Events calendar
The famous, recurring ones — hanami to fireworks to year-end lights — month by month, each hung on its nearest station.
January
Winter This month-
Hatsumode at Meiji Jingu 明治神宮 初詣
January 1–3
Japan's busiest first shrine visit of the year — over three million people in three days, queuing down the forest approach for prayers, charms and fortunes.
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New Year Greeting at the Imperial Palace 新年一般参賀
January 2
One of only two days a year the inner palace grounds open; the imperial family appears on the Chowaden balcony several times through the morning.
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Daikoku Matsuri at Kanda Myojin 神田明神 だいこく祭
Mid-January, three days
New-year blessings under Daikokuten, the deity of fortune and matchmaking — purification rites and a shrine still buzzing from hatsumode season.
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Setagaya Boroichi 世田谷ボロ市
December 15–16 and January 15–16, every year
A flea market running since 1578 — some 700 stalls of antiques, junk, crafts and food, around 200,000 visitors a day, and an official intangible folk cultural property.
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Oji Fox Parade 王子 狐の行列
New Year’s Eve into the first hours of January 1
A midnight lantern procession in fox masks, re-enacting the legend that every fox in Kanto gathered at Oji on New Year’s Eve — eerie and lovely.
February
Winter This month-
Setsubun Bean-Throwing 節分
February 3 (occasionally the 2nd)
The spring-eve rite of pelting demons with roasted soybeans; Sensoji and Zojoji run the big ceremonies, with sumo wrestlers and celebrities throwing beans into the crowd.
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Bunkyo Plum Blossom Festival 文京梅まつり
Early February to early March
Around 300 plum trees at the shrine of the scholarship deity — it's exam season, so blossom viewers share the grounds with students praying to pass.
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Edo Nagashibina 江戸流しびな
A Sunday in late February
Ahead of Hinamatsuri, paper dolls are set afloat on the Sumida River to carry the year’s misfortunes away — a quiet, photogenic purification rite.
March
Spring This month-
Bunkyo Plum Blossom Festival 文京梅まつり
Early February to early March
Around 300 plum trees at the shrine of the scholarship deity — it's exam season, so blossom viewers share the grounds with students praying to pass.
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Ueno Sakura Matsuri うえの桜まつり
Late March to early April, tracking the bloom
About 800 cherry trees down the park's main avenue, lantern-lit at night — Tokyo's classic hanami since the Edo era, antique market included.
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Chidorigafuchi Sakura 千代田のさくらまつり
Late March to early April, tracking the bloom
A 700-metre tunnel of blossom over the palace moat, illuminated after dark — rent a rowboat and drift under the petals.
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Meguro River Sakura 中目黒 桜まつり
Late March to early April, tracking the bloom
Cherry trees arch over both banks of the canal through the boutique district, lit in the evenings — the fashionable end of hanami.
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Sumida Park Sakura 墨堤さくらまつり
Late March to early April, tracking the bloom
A kilometre of riverside blossom first planted under the shoguns, with Tokyo Skytree rising behind it and pleasure boats drifting past.
April
Spring This month-
Ueno Sakura Matsuri うえの桜まつり
Late March to early April, tracking the bloom
About 800 cherry trees down the park's main avenue, lantern-lit at night — Tokyo's classic hanami since the Edo era, antique market included.
-
Chidorigafuchi Sakura 千代田のさくらまつり
Late March to early April, tracking the bloom
A 700-metre tunnel of blossom over the palace moat, illuminated after dark — rent a rowboat and drift under the petals.
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Meguro River Sakura 中目黒 桜まつり
Late March to early April, tracking the bloom
Cherry trees arch over both banks of the canal through the boutique district, lit in the evenings — the fashionable end of hanami.
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Sumida Park Sakura 墨堤さくらまつり
Late March to early April, tracking the bloom
A kilometre of riverside blossom first planted under the shoguns, with Tokyo Skytree rising behind it and pleasure boats drifting past.
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Bunkyo Azalea Festival 文京つつじまつり
Through April; azaleas peak mid-to-late month
A hillside of roughly 3,000 azaleas in a hundred varieties beside the shrine's vermilion torii tunnel — one of Tokyo's oldest flower festivals.
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Asakusa Yabusame 浅草流鏑馬
One day in mid-April
Archers in medieval hunting dress gallop full tilt and loose arrows at three targets — an Edo-period shrine rite revived on the riverbank.
