Festivals, exhibitions, pop-ups, and seasonal happenings across all nine regions.
Major summer dance festival originating from legend about a demon's defeat, featuring traditional Sansa Odori dance and powerful taiko performances.
1–4 Aug 2026Iwate · TohokuHachinohe Sansha Taisai combines traditional shrine processions with elaborately decorated floats and is recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage.
31 Jul – 4 Aug 2026Aomori · TohokuA summer harvest festival features towering bamboo poles adorned with paper lanterns, paraded through streets with traditional music and daytime balancing performances.
3–6 Aug 2026Akita · TohokuThe Hirosaki Neputa Festival features giant illuminated floats up to 10 meters tall, paraded nightly through the city with taiko drums and traditional chanting.
1–7 Aug 2026Aomori · TohokuThe 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 · TohokuAomori's most iconic summer festival features glowing nebuta floats and energetic haneto dancers who leap through illuminated parades and water processions.
2–7 Aug 2026Aomori · TohokuThe Goshogawara Tachineputa Festival is an Aomori summer festival famous for its illuminated floats, some up to 23 metres tall, paraded nightly to taiko drums and flutes.
4–8 Aug 2026Aomori · TohokuHeld 6–8 August, the Sendai Tanabata Festival fills the city with vast colourful paper streamers and kusudama ornaments, rooted in the Tanabata legend.
6–8 Aug 2026Miyagi · TohokuA summer festival transforms a town with illuminated green bamboo lanterns, folk performances, and fireworks over Takahata.
16 Aug 2026Yamagata · TohokuAn exhibition celebrates the 30th anniversary of Evangelion with rare production materials from the original TV series and Rebuild films.
17 Jul – 23 Aug 2026Iwate · 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 · TohokuWoodblock prints from Japan's greatest artists are reimagined as immersive three-dimensional projections, with original artworks displayed alongside.
11 Jul – 30 Aug 2026Aomori · TohokuA festival celebrating one of Japan's largest lotus-covered wetlands in Miyagi Prefecture, featuring boat tours through millions of vibrant pink blooms.
25 Jul – 30 Aug 2026Miyagi · TohokuA retro-themed summer train on the Tsugaru Railway Line adorned with furin, traditional Japanese wind bells that create soothing tinkling sounds.
1 Jul – 31 Aug 2026Aomori · TohokuA traditional autumn festival with 400 years of history, held in September in Kakunodate, featuring large wooden floats decorated with samurai warrior dolls.
7–9 Sep 2026Akita · TohokuThis centuries-old festival features over 100 mikoshi shrines and floats, with the Shishi-Odori deer dance and sacred Kagura-Gongenmai performance.
11–13 Sep 2026Iwate · TohokuOne of Iwate's most enduring celebrations, this autumn festival originated as prayers for harvest, now featuring ornate floats and traditional parades.
14–16 Sep 2026Iwate · TohokuThis over 650-year-old festival in a northern mountain town expresses gratitude for the harvest while praying for protection from disaster and the arrival of good fortune.
19–21 Sep 2026Iwate · Tohoku
