by sagemon: hanging strings of cloth cranes, rabbits, chicks and crawling babies with bright wound-thread balls, wishes for a daughter’s health and happiness. For 52 days, on the same dates every year, the sights, shopping streets and shops of the canal town show theirs. The day to come for is the water parade in mid-March, when children in festival dress ride the canal boats; in 2026 it was on Sunday 15 March, 11:00–12:20, and the 2027 date is not announced yet.

Dates

11 Feb – 3 Apr

Where

Canal town of Yanagawa, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Thu 11 Feb · Opening rite and procession; in 2026 from 10:00Sat 3 Apr · Nagashi-bina, the closing rite

Tickets

Free to walk. The 2027 programme is not published yet.

Holidays

National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday, Vernal Equinox Day, Substitute holiday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Asturio Cantabrio · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Asturio Cantabrio · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. Asturio Cantabrio · CC BY-SA 4.0

The only one of the six annual tournaments held in Kansai, in a compact arena a few minutes from Namba where even the upper seats are close to the ring. The stables lodge at temples and halls around the city for the month, so wrestlers are a common sight on the streets and trains.

Dates

14–28 Mar

Where

Edion Arena Osaka, Namba, OsakaGoogle Maps

Tickets

The sale date is posted by the Japan Sumo Association; buy from the official seller. Buy tickets

Holidays

Vernal Equinox Day, Substitute holiday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Ogiyoshisan · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. KishujiRapid · CC BY-SA 4.0

A 700-metre promenade along the moat of the Imperial Palace, lined with about 140 cherry trees that lean out over the water. Rowing boats go out from the pier at the northern end, so the blossom is seen from below as much as from the path. Tokyo’s normal first flowering is 24 March, full bloom 31 March.

Dates

24 MAR – 08 APR

Where

TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Promenade always open, free · boats 11:00–17:30, 1 March – 30 November

Survive

Heavy. The path is made one-way at the peak and the boat queue runs to hours at weekends: come on a weekday before 10:00, or walk it after dark in the festival weeks, when the trees are lit.

Access

10 min on foot from Kudanshita Stn, exit 2; Hanzomon Stn is 5 min from the southern end of the promenade.

Source

Official siteCherry blossom page · checked 2026-09-24

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0
2. Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0

About 1,000 cherry trees on the stone ramparts of Fukuoka Castle, the seat the Kuroda built from 1601, in the middle of the city. During the Fukuoka Castle Sakura Festival the walls and the trees are lit after dark, historic buildings are opened and food stalls fill the old baileys. Fukuoka is one of the first big cities in Japan to flower: on average the blossom opens on 22 March and is full on the 31st.

Dates

24 MAR – 06 APR

Where

FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Park always open, free · festival in 2026: 25 Mar – 8 Apr, 11:00–22:00, lit 18:00–22:00

Survive

Heavy. The park itself is free and always open. In 2026 the festival ran 25 March – 8 April, 11:00–22:00; the three lit enclosures, open 18:00–22:00 with last entry at 21:45, cost ¥600 each or ¥1,500 for all three, free for high school students and younger. Leaving a ground sheet unattended to hold a spot is banned.

Access

Subway Kuko Line to Ohorikoen or Akasaka, then under 10 min on foot.

Heritage

Historic Site · Fukuoka Castle ruins, 1957 福岡城跡 史跡

Source

Official siteCherry blossom page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0

A former imperial garden of 58 hectares in the middle of Shinjuku, with about 900 cherry trees of some 70 varieties, so the season runs long: early kanzakura from February, Somei-yoshino from late March, then the double-flowered yaezakura into mid-April on the wide lawns of the English garden. Tokyo’s normal first flowering is 24 March, full bloom 31 March.

Dates

24 MAR – 20 APR

Where

TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

9:00–18:00 from 15 March, last entry 17:30; 9:00–16:30 from October to mid-March · ¥500, over-65s and students ¥250, children free · closed Mondays except 25 March – 24 April, and 29 December – 3 January

Survive

Heavy. No alcohol and no bicycles inside, and the gates may switch to advance booking at weekends in the cherry weeks. Go on a weekday at the 9:00 opening; the yaezakura of mid-April draw half the crowd of the Somei-yoshino.

Access

Shinjuku Gate is 5 min from Shinjuku-gyoemmae Stn on the Marunouchi line and 10 min from JR Shinjuku Stn; Sendagaya Gate is 5 min from JR Sendagaya Stn.

Source

Official siteCherry blossom page · checked 2026-09-24

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Raita Futo · CC BY 2.0
2. Kakidai · CC BY-SA 4.0

The industry’s main annual fair: studio stands, stage events and the first announcements of the year’s series. It has been held in Tokyo since it began in 2014; the public days of 2027 are at INTEX Osaka, on the bay side of the city.

