Shinto in Japan | Hey Japan!

Festival

Tanabata Sky Lantern Festival 2026

Visitors release up to 3,500 LED sky lanterns carrying handwritten wishes into the night sky, accompanied by stage performances and festival activities.

7–16 Aug 2026Kyoto · Kansai

Festival

Suhoteisai Festival

A rare Yamaguchi ritual festival said to date back over 1,800 years, with seven nights of dances around the Oni-ishi stone, towering banners, and lantern-topped poles.

7–13 Aug 2026Yamaguchi · Chugoku

Festival

Jantokoi Uozu Festival

Festival

Tanabata Sky Lantern Festival 2026

Visitors release up to 3,500 LED sky lanterns carrying handwritten wishes into the night sky, accompanied by stage performances and festival activities.

7–16 Aug 2026Kyoto · Kansai

Festival

Suhoteisai Festival

A rare Yamaguchi ritual festival said to date back over 1,800 years, with seven nights of dances around the Oni-ishi stone, towering banners, and lantern-topped poles.

7–13 Aug 2026Yamaguchi · Chugoku

Festival

Jantokoi Uozu Festival

Uozu's biggest summer event, the Jantokoi Uozu Festival brings UNESCO-listed Tatemon floats, folk dance, seaside fireworks, and jazz.

7–9 Aug 2026

Toyama · Chubu

Festival

Ryotsu Tanabata Matsuri and Kawabiraki

A summer festival on Sado Island blending the Tanabata star festival with the ceremonial opening of Ryotsu Port, featuring parades, folk dance, and a fireworks finale.

7–8 Aug 2026Niigata · Chubu

Performing Art

Yamashiro Daidengaku Festival

The Yamashiro Daidengaku Festival revives the ancient dengaku dance form rooted in Shintoism, through performances by local talents and renowned actors in period costumes.

8–9 Aug 2026Ishikawa · Chubu

Festival

Awa Odori Festival

Japan's most famous traditional dance festival, held annually in Tokushima City, where dancers form groups with distinctive choreography and costumes.

12–15 Aug 2026Tokushima · Shikoku

Festival

Yanai Goldfish Lantern Festival

A summer festival where 4,000 decorated goldfish lanterns cast a spellbinding glow over the town, alongside a spirited Goldfish Nebuta procession.

13 Aug 2026Yamaguchi · Chugoku

Festival

Shiraishi-odori Dance

A traditional Bon dance performed on Shiraishi Island honors historical battle casualties through a unique ensemble format where multiple dances synchronize to a lead.

13–16 Aug 2026Okayama · Chugoku

Festival

Fukagawa Matsuri

One of Tokyo's three greatest Shinto festivals, this mid-August celebration centers on water-splashing processions with portable shrines through the city.

15 Aug 2026Tokyo · Kanto

Festival

Aodake Chōchin Festival (Green Bamboo Lantern Festival)

A summer festival transforms a town with illuminated green bamboo lanterns, folk performances, and fireworks over Takahata.

16 Aug 2026Yamagata · Tohoku

Festival

Wajima Taisai Festivals

Ornate lacquered lanterns parade through Wajima's four districts, symbolizing the path for visiting deities, accompanied by taiko drums and portable shrine processions.

22–25 Aug 2026Ishikawa · Chubu

Festival

Okayama Momotaro Dance Festival

An Okayama City summer festival inspired by the Momotaro folk tale, featuring demon-costumed Uraja dancing, parades, and fireworks across the city in August.

22–23 Aug 2026Okayama · Chugoku

Festival

Shinjō Matsuri

A 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 · Tohoku

Festival

Yoshida Fire Festival

The Yoshida Fire Festival marks the end of the Mount Fuji climbing season on 26–27 August, with some 80 giant torches set ablaze along the streets of Kamiyoshida.

