Festivals, exhibitions, pop-ups, and seasonal happenings across all nine regions.
By month: October 2026, November 2026, December 2026, January 2027
A large Halloween cosplay festival centered on Ikebukuro's East Exit features stage performances, parades, and gathering spaces for participants of all ages.
30 Oct – 1 Nov 2026TokyoSmall bonsai up to about 20 cm tall, shown in display seats by members of the Japan Shohin-Bonsai Association, with dealers selling trees, pots and tools.
30 Oct – 1 Nov 2026TokyoTokyo Gakki Expo, Japan's largest musical instrument exhibition, features over 200 brands with live performances, product demonstrations, and workshops.
31 Oct – 1 Nov 2026TokyoA beach in Ibaraki is lit for three evenings, with the waves drawn in light, mirror tape turning the sea wind visible, and twenty food vans on the sand.
30 Oct – 1 Nov 2026Oarai · IbarakiThe last year of the ramen festival held in Komazawa Olympic Park since 2009, with twelve shops from around the country serving one bowl a ticket.
30 Oct – 3 Nov 2026TokyoA month of Halloween shows, costume contests and themed food at KAWAII MONSTER LAND in Harajuku, bringing back the KAWAII MONSTER CAFE Halloween of 2015.
1 Oct – 3 Nov 2026TokyoFive nights of projection mapping on the main hall and gate of Sensoji in Tokyo, with the temple's closed garden and its hall of ema open alongside.
30 Oct – 3 Nov 2026TokyoHip-hop culture, urban sports, music, and art converge across multiple Ikebukuro venues in this street culture celebration attracting 50,000 visitors.
1–3 Nov 2026TokyoJapan's largest arcade festival, showing the latest in amusement entertainment, with separate programming for industry professionals and public visitors.
6–7 Nov 2026TokyoA special night opening each autumn at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum, with its historic buildings softly lit and a candle night.
6–7 Nov 2026Koganei · TokyoAnime Tokyo Station hosts a special exhibition on Fist of the North Star, with production materials and a character quiz.
22 Aug – 8 Nov 2026TokyoJapan's largest itasha and cosplay festival, in Odaiba, with around 1,000 character-wrapped vehicles, live entertainment stages and displays of car culture.
8 Nov 2026TokyoSkateboarding, BMX and breaking brought together for the first time at Kasama in Ibaraki, in a town that has built itself around urban sports.
7–8 Nov 2026Kasama · IbarakiThe Oyama Balloon Festa fills autumn skies with hot air balloons in precision flights from dawn, plus lit night glows with synchronized fireworks and music.
14–15 Nov 2026Oyama · TochigiTall doll floats built in the 19th century are drawn through the storehouse streets of Tochigi over two days, in a festival held every second year.
14–15 Nov 2026TochigiA ramen competition at Okubo Park in Shinjuku, where 64 shops from across Japan take turns over eight phases and visitor votes pick the winner.
10 Oct – 15 Nov 2026TokyoThe Satomi Kakashi Festival shows handmade scarecrows by local and visiting artists, with contests honoring agricultural heritage and creative craftsmanship.
24 Oct – 21 Nov 2026Hitachiota · IbarakiFootraces run in inflatable T-rex costumes, held in parks, on beaches and at local festivals across Japan since 2022, with adult and juvenile classes.
22 Nov 2026Omitama · Ibaraki
