Attending a Japanese festival or matsuri is a fantastic opportunity to get a taste of the country.
Attending matsuri is one of our favourite pastimes. They are significant cultural and community events, and more often than not, they are completely free to attend!
Here are some we have written about so far, broken up into seasons so you can more easily check out the ones that correspond with the time you are visiting.
COMING SOON – 25 Matsuri Foods to Try!
Table of Contents
Winter
Long Red-Nosed Goblins Festival (Tokyo)
Sapporo Snow Festival (Hokkaido)
Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival (Hokkaido)
Chinese New Year (Yokohama)
Setagaya Boro-Ichi: Flea Market Shopping (Tokyo)
Coming of Age Day (Across the country)
Emperor’s Birthday Celebrations at the Imperial Palace (Tokyo)
Spring
Cherry Blossom Season (More photos from last season here)
The Kanamara Matsuri (AKA The Penis Festival) (Kawasaki)
Setsubun (Bean Throwing Festival) (Across the country)
Shibazabura (Moss Phlox) Festivals (Mt. Fuji, Saitama, Hokkaido, to name a few of the bigger ones)
5 Japanese Flower Festivals You Shouldn’t Miss
Summer
5 of the Best Japanese Festivals in August
Yoshida Fire Festival (Mt. Fuji)
Koenji Awa Odori Festival (Tokyo)
New Bon-Odori (Tokyo)
Tanabata Festival (Sendai)
Tanabata Festival (Hiratsuka)
Higashimurayama Iris Festival (Tokyo)
Hanagasa Matsuri (Flower Hat Festival) (Yamagata)
Nebuta Festival (Aomori)
Kanto Matsuri (Pole Lantern Festival) (Akita)
Autumn/Fall
Tori-no-Ichi: The Rooster Market that Sells Rakes (Tokyo)
Shichi-Go-San Festival (Across the Country)
Nakanobu Nebuta Festival (Tokyo) (Once every two years. Next 2016)