Benkei Matsuri
Tanabe in Wakayama holds a two-day festival for Benkei, the warrior monk it claims as its own, with a play at the shrine and 600 dancers in wooden clogs.
2–3 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetTanabe · WakayamaTanabe in Wakayama holds a two-day festival for Benkei, the warrior monk it claims as its own, with a play at the shrine and 600 dancers in wooden clogs.
2–3 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetTanabe · WakayamaEach October in Gobo, Wakayama, the region's largest autumn festival fills the streets with rival parish groups, dance, and towering, massive drum floats.
4–5 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetGobo · WakayamaAncient shrine festival featuring portable shrines carried through Matsuyama's districts in ritual performances believed to enhance spiritual power.
5–7 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetMatsuyama · EhimeThis 380-year-old shrine festival blends Japanese folk dances with dragon processions and Dutch-influenced performances held across four venues in Nagasaki.
7–9 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNagasakiEach October the old castle town of Sakura fills with towering doll floats, portable shrines and Edo-descended music for three days of procession.
9–11 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetSakura · ChibaAn autumn festival held in October with origins tracing to a 1608 rainmaking ritual, featuring 27 ornately carved musical floats from the Edo period.
10–11 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKanuma · TochigiAn autumn parade brings the Warring States period to life with over 250 participants in samurai and historical costumes, honoring the Sanada clan.
10–11 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNaganoAn October festival in which a portable shrine is carried in a procession led by participants dressed as samurai, while local residents bow along the streets.
15 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNiimi · OkayamaEach October, Kumano Hayatama Taisha holds the Mifune Matsuri, two days of sacred processions culminating in a thrilling fast-boat race on the Kumano River.
15–16 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetShingu · WakayamaTowering drum-bearing floats parade through Niihama in this October celebration, drawing nearly 200,000 spectators each year.
16–18 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNiihama · EhimeThis pottery festival in Japan's Heritage-certified Bizen production area offers visitors the chance to buy ware and try their hand at the potter's wheel.
17–18 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetBizen · OkayamaKyoto's historical reenactment festival: costumed processions of figures from different Japanese eras travel from the Imperial Palace to Heian Shrine.
22 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKyotoAsia's largest hot-air balloon event, where around 100 balloons rise over the Kase River each autumn in a five-day competition and festival.
30 Oct – 3 Nov 2027Exact date not confirmed yetSagaA 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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetTokyoMiyazaki's largest festival honors Emperor Jimmu with a grand autumn procession of portable shrines and floats reenacting the legendary emperor's journey.
31 Oct – 1 Nov 2027Exact date not confirmed yetMiyazakiA town in Fukushima that calls itself the UFO village closes its shopping street for an alien costume parade, with prizes for the most convincing.
31 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetFukushimaThe largest festival of Ube in Yamaguchi, built on the Nanban Ondo, a dance that came out of the coal mines, with parades and a float drawn at the end.
1 Nov 2027Exact date not confirmed yetUbe · YamaguchiMass dancing in vibrant costumes and powerful taiko drumming celebrate Kagoshima's regional identity in this southern Kyushu autumn festival.
2–3 Nov 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKagoshima