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109 Best Japanese Festivals

posted by John Spacey, November 22, 2009 updated on August 10, 2015

It's not known exactly how many Japanese festivals, or matsuri, are held each year. A reasonable estimate is 200,000 festivals.

There are approximately 190,000 temples and shrines in Japan. Most of them hold at least one festival every year. Some shrines hold up to 70 festivals a year. There are also national and local festivals.

Japanese festivals provide an opportunity to interact with the locals and to participate in the lighthearted side of Japanese culture.

Japan has religious festivals, fire festivals, dance festivals, snow festivals, music festivals and performance festivals. In many cases, festivals include feats of strength, endurance or bravery that are considered a rite of passage. Festivals range from quiet and introspective to wild and dangerous.

The following list represents many of the biggest and best festivals Japan has to offer.

1. Tokushima Awa Odori

August 12 to August 15, Tokushima

The Tokushima Awa Odori is a huge city-wide dance party in Tokushima City, Shikoku Island that attracts 1.3 million tourists each year. Participants wear colorful costumes, dance and play shamisens, gongs, taiko drums and flutes.

The festival is part of the region's Obon Festivities. It features synchronized traditional dances for men and women. There are different dances for day and night. The daytime dance (Nagashi) is restrained and elegant. The nighttime dance (Zomeki) is frenzied and energetic. Spectators are encouraged to join.

Tokushima City's airport is named after the festival — Tokushima Awa Odori Airport.

2. Asakusa Samba Matsuri

End of August (unconfirmed), Tokyo

Asakusa is one of Tokyo's oldest and most conservative neighborhoods. It's also home to Tokyo's most vibrant and international festival — the Asakusa Samba Matsuri. The winning team of the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is invited to perform at the festival. Local samba teams also perform. Japan and Brazil have strong ties.

3. Gion Matsuri

July 1 to July 29, Kyoto

The Gion Matsuri is Kyoto's largest festival. It's a month long event that peaks with parades of large floats on July 17th and July 24th.

4. Sapporo Yosakoi Soran Festival

Early June (unconfirmed), Sapporo

The Sapporo Yosakoi Soran Matsuri is Japan's largest Yosakoi dance festival. It features 350 teams with around 35,000 dancers and attracts 1 million spectators.

5. Kanto Matsuri

August 3 to August 6, Akita

The Kanto Matsuri is a pole lantern festival in Akita City. Participants balance massive 12 meter, or 40 foot, tall lantern poles on their palms, foreheads, etc. These poles weight around 60 kilograms or 130 pounds. The lanterns are lit by candles. It's something to see.

6. Nebuta Matsuri in Aomori City

August 2 to August 7, Aomori

The Aomori Nebuta is a large festival featuring spectacular lantern floats held August 2nd to 7th. It's occasionally disrupted by a local gang.

7. Sapporo Yuki Matsuri

Early February (unconfirmed), Sapporo

The Sapporo Yuki Matsuri is a massive 7 day snow festival. International teams compete to build the best snow and ice sculptures.

8. Tenjin Masturi

July 24 to July 25, Osaka

The Tenjin Masturi is a large two day festival in Osaka that features a procession of 100 boats. The boats are filled with celebrants adorned in the costumes of an ancient imperial court. In the evening large bonfires are lit aboard the boats. Such fires were once used to illuminate waterways by river patrols.

9. Aoi Matsuri

May 15, Kyoto

The Aoi Matsuri is one of Kyoto's oldest festivals dating back more than 1200 years. The main feature is an hour long procession of celebrants dressed in ancient aristocratic fashions.

10. Niihama Taiko Festival

October 16 to October 18

A harvest festival on Shikoku Island involving 47 teams of approximately 150 men carrying floats shaped like taiko drums. The highlight of the festival is a tradition known as float fighting whereby teams bounce the floats wildly in the air with great competitive spirit. In some cases, the teams end up ramming each other to try to destroy the opposing floats by toppling them. The floats weigh over 2 tons.

11. Domannaka Matsuri

Late August (unconfirmed), Nagoya

The Domannaka Matsuri is a dance festival in Nagoya at the end of August. Around 200 teams and 15,000 dancers from all over Japan participate. Dances celebrate the local traditions of each team. Around 2 million people attend.

12. Harajuku Omotesando Genki Matsuri Super Yosakoi

Late August (unconfirmed), Tokyo

Harajuku Omotesando Genki Matsuri Super Yosakoi is the festival with the great name. It's a two day yosakoi dance festival in Harajuku.

13. Chichibu Yomatsuri

December 2 to December 3, Saitama

A two day festival in Chichibu City, Saitama near Tokyo. The peak of the festival is the racing of large lantern lit floats weighing 10-20 tons up a steep hill. This can be dangerous for participants. The crowd goes wild to the sound of drums, flutes and shouts of "Horyai! Horyai!" (Hooray! Hooray!).

14. Wakakusa Yamayaki

January 27 (unconfirmed), Nara

Japanese culture loves fire. There's a single word in Japanese for burning a mountain — yamayaki. The annual Wakakusa Yamayaki involves setting Nara's Mount Wakakusayama ablaze. The festival is delayed by a week if it's raining. It's difficult to burn a mountain in the rain. After the yamayaki there's a fireworks display.

15. Daimonji (Daimonji Gozan Okuribi)

August 16, Kyoto

A large fire festival in Kyoto. Giant kanji characters are burned into the mountains surrounding the city in a spectacular display (August 16th).

16. Jidai Matsuri

October 22, Kyoto

The Jidai Matsuri in Kyoto is a large historical reenactment parade. Celebrants dress in authentic Heian-era costumes including emperors, shoguns, samurai, military figures and common people.

17. Otaru Snow Light Path Festival

Mid February (unconfirmed), Otaru

A small snow festival that takes place at the same time as the much larger Sapporo Yuki Matsuri and Asahikawa Winter Festival in the same area of Hokkaido. Otaru is a pleasant seaside town. The festival features small snow statues and lanterns placed throughout the city.

18. Morioka Sansa Odori

August 1 to August 4, Morioka

A large taiko drum festival featuring over 10,000 drummers and dancers in a parade through Morioka.

19. Sanja Matsuri

Sanja Festival is unquestionably Tokyo's wildest festival known for its huge and somewhat rowdy crowds. The festival features mikoshi parades and dancing. There are also side events such as rare performances by Tokyo's geisha.

20. Toka Ebisu Festival

January 9 to January 11, Osaka

A million people flock to Imamiya Ebisu Shrine in Osaka to buy Fukusasa - bamboo branches decorated with lucky items such as maneki cats. The shrine brings in a small army of Miko to craft the Fukusasa.

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