26–27 Aug 2026Yamanashi · Chubu

Festival

Guzuyaki Matsuri

A festival centred on a giant papier-mache fish, or guzu, paraded through the streets, danced with, and finally burned at Fuhashi Shrine, rooted in local legend.

29–30 Aug 2026Ishikawa · Chubu

Festival

Ogi Minato Matsuri

A summer festival in the port town of Ogi on Sado Island, with traditional dances, portable shrines, and a fireworks display rooted in prayers for maritime safety.

29–30 Aug 2026Niigata · Chubu

Festival

Hassaku Festival

An autumn festival at Yamashiro Onsen features a parade with a large lion and traditional Urayasu Dance of gratitude performed at Hatori Shrine for the harvest.

1 Sep 2026Ishikawa · Chubu

Festival

Owara Kaze no Bon (Harvest Wind Festival)

This traditional harvest festival features processions of lantern-lit dancers in matching happi coats moving through Yatsuo to shamisen and kokyū music for three September days.

1–3 Sep 2026Toyama · Chubu

Shrine

Kibitsu Jinja

Major Okayama shrine dedicated to Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto, a legendary prince credited with defeating an ogre and bringing peace to the region, foundations of the Momotaro folktale.

Okayama

Shrine

Utasu Jinja Shrine

Kanazawa shrine founded over 1250 years ago and dedicated to Hachiman, serving as a place of prayer for local lords and counted among the city's five great shrines.

Kanazawa · Ishikawa

Shrine

Tsushima Shrine

Head shrine of a nationwide network of about 3,000 Tsushima temples, worshipping the deities Gozutennō and Susanoo with legendary origins in the third century BCE.

Tsushima · Aichi

Shrine

Utō Shrine

Guardian shrine of Aomori dedicated to the Three Goddesses of Munakata, featuring grounds with a sacred spring and historic remains including haiku stones by Matsuo Basho.

Aomori

Shrine

Ise Grand Shrine

Vast shrine complex of 125 shrines dedicated to Amaterasu-Omikami and Toyo'uke-no-Omikami, conducting over 1,500 annual rituals for imperial prosperity and peace.

Ise · Mie

Shrine

Yuga Shrine

Sacred mountain shrine in Okayama with more than two thousand years of history, blending Shinto and Buddhist practices as a centre of pilgrimage.

Kurashiki · Okayama

Shrine

Kunōzan Tōshō-gū

Shinto shrine housing the original grave of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun, and considered the oldest Tōshō-gū shrine in Japan.

Shizuoka

Shrine

Fushimi Inari-taisha

This Kyoto shrine devoted to Inari features thousands of torii gates donated by devotees seeking good fortune and prosperity in business and agriculture.

Kyoto

Shrine

Mikuni Shrine

This shrine venerates the god of agriculture and prosperity, featuring traditional architecture, serene gardens, and a distinctive merchant-donated gate.

Sakai · Fukui

Shrine

Kanbashira-gū

This shrine enshrines Amaterasu Omikami and Toyoukebime, along with five other Shinto deities including Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Ame-no-Tajikarao.

Miyakonojo · Miyazaki

Shrine

Futahashira Shrine

This Sendai shrine has served as a center of devotion for over a thousand years, enshrining the divine family of Izanagi, Izanami, and their child Ebisu.

Sendai · Miyagi

Shrine

Osaki Hachimangu Shrine

Built between 1604 and 1607 under Date Masamune, this shrine showcases Momoyama-era architecture with an intricate main hall designated as a National Treasure.

Sendai · Miyagi

Shrine

Omi Jingu

Established in 1940, Ōmi Jingu enshrines Emperor Tenji and stands adjacent to the traditional site of the Ōmi Ōtsu Palace, which he founded in 667.

Otsu · Shiga

Shrine

Aoba Shrine

Dedicated to Date Masamune, the founder of Sendai, this shrine was established in 1874 and serves as a symbolic center of the city's samurai heritage.

Sendai · Miyagi