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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 2027Hachinohe · Aomori

Shrine

Aso Shrine

Shrine said to date back over 2,000 years, honoring a grandson of Emperor Jimmu and joining Shinto practice with worship of Mount Aso's sacred crater.

Aso · Kumamoto

Festival

Mt. Shinobu Dawn Procession

A Fukushima winter festival in which volunteer bearers carry Japan's largest straw sandal, 12 metres long and made in an Edo-period tradition, through the city.

21–22 Feb 2027Exact date not confirmed yetFukushima

Shrine

Shimogamo Shrine

Kyoto shrine dating to the 6th century, dedicated to Tamayori-hime and her father, worshipped for protection from misfortune and as guardian of the capital.

Kyoto

Festival

Hadaka Matsuri

Historic purification festival where nearly-naked men engage in a spirited struggle to touch the selected Naoi-nin, symbolizing the cleansing of misfortune.

1 Mar 2027Exact date not confirmed yetInazawa · Aichi

Shrine

Kotohira-gu

A shrine devoted to the protection of sailors and sea transport, requiring a climb of 785 steps to the main shrine on Mount Zozu.

Kotohira · Kagawa

Festival

Shizukumiya Festival

A spring procession of 22 sake barrel shrines celebrates the completion of new sake and prays for an abundant harvest of the five grains.

15 Mar 2027Takayama · Gifu

Shrine

Isaniwa Shrine

A Shinto shrine in Matsuyama with roots in a visit by Emperor Chuai and Empress Jingu to Dogo Onsen, enshrining multiple emperors as cultural treasures.

Matsuyama · Ehime

Festival

Harvest Festival

A spring fertility rite centered on a symbolic wooden offering, with portable shrine processions and prayers for good harvests and future generations.

15 Mar 2027Komaki · Aichi

Shrine

Yutoku Inari Shrine

One of Japan's three most famous Inari shrines, dedicated to the god of agriculture and prosperity, known for vermilion torii gates and statues.

Kashima · Saga

Festival

Hifuri Shinji Fire Swinging Ritual

Each spring at Aso Shrine, priests perform the Hifuri Shinji fire-swinging ritual, a mesmerizing ceremony rooted in ancient agricultural tradition.

23 Mar 2027Exact date not confirmed yetAso · Kumamoto

Shrine

Toyosaka Shrine

Yamaguchi shrine dedicated to Mori Motonari, the Sengoku-period warlord who unified the Chugoku region and established the powerful Mori clan.

Yamaguchi

Festival

Inuyama Festival

Historic shrine festival featuring thirteen elaborate floats equipped with mechanical puppets performing traditional ceremonies on the first weekend of April.

4–5 Apr 2027Exact date not confirmed yetInuyama · Aichi

Shrine

Okutsuhime Shrine

Okutsuhime Shrine on remote Hegurajima island was founded by traditional female divers and preserves centuries of maritime worship traditions.

Wajima · Ishikawa

Festival

Kanamara Matsuri "Festival of the Steel Phallus"

An annual Shinto festival at Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki featuring distinctive phallic imagery in decorations and parades while raising funds for HIV research.

5 Apr 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKawasaki · Kanagawa

Shrine

Hie Shrine

Hie Shrine in Tokyo's Nagatacho district dates to the Kamakura period and served as guardian deity of Edo Castle and the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo

Festival

Sanno Festival

Seven portable shrines and demon-drum performances mark this Sado festival, run jointly by six local communities in a tradition of over 800 years.

12–14 Apr 2027Exact date not confirmed yetSado · Niigata

Shrine

Onominato Shrine

A Shinto shrine dedicated to Hachiman Okami, the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami and Sarutahiko Okami, god of guidance, with four sub-shrines on the grounds.

Kanazawa · Ishikawa

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 2027Hachinohe · Aomori

Shrine

Aso Shrine

Shrine said to date back over 2,000 years, honoring a grandson of Emperor Jimmu and joining Shinto practice with worship of Mount Aso's sacred crater.

Aso · Kumamoto

Festival

Mt. Shinobu Dawn Procession

A Fukushima winter festival in which volunteer bearers carry Japan's largest straw sandal, 12 metres long and made in an Edo-period tradition, through the city.

21–22 Feb 2027Exact date not confirmed yetFukushima

Shrine

Shimogamo Shrine

Kyoto shrine dating to the 6th century, dedicated to Tamayori-hime and her father, worshipped for protection from misfortune and as guardian of the capital.

Kyoto

Festival

Hadaka Matsuri

Historic purification festival where nearly-naked men engage in a spirited struggle to touch the selected Naoi-nin, symbolizing the cleansing of misfortune.

1 Mar 2027Exact date not confirmed yetInazawa · Aichi

Shrine

Kotohira-gu

A shrine devoted to the protection of sailors and sea transport, requiring a climb of 785 steps to the main shrine on Mount Zozu.

Kotohira · Kagawa

Festival

Shizukumiya Festival

A spring procession of 22 sake barrel shrines celebrates the completion of new sake and prays for an abundant harvest of the five grains.

15 Mar 2027Takayama · Gifu

Shrine

Isaniwa Shrine

A Shinto shrine in Matsuyama with roots in a visit by Emperor Chuai and Empress Jingu to Dogo Onsen, enshrining multiple emperors as cultural treasures.

Matsuyama · Ehime

Festival

Harvest Festival

A spring fertility rite centered on a symbolic wooden offering, with portable shrine processions and prayers for good harvests and future generations.

15 Mar 2027Komaki · Aichi

Shrine

Yutoku Inari Shrine

One of Japan's three most famous Inari shrines, dedicated to the god of agriculture and prosperity, known for vermilion torii gates and statues.

Kashima · Saga

Festival

Hifuri Shinji Fire Swinging Ritual

Each spring at Aso Shrine, priests perform the Hifuri Shinji fire-swinging ritual, a mesmerizing ceremony rooted in ancient agricultural tradition.

23 Mar 2027Exact date not confirmed yetAso · Kumamoto

Shrine

Toyosaka Shrine

Yamaguchi shrine dedicated to Mori Motonari, the Sengoku-period warlord who unified the Chugoku region and established the powerful Mori clan.

Yamaguchi

Festival

Inuyama Festival

Historic shrine festival featuring thirteen elaborate floats equipped with mechanical puppets performing traditional ceremonies on the first weekend of April.

4–5 Apr 2027Exact date not confirmed yetInuyama · Aichi

Shrine

Okutsuhime Shrine

Okutsuhime Shrine on remote Hegurajima island was founded by traditional female divers and preserves centuries of maritime worship traditions.

Wajima · Ishikawa

Festival

Kanamara Matsuri "Festival of the Steel Phallus"

An annual Shinto festival at Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki featuring distinctive phallic imagery in decorations and parades while raising funds for HIV research.

5 Apr 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKawasaki · Kanagawa

Shrine

Hie Shrine

Hie Shrine in Tokyo's Nagatacho district dates to the Kamakura period and served as guardian deity of Edo Castle and the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo

Festival

Sanno Festival

Seven portable shrines and demon-drum performances mark this Sado festival, run jointly by six local communities in a tradition of over 800 years.

12–14 Apr 2027Exact date not confirmed yetSado · Niigata

Shrine

Onominato Shrine

A Shinto shrine dedicated to Hachiman Okami, the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami and Sarutahiko Okami, god of guidance, with four sub-shrines on the grounds.

Kanazawa · Ishikawa

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