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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.

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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.

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All Events Places

Festival

Kanuma Autumn Festival

An 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 2026Tochigi · Kanto

Festival

Matsushiro Sanada Jumangoku Festival

An 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 2026Nagano · Chubu

Festival

Dogeza Festival

An October festival features a grand procession with a portable shrine led by samurai-clad participants, with local residents bowing in reverence along the streets.

All Events Places

Festival

Kanuma Autumn Festival

An 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 2026Tochigi · Kanto

Festival

Matsushiro Sanada Jumangoku Festival

An 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 2026Nagano · Chubu

Festival

Dogeza Festival

An October festival features a grand procession with a portable shrine led by samurai-clad participants, with local residents bowing in reverence along the streets.

15 Oct 2026

Okayama · Chugoku

Festival

Mifune Festival

Each 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 2026Wakayama · Kansai

Festival

Niihama Taiko Festival

Towering drum-bearing floats parade through Niihama in this October celebration, drawing nearly 200,000 spectators each year.

16–18 Oct 2026Ehime · Shikoku

Festival

Bizen Pottery Festival

This 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 2026Okayama · Chugoku

Festival

Jidai Festival

Kyoto's signature historical reenactment features costumed processions of figures from different Japanese eras traveling from the Imperial Palace to the Heian Shrine.

22 Oct 2026Kyoto · Kansai

Festival

Saga International Balloon Fiesta

Asia'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 2026Saga · Kyushu

Festival

Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival

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 2026Tokyo · Kanto

Festival

Miyazaki Jingu Grand Festival

Miyazaki's largest celebration honors Emperor Jimmu through a grand autumn procession featuring portable shrines and floats reenacting the legendary emperor's historic journey.

31 Oct – 1 Nov 2026Miyazaki · Kyushu

Festival

Tochigi Float Festival

Tochigi's festival showcases elaborate floats created by neighborhoods, a tradition that flourished in the late 19th century when districts commissioned their own artistic dashi.

1–3 Nov 2026Tochigi · Kanto

Festival

Ube Festival

An annual festival celebrating Ube City with parades featuring the Nanban Ondo dance, a contemporary adaptation of traditional mining work songs.

2 Nov 2026Yamaguchi · Chugoku

Festival

Ohara Festival

Mass dancing in vibrant costumes and powerful taiko drumming celebrate Kagoshima's regional identity in this southern Kyushu autumn festival.

2–3 Nov 2026Kagoshima · Kyushu

Festival

Okawakami Birafu Shrine Autumn Grand Festival

Featuring an Intangible Folk Cultural Property procession, this November festival unites a community through ceremony, dance, and spiritual communion.

3 Nov 2026Kochi · Shikoku

Festival

Fox's Wedding - Rice Ear Festival

The Fox's Wedding features a grand procession with white fox bride and groom, rooted in a legend of benevolent spirits said to bring marriage blessings.

3 Nov 2026Yamaguchi · Chugoku

Festival

Oyama Balloon Festival

The Oyama Balloon Festa fills autumn skies with hot air balloons competing in precision flights from dawn, and features illuminated night glows with synchronized fireworks and music.

8–9 Nov 2026Tochigi · Kanto

Festival

Sengoku Chronicle: The Battle of Kawanakajima

Participatory reenactment of a legendary Sengoku-era battle where visitors don authentic armor and join either the Takeda or Uesugi army on the battlefield.

9 Nov 2026Yamanashi · Chubu

Festival

Kaki festival

Persimmons harvested from a shrine tree are distributed among parishioners as part of this harvest celebration.

14 Nov 2026Ishikawa · Chubu