Festivals, exhibitions, pop-ups, and seasonal happenings across all nine regions.
The Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is a major August event where over 10,000 dancers parade nightly with flower-decorated hanagasa hats to taiko drums and folk song.
5–7 Aug 2026Yamagata · TohokuA summer festival transforms a town with illuminated green bamboo lanterns, folk performances, and fireworks over Takahata.
16 Aug 2026Yamagata · TohokuA festival with over 260 years of history, where 20 ornate floats themed on historical tales, legends, and kabuki parade through the streets with traditional music.
24–26 Aug 2026Yamagata · TohokuThis Edo-period Kasedori Festival features performers in bird-shaped straw costumes paraded through Kaminoyama while spectators splash water on them for good fortune.
11 Feb 2027Yamagata · TohokuA two-day winter festival in snowy Yonezawa transforming Matsugasaki Park into a landscape of 300 snow lanterns and 3,000 snow lamps lit by candlelight.
14–15 Feb 2027Yamagata · TohokuThe Zao Juhyo Festival showcases Snow Monsters, ethereal ice and snow formations that coat trees in the Zao Mountains, illuminated after dark to create a surreal winter landscape.
27 Dec 2026 – 23 Feb 2027Yamagata · TohokuThe Yonezawa Uesugi Matsuri features a multi-day celebration culminating in a reenactment of the 1561 Battle of Kawanakajima between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen.
29 Apr – 3 May 2027Yamagata · Tohoku
