List of Festivals in Japan – Matsuri Names, Seasons & Map

Walk through a Japanese neighborhood on the right weekend and the street changes character: portable shrines on shoulders, paper lanterns, the smell of grilled food from temporary stalls, and drumming that carries between buildings. That scene is a matsuri [祭り] — a festival, usually tied to a local shrine, season, or community, and far more common than a single “festival season” on a tourist calendar.

There are tens of thousands of local events across the country, so no list is complete. What follows is a practical map: how matsuri work, a handful of famous ones with their Japanese names, children’s and seasonal celebrations, plus tables for vocabulary and well-known traditional festivals — including the ones that look unusual to outsiders.

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What is a matsuri?

In Japanese, matsuri [祭り] points to a festival or ritual celebration. Many are sponsored by a shrine or temple; others are seasonal (snow, flowers, fireworks) or modern (music, film, neighborhood fairs). A common traditional pattern is the procession: the local kami (Shinto deity) leaves the shrine for a time and is carried through the streets in a mikoshi (portable shrine), while neighborhoods parade decorated floats under names such as yatai, dashi, or danjiri, often with drums and flutes.

Dates rarely line up nationwide. Spring festivals often pray for a good harvest; summer ones for protection of crops and for community energy; autumn ones give thanks; winter ones look toward the new year. Almost every city has its own calendar — which is why the same type of event can fall on different weeks in Kyoto and Aomori.

Local festivals across Japan

We cannot list every festival in Japan in one place: thousands are held only in certain cities. Practically every town has a regional, seasonal, or one-off event tied to a temple, harvest, or local story.

Schools hold festivals too. Each year, events called Bunkasai and other school celebrations run on different dates depending on the school. That alone makes a “complete” national list impossible.

There are even international-style festivals in some neighborhoods. In Asakusa, for example, a Brazilian-style carnival parade has become a regular summer fixture. Cities with large foreign communities — Nagoya, Hamamatsu, and others — also host cultural events about other countries.

Unusual and “bizarre” festivals

Japan is also known for festivals that look strange to many Western visitors: a belly-button festival, fertility shrine parades, men competing nearly nude behind a sacred object, sumo wrestlers trying to make babies cry, people dressing up to scare others with sticks — the list goes on.

We keep a separate guide to the strangest festivals in Japan if you want the odd corners of the calendar beyond the classic float processions.

Tanabata Matsuri – Festival of the Stars

The Tanabata Matsuri, also known as the Festival of the Stars, is one of the most anticipated summer celebrations, famous for the legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi and its tanzaku decorations. Depending on the region and calendar, events land between early July and mid-August — Sendai’s large Tanabata, for example, is usually in early August.

The story follows two stars, Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair), who meet once a year. People write wishes on small strips of paper and tie them to bamboo decorations; after the festival, the notes are often burned or floated as a way of sending the wishes skyward. For a deeper dive, see our full guide to Tanabata Matsuri – The Festival of the Stars.

Children’s festivals in Japan

Three celebrations stand out for children: Children’s Day Kodomo no Hi on May 5 during Golden Week; Hina Matsuri (Girls’ Day) on March 3; and Shichi-go-san on November 15.

Each has its own customs: dolls for Girls’ Day, carp streamers and warrior symbols often associated with Boys’ Day / Children’s Day, and temple visits for children of ages three, five, and seven at Shichi-go-san. We cover the three together — with songs and details — in Kodomo no Hi, Hina Matsuri, and 753 – Children’s Day in Japan.

Hanami, Hanabi, and Tsukimi – appreciation festivals

Some of the best-known “festivals” are really seasons of appreciation: flowers for Hanami, the moon for Tsukimi, fireworks for summer Hanabi Taikai.

Hanami is the spring custom of gathering under cherry blossoms. Hanabi Taikai are fireworks festivals held across Japan on different summer nights; people often wear yukata, walk food stall streets, and watch the sky after dark. For practical guides, see Hanami – Viewing Flowers and Hanabi Taikai.

Takayama Matsuri – festival of floats

The Takayama Festival is often ranked among Japan’s most striking float processions. Roots go back centuries; visitors come for the yatai floats treated as cultural treasures of the old town.

The floats are carved wood and metal, lacquered, painted in fine detail, and finished with gold leaf — mobile heritage pieces, each with a long history. Some carry musicians; others feature puppet shows, flutes, and street parades across the festival days. Spring and autumn editions both draw crowds. More detail: Takayama Matsuri.

Sapporo Snow Festival

In Hokkaido [北海道], the city of Sapporo [札幌] hosts one of Japan’s largest winter events: the Sapporo Snow Festival [さっぽろ雪まつり], usually in February for about a week.

Teams build ice and snow sculptures — some enormous enough to need machines and scaffolding. The main stages include Odori Park and the Susukino area, with side attractions such as skating and snow play. The festival has run since 1950. Full guide: Sapporo Snow Festival.

Summer classics: Gion, Nebuta, Awa Odori

If you only remember a short summer shortlist, these names come up constantly. Gion Matsuri in Kyoto (July) is famous for towering floats and evening street gatherings before the main procession. Aomori Nebuta Matsuri (early August) parades huge illuminated warrior floats and draws millions of visitors. Awa Odori in Tokushima (mid-August, around Obon) is Japan’s best-known large-scale dance festival. In the same summer window, Akita’s Kanto Matsuri balances poles heavy with lanterns, and Osaka’s Tenjin Matsuri combines land and river processions — often listed with Gion among Japan’s great urban festivals.