Dates

27–28 Mar

Where

INTEX Osaka, OsakaGoogle Maps

Tickets

Ticket types and prices are not announced yet.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

Photo credit

1. Sakai Yayoi · CC0

A small castle town in a side valley of Asakura, once the seat of a branch of the Kuroda. Sugi-no-baba, the 500-metre avenue to the castle, was a cedar-lined riding ground until it was replanted with cherries to mark the victory over Russia: about 200 Somei Yoshino now close over it as a tunnel. In late November about 20 maples redden around Kuromon, the black gate that was the main entrance of the castle.

Dates

27 MAR – 07 APR

Where

FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Streets and castle site open at all hours, free

Survive

Heavy. The avenue is not closed to traffic, so watch for cars under the trees, and on blossom weekends the road in jams: come early or by bus. The spring festival is usually on the first Sunday of April. Nothing is lit in autumn, so come in daylight. Akizuki car park, ¥400.

Access

From JR Kiyama on the Kagoshima Main Line, the Amagi Railway to its terminus, Amagi, then the Amagi Kanko bus, Akizuki line, about 20 min. By car about 20 min from Amagi IC on the Oita Expressway.

Heritage

Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings · 1998 朝倉市秋月 重要伝統的建造物群保存地区

Source

Official siteCherry blossom page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0
4. STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Two windows inside one moat. The plum grove east of the inner moat has about 1,245 trees of 105 varieties, from wintersweet in January to the late Bungo plums in March, free and always open. Then Nishinomaru Garden, the lawn west of the keep, flowers with about 300 cherry trees under the castle tower, and stays open after dark in the blossom weeks. Normal first flowering in Osaka is 13 February for plum and 27 March for cherry, with full bloom on 4 April.

Dates

27 MAR – 10 APR

Where

OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

Plum grove always open, free · Nishinomaru Garden 9:00–17:00, to 16:30 November–February, closed Mondays, ¥200

Survive

Heavy. The plum grove is at its best from mid-February to early March. In the cherry weeks of 2026 Nishinomaru charged ¥350 and stayed open until 21:00, lit from 18:00: go at opening time for the lawn without the crowd.

Access

Osakajokoen Stn on the JR Loop Line or Tanimachi 4-chome on the metro, each 10 min on foot to Nishinomaru Garden; the plum grove is on the far, eastern side of the keep.

Heritage

Special Historic Site · 1953 大坂城跡 特別史跡

Source

Official siteCherry blossom page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. Midori · Public domain
2. Reginald Pentinio · CC BY 2.0
3. Mc681 · CC BY-SA 4.0
4. Mc681 · CC BY-SA 4.0

1,500 Takato-kohigan cherry trees — a variety that grows only here, with smaller and markedly pinker flowers than the usual Somei-yoshino. The park sits on the ruins of the castle of the Takato clan, vassals of the Takeda.

Dates

05–20 APR

Where

NaganoGoogle Maps

Open

Open at all hours · ¥600 during the cherry festival, ¥1,000 on the two busiest days, paid entry only while the trees are in flower; free the rest of the year, autumn included

Survive

Opens at 06:00 specifically because of the crowds. After 10:00 there are queues for both the entrance and the car park. Admission is charged only in season.

Access

JR Ina-shi Stn, then 25 min by bus. Direct buses run from Shinjuku during the blossom season.

Heritage

Historic Site · Takato Castle ruins, 1973 高遠城跡 史跡

Source

Official siteCherry blossom page · checked 2026-09-22

Photos

4 photos · credits

1. MaedaAkihiko · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. 江戸村のとくぞう · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. Ina City Tourism Association · ⓒ伊那市観光協会
4. Ina City Tourism Association · ⓒ伊那市観光協会

The last cherry blossom in the city. The Omuro cherries, about 200 trees, most of a variety called Omuro-ariake, grow only about two metres tall, so the blossom hangs at eye level with the five-storey pagoda behind it. They reach full bloom in mid-April, after the rest of Kyoto has finished.

Dates

08–20 APR

Where

KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

9:00–17:00 March to November, last entry 16:30; 9:00–16:30 December to February, last entry 16:00 · Goten garden ¥800, students free · during the flower festival a special admission of ¥800, students free

Survive

Heavy. During the Omuro flower festival, 27 March – 6 May in 2026, the grounds charge ¥800; high school students and younger are free. Mid-April weekends queue at the gate from opening.

Access

Randen tram to Omuro-Ninnaji, 3 min on foot; or city bus 26 from Kyoto Stn, about 40 min.

Heritage

World Heritage · Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, 1994 古都京都の文化財 世界遺産National Treasure · Kondo hall 仁和寺金堂 国宝

Source

Official siteCherry blossom page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Bergmann · CC BY 3.0
2. KimonBerlin · CC BY-SA 2.0

For one week in April the Japan Mint opens the 560 m riverside path through its grounds: 331 trees of 140 varieties, most of them late double-flowered cherries that bloom after the rest of Osaka has finished. The custom dates from 1883. The week is set each winter; in 2026 it was 9–15 April.

