Home

Destinations

Matsuri: Traditional Japanese Festivals

The newsletter

Never miss what's on

The month's best festivals, exhibitions, and pop-ups in Japan, in one email. Free, monthly.

Free when you joinThe First-Timer's Japan Guide, our 16-page PDF, in your welcome email.

Free when you join

The First-Timer's Japan Guide16-page PDF, in your welcome email.

The First-Timer's Japan Guide

Guides, places, and what's on across Japan, written at street level.

Explore

Events
Places
Stories
Guides
Topics

Specials

Quiz
Year in Japan
Japan in Numbers

Community

Plan a trip
Log in
Sign up

Legal notice
Privacy & Terms
Credits
掲載のご案内
RSS

Festival

Chichibu Night Festival

An annual festival in Saitama featuring six ornate floats illuminated by thousands of lanterns, along with fireworks and traditional performances.

2–3 Dec 2026Saitama · Kanto

Festival

Dadado-no-onihashiri

Masked demons swing blazing torches through a temple hall in an ancient winter ritual performed twice daily, seeking protection from misfortune and ancestral blessings.

14 Jan 2027Nara · Kansai

Festival

Dontosai Festival

An annual winter ritual in Sendai features the ceremonial burning of New Year decorations followed by a sacred pilgrimage procession in traditional attire.

Festival

Chichibu Night Festival

An annual festival in Saitama featuring six ornate floats illuminated by thousands of lanterns, along with fireworks and traditional performances.

2–3 Dec 2026Saitama · Kanto

Festival

Dadado-no-onihashiri

Masked demons swing blazing torches through a temple hall in an ancient winter ritual performed twice daily, seeking protection from misfortune and ancestral blessings.

14 Jan 2027Nara · Kansai

Festival

Dontosai Festival

An annual winter ritual in Sendai features the ceremonial burning of New Year decorations followed by a sacred pilgrimage procession in traditional attire.

14 Jan 2027

Miyagi · Tohoku

Festival

Nozawa Onsen Dōsojin Festival

Dōsojin, a folk deity protecting travelers and villages, is honored through this traditional festival featuring ceremonial fire and ritual.

15 Jan 2027Nagano · Chubu

Festival

Echizen Ono Hina Festival

A Doll's Day celebration features hina doll displays at two venues, including a 20-step arrangement at a historic National Cultural Property and character dolls.

24 Jan – 8 Mar 2027Fukui · Chubu

Exhibition

Yokohama Doll Museum's Hinamatsuri

Traditional hina dolls and intricately crafted miniature furnishings reveal the artistry and cultural significance of this centuries-old celebration.

30 Jan – 15 Feb 2027Kanagawa · Kanto

Festival

Utasu Jinja Shrine Setsubun Festival

The Utasu Jinja Shrine Setsubun Festival marks the seasonal transition through purification rituals and Mamemaki, the traditional ceremony of throwing roasted soybeans.

3 Feb 2027Ishikawa · Chubu

Festival

The 77th Sapporo Snow Festival

Snow and ice sculptures crafted by the Japan Self-Defense Force and local artists fill three Sapporo sites for Japan's most celebrated winter festival.

4–11 Feb 2027Hokkaido · Hokkaido

Festival

Nagasaki Lantern Festival

The festival illuminates Nagasaki's streets with around 15,000 Chinese lanterns, some reaching 10 metres, celebrating Lunar New Year traditions.

6–23 Feb 2027Nagasaki · Kyushu

Festival

Takewari Festival (Gogan Shinji)

An ancient Shinto ritual held on February 10 features young men in white ceremonial clothing splitting bamboo stalks to symbolize strength and readiness.

10 Feb 2027Ishikawa · Chubu

Festival

Atsukishinmei Festival

Fire-lit pillars adorned with sacred paper stand on beaches as the community performs ceremonial dances twice daily, seeking protection from illness and calamity.

11 Feb 2027Yamaguchi · Chugoku

Festival

Kasedori

This 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 · Tohoku

Festival

Namahage Sedo Festival

A renowned winter festival recreates the Namahage tradition where demon-like figures visit shrines and homes, recognized as one of Japan's three strangest festivals.

13–15 Feb 2027Akita · Tohoku

Festival

Uesugi Snow Lantern Festival

A 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 · Tohoku

Festival

The Sugita Plum Festival

A winter festival in Yokohama celebrates the legacy of a historic plum grove, with around 100 trees blooming at Myōhōji Temple, reviving centuries of tradition.

14–15 Feb 2027Kanagawa · Kanto

Festival

Hachinohe Enburi Festival

Historic winter celebration over 800 years old marking the end of the cold season with traditional performances and prayers for a bountiful rice harvest.

17–20 Feb 2027Aomori · Tohoku

Festival

Shiozawa Seppu Festival

A winter festival celebrates Edo-period scholar Bokushi Suzuki and the region's textile traditions with a 108-lantern Goma fire ceremony by mountain ascetics.

21 Feb 2027Niigata · Chubu

Festival

Mt. Shinobu Dawn Procession

This Fukushima winter festival features Japan's largest straw sandal, a 12-metre marvel crafted in an Edo-period tradition and carried by volunteer bearers through the city.

21–22 Feb 2027Fukushima · Tohoku