Exact dates shift slightly by year; always check the city’s current schedule before booking travel.

Major festivals, holidays, and Japanese vocabulary

The list below mixes festival names, seasonal words, and related calendar vocabulary — useful whether you are reading signs in Japanese or planning around fixed holidays. Some entries are matsuri proper; others are national holidays or school milestones that shape the year.

English	Kanji / kana	Romaji
Festival	祭り	matsuri
Event	行事	gyouji
Spring festival	春祭り	haru matsuri
Summer festival	夏祭り	natsu matsuri
Autumn festival	秋祭り	aki matsuri
Snow festival	雪祭り	yuki matsuri
Cultural / school festival	文化祭	bunkasai
New Year	正月	shougatsu
Hanami – flower viewing	花見	hanami
Hanabi – fireworks	花火	hanabi
Valentine’s Day	バレンタインデー	barentain dee
Doll Festival (March 3)	雛祭り	hina matsuri
Buddha’s Birthday (April 8)	花祭り	hana matsuri
Greenery Day (April 29)	緑の日	midori no hi
Golden Week	ゴールデンウイーク	gooruden uiiku
Children’s Day (May 5)	子供の日	kodomo no hi
Mother’s Day	母の日	haha no hi
Father’s Day	父の日	chichi no hi
Festival of the Stars (July 7)	七夕	tanabata
Star festival (alt. name)	星祭り	hoshi matsuri
Bon Festival (mid-August)	お盆	obon
Lantern floating ceremony (around Aug 15–16)	灯篭流し	tourou nagashi
Children ages 3, 5, and 7 (November 15)	七五三	shichi go san
Culture Day (November 3)	文化の日	bunka no hi
Christmas	クリスマス	kurisumasu
New Year’s Eve (December 31)	大晦日	oomisoka
Summer vacation	夏休み	natsu yasumi
Winter vacation	冬休み	fuyu yasumi
Birthday	誕生日	tanjoubi
School entrance ceremony	入学式	nyuugaku shiki
Coming of Age Day	成人式	seijin shiki
Coming of age (alt.)	成年式	seinen shiki
Graduation ceremony	卒業式	sotsugyou shiki
Wedding ceremony	結婚式	kekkon shiki
Funeral	葬式	soushiki
Election	選挙	senkyo
Halloween	ハロウィーン	harowiin

Famous traditional matsuri (map)

Use this as an orientation map, not a ranked “top festivals” chart. Months can vary slightly by year; confirm locally before travel.

Matsuri	Place	Note
Aoi	Kyoto	Shimogamo and Kamigamo shrines, May
Atsuta	Nagoya	Atsuta Shrine, June
Awa Odori	Tokushima	Mid-August dance festival
Dontaku	Fukuoka	From May 3–4
Gion	Kyoto	July; famous float processions
Hadaka	Okayama	February (bare festival tradition)
Hakata Gion Yamakasa	Fukuoka	Kushida-jinja, July
Hōnen	Komaki	Tagata Shrine, March
Jidai	Kyoto	Historical costume parade, October
Kanamara	Kawasaki	Kanayama Shrine, April
Kanda	Tokyo	Kanda Myojin, May (odd years for full scale)
Kanto	Akita	Lantern poles, early August
Kishiwada Danjiri	Kishiwada	September float races
Kumagaya Uchiwa	Saitama	Mid to late July
Nagasaki Kunchi	Nagasaki	October 7–9
Miki Autumn Harvest	Miki	Ōmiya Hachiman, October
Nada no Kenka	Himeji	Matsubara Hachiman, mid-October
Nebuta	Aomori	August 2–7 large lantern floats
Neputa (Hirosaki)	Hirosaki	Early August
Sanja	Tokyo	Asakusa Shrine, May
Sannō	Tokyo	Hie Shrine, June
Tanabata	Sendai	Usually August 6–8
Tenjin	Osaka	Ōsaka Tenmangū, late July
Wakakusa Yamayaki	Nara	Grass burning, late January
Yosakoi	Kochi	August dance festival
Yotaka	Toyama	Tonami area, June

Music and film festivals in Japan

Beyond shrine matsuri, Japan’s calendar includes large music and film events. Lineups and venues change; the names below are long-running references, not a complete 2026 ticket guide.

Festival name	Type	City / region
Fuji Rock Festival	Rock	Naeba, Niigata
Summer Sonic	Rock / pop	Tokyo and Osaka areas
Rock in Japan Festival	Rock	Ibaraki (Hitachinaka area)
Rising Sun Rock Festival	Rock	Hokkaido
Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto	Classical	Matsumoto
Tokyo International Film Festival	Film	Tokyo
Tokyo Filmex	Film	Tokyo
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival	Film	Yamagata
Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival	Film	Yūbari, Hokkaido
Hiroshima International Animation Festival	Film / animation	Hiroshima
Okinawa International Movie Festival	Film	Okinawa (Ginowan & Naha)
Yokohama Film Festival	Film	Yokohama
Image Forum Festival	Film	Tokyo
Mount Fuji Jazz Festival	Jazz	Yamanashi area (historic series)
Cosquín en Japón	Folklore	Various / long-running series

If a festival near you is missing from the tables, share the name and city — local matsuri are half the fun of this map.