Dates

09–15 APR

Where

OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

One week in mid-April, dates announced in winter · free, online reservation required

Survive

Heavy. Free, but entry is by timed online reservation only, first come first served; in 2026 booking opened on 18 March at 9:00. Seven days a year: fix this date first and build the trip around it.

Access

Temmabashi Stn on the Keihan and Tanimachi lines, about 15 min on foot to the south gate. The path is one-way, south to north.

Source

Official siteCherry blossom page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Mc681 · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Mc681 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wisteria trellises over a pond crossed by arched bridges, a flower-viewing spot since the Edo period and the subject of a print in Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. More than 50 vines flower together in mid to late April, now with Tokyo Skytree behind them.

Dates

12–30 APR

Where

TokyoGoogle Maps

Open

Precinct open daily, free · wisteria festival through April, lit from sunset to 21:00

Survive

Heavy. The precinct is small and packed at weekends in late April. Come early in the morning, or after sunset: the trellises are lit until 21:00 during the festival.

Holidays

Showa Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

JR Kameido Stn, north exit, 15 min on foot; the Toei bus stop Kameido-Tenjin-mae is at the gate.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Fred Cherrygarden · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0

An international photography festival, held every spring since 2013, that hangs its exhibitions in places you would otherwise not enter: temple halls, machiya townhouses, old industrial buildings. A month of main exhibitions, with a fringe programme, KG+, of smaller shows around them.

Dates

17 Apr – 16 May

Where

Temples, machiya and galleries across Kyoto, KyotoGoogle Maps

Tickets

The programme, the venues and the passport price for 2027 are not announced yet.

Holidays

Showa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, Children's Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Toyotsu · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Toyotsu · CC BY-SA 4.0

About 1,600 cherry trees ring the moat of Japan’s first Western-style star fort, finished in 1864 and the last stand of the shogunate’s forces in 1869. From the observation deck of Goryokaku Tower the whole star shows pink. Normal flowering in Hakodate is 28 April and full bloom 2 May: cherry blossom for Golden Week, five weeks after Tokyo.

Dates

28 APR – 08 MAY

Where

HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Open

Inner fort 5:00–19:00 Apr–Oct, to 18:00 Nov–Mar, free; outer grounds always open · Goryokaku Tower 9:00–18:00, ¥1,200

Survive

Heavy. Full bloom usually falls inside Golden Week, 29 Apr – 5 May, when all of Hakodate is busy: expect a queue for the tower at midday and go up at 9:00 or near closing.

Holidays

Showa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, Children's Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Tram to Goryokaku-Koen-mae, then 15 min on foot.

Heritage

Special Historic Site · 1922 五稜郭跡 特別史跡

Source

Official siteCherry blossom page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Goryokaku-Tower · CC BY 4.0
2. Goryokaku-Tower · CC BY 4.0

A hillside temple in Uji, the tenth stop of the Saigoku pilgrimage, with about 20,000 hydrangeas of 50 varieties planted under cedars below the main hall. The garden opens for five weeks from the end of May, and on some June weekends it reopens after dark.

Dates

01 JUN – 05 JUL

Where

KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

Hydrangea garden in 2026: 31 May – 5 Jul, entry 8:30–15:10, gate shut at 16:00 · ¥1,000, children ¥500

Survive

Heavy. In 2026 the garden was open 31 May – 5 July. The evening opening, Saturdays and Sundays 13–28 June, 19:00–21:00, is a separate ¥1,000 ticket for the garden only, and the day visitors are cleared first.

Access

Mimurodo Stn on the Keihan Uji Line, 15 min on foot.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. Naokijp · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Naokijp · CC BY-SA 4.0

A Zen temple founded in 1160, known as the hydrangea temple. Nearly every shrub is the hime-ajisai variety, producing a single blue tone the locals call Meigetsuin blue.

Dates

05–30 JUN

Where

KanagawaGoogle Maps

Open

9:00–16:00 · in June 8:30–17:00, last entry 16:30 · ¥500, the inner garden another ¥500

Survive

In June the entrance queue reaches back to the station. Arrive at the 08:30 opening, or come in the rain — wet hydrangeas are the entire point.

Access

10 min walk from JR Kita-Kamakura Stn.

Heritage

Historic Site · temple precinct, 1984 明月院境内 史跡

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-22

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Raita Futo · CC BY 2.0
2. Nesnad · CC BY 4.0
3. Kakidai · CC BY-SA 4.0

The farm that kept lavender growing in Furano after the perfume trade collapsed in the 1970s; a Japanese National Railways calendar photograph of its field in 1976 brought the first visitors. The fields flower in sequence: early varieties colour from late June, and the peak is early to mid-July.

Dates

25 JUN – 05 AUG

Where

HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Open

Late June – mid-August 8:30–17:30, shorter hours in other months · free, parking free

Survive

Heavy. Mid-July is the year’s worst crowd, above all on the three-day Marine Day weekend: the free car park holds about 500 cars and fills through the morning. Arrive at opening or come by the Norokko train.

Holidays

Marine Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access

Lavender-Batake, a summer-only stop of the Furano–Biei Norokko train, is 7 min on foot. At other times Naka-Furano Stn, 10 min by train from Furano, is 25 min on foot or 5 min by taxi.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

1. RJD · CC BY 3.0
2. Jolly Yau · CC BY-SA 3.0

Hakata’s festival of 1–15 July, traced to 1241, when the Zen priest Shoichi Kokushi was carried through the town sprinkling holy water against a plague; it is on UNESCO’s list of intangible heritage. For two weeks decorated floats 10 to 15 metres tall stand on view around the city. The racing floats come out on the 10th, and at 4:59 on the 15th the first of seven district teams, men in loincloths and short coats, charges its one-tonne float into Kushida Shrine and out along a five-kilometre course, the others following minutes apart against the clock. In 2027 the 15th is a Thursday.

Dates

1–15 Jul

Where

Kushida Shrine and the streets of Hakata, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open

Thu 1 Jul · Decorated floats go on view across the city, until the 14thFri 9 Jul · Oshioi-tori: all seven teams run to the beach at Hakozaki for purifying sandSat 10 Jul · Nagare-gaki: the racing floats come out, each in its own districtSun 11 Jul · Asa-yama in the early morning, then runs into the neighbouring districtsMon 12 Jul · Oiyama-narashi, the timed rehearsal, from 15:59Tue 13 Jul · Shudan-yamamise: the floats parade on Meiji-dori from 15:30Wed 14 Jul · Nagare-gaki, the last district runsThu 15 Jul · Oiyama: the first float enters Kushida Shrine at 4:59

Tickets

Free from the street: come well before dawn for the race. Seats in the stand inside Kushida Shrine are sold in person at the shrine on 26 June; in 2026 about 280 seats at ¥7,000 went in 15 minutes.

Heritage

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · 2016 山・鉾・屋台行事（ユネスコ無形文化遺産代表一覧表）Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property · 1979 博多祇園山笠行事

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. ぱちょぴ（pacyopi） · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. Pontafon · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0

Kyoto’s festival of July, begun in 869 as a rite against plague. Thirty-four floats, the tallest about 25 metres and hung with tapestries from as far as Persia and Flanders, are pulled through the centre in two processions: the Saki Matsuri on the 17th and the smaller, quieter Ato Matsuri on the 24th. On the three evenings before each, the floats stand lit in their home streets. In 2027 both processions fall on Saturdays, and the 24th leaves time to reach the boats of Osaka’s Tenjin Matsuri the next evening.

Dates

14–24 Jul

Where

Yasaka Shrine and the float districts of central Kyoto, KyotoGoogle Maps

Open

Wed 14 Jul · Yoiyama evenings of the Saki Matsuri, 14–16 July: floats lit in their streetsSat 17 Jul · Saki Matsuri procession from 9:00, 23 floatsWed 21 Jul · Yoiyama evenings of the Ato Matsuri, 21–23 JulySat 24 Jul · Ato Matsuri procession from 9:30, 11 floats

Tickets

Free from the pavement; paid seats usually go on sale in June. Rooms for 14–17 July sell out months ahead.

Holidays

Marine Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Heritage

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · 2009 京都祇園祭の山鉾行事（ユネスコ無形文化遺産代表一覧表）Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property · 1979 京都祇園祭の山鉾行事

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Edomura no Tokuzo · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Edomura no Tokuzo · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. Sakurai Midori · CC BY-SA 3.0

The festival of Osaka Tenmangu, held on the same two dates every year and said to date from 951. On the 25th a land procession of about 3,000 people in court dress leaves the shrine in mid-afternoon, and from about 18:00 the deity boards a fleet of about a hundred boats on the Okawa, lit by bonfires, under votive fireworks. In 2027 both days fall at a weekend.

Dates

24–25 Jul

Where

Osaka Tenmangu and the Okawa river, OsakaGoogle Maps

Open

Sat 24 Jul · Eve: the hoko-nagashi rite on the river and lion dancers through the districtSun 25 Jul · Land procession in mid-afternoon · boat procession from about 18:00 · votive fireworks after dark

Tickets

Free from the bridges and banks, which fill by late afternoon. Times for 2027 are not published yet.

Source

Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

3 photos · credits

1. Midori · CC BY-SA 3.0
2. Ogiyoshisan · CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Tomi Mäkitalo · CC BY-SA 3.0