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Meiji Jingu Spring Grand Festival 明治神宮 春の大祭
Late April into Golden Week
Days of dedicatory performance on the shrine grounds — court bugaku, noh, kyogen and classical music, most of it free to stand and watch.
May
Spring This month-
Meiji Jingu Spring Grand Festival 明治神宮 春の大祭
Late April into Golden Week
Days of dedicatory performance on the shrine grounds — court bugaku, noh, kyogen and classical music, most of it free to stand and watch.
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Sanja Matsuri 三社祭
Third weekend of May, Friday to Sunday
Asakusa's biggest weekend: around a hundred neighbourhood mikoshi plus the shrine's three great ones shoulder through the crowds — nearly two million people come to watch.
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Kanda Matsuri 神田祭
Mid-May; the full-scale version runs in odd-numbered years
One of Japan's three great festivals — a day-long procession of floats and some 200 mikoshi through the heart of the old city, alternating years with the Sanno Matsuri.
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May Grand Sumo Tournament 大相撲五月場所
Fifteen days, mid-May
One of the three Tokyo honbasho of the year — lower divisions from morning, the top division from late afternoon, a champion crowned on day fifteen.
June
Summer This month-
Sanno Matsuri 山王祭
Mid-June; the full procession runs in even-numbered years
The third of Edo's great festivals: a stately procession in Heian court dress winds past the Imperial Palace — the counterweight to Kanda Matsuri's odd years.
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Torigoe Matsuri 鳥越祭
A weekend in early June
Tokyo's heaviest mikoshi — about four tonnes — carried through the backstreets and returned after dark by lantern light, the crowd pressing close.
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Bunkyo Hydrangea Festival 文京あじさいまつり
Early to mid-June
Some 3,000 hydrangeas colour the shrine hill just as the rainy season sets in — the quiet, blue-toned counterpoint to spring’s blossom crowds.
July
Summer This month-
Iriya Morning Glory Fair 入谷朝顔まつり
July 6–8, every year
Japan's biggest morning-glory market — dozens of growers' stalls at dawn, a habit left over from Edo gardeners who bred a thousand varieties here.
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Hozuki-ichi at Sensoji ほおずき市
July 9–10, every year
Stalls of potted Chinese lantern plants fill the temple grounds; tradition says a visit on these two days is worth 46,000 days of blessings.
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Mitama Matsuri みたままつり
July 13–16, every year
Around 30,000 paper lanterns wall the shrine approach for Obon — dance, mikoshi and a glowing avenue that draws some 300,000 evening visitors.
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Sumida River Fireworks 隅田川花火大会
Last Saturday of July
Tokyo's oldest and biggest fireworks night — some 20,000 shells from two river sites and close to a million people on the banks, a tradition running since 1733.
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Kagurazaka Matsuri 神楽坂まつり
Four evenings in late July
The old geisha quarter’s slope fills twice over — lantern-plant market evenings first, then Awa-odori dancers climbing the hill.
August
Summer This month-
Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri 深川八幡祭り
Around August 15; full scale once every three years
The water-splashing festival: bystanders hurl buckets of purifying water over dozens of mikoshi crews as they pass — everyone goes home soaked.
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Jingu Gaien Fireworks 神宮外苑花火大会
One evening in mid-August
Around 10,000 fireworks over the stadium district in the middle of the city, set to live music — the inner-Tokyo answer to the riverside shows.
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Sumida River Lantern Floating 隅田川とうろう流し
Mid-August, during Obon
Hundreds of paper lanterns, each carrying a handwritten message, drift down the river at dusk — the gentlest event of the Tokyo summer.
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Azabu-Juban Noryo Matsuri 麻布十番納涼まつり
A weekend in late August
Tokyo's best festival eating: the neighbourhood's own restaurants run the street stalls, joined by regional-specialty booths from across Japan.
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Asakusa Samba Carnival 浅草サンバカーニバル
Late August (occasionally September)
Japan's largest samba parade — feathered, sequinned teams and drum corps competing down Asakusa's main street since 1981.
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Koenji Awa-odori 東京高円寺阿波おどり
Last weekend of August
Over 10,000 dancers in troupe formation sweep the narrow streets to shamisen and drums — a Tokushima tradition that became Tokyo’s biggest street dance, a million strong.
September
Autumn This month-
Nezu Shrine Grand Festival 根津神社例大祭
Weekend nearest September 21
Once ranked among Edo’s three great festivals — shrine drumming, sacred dance and food stalls under the old ginkgo trees, with a full three-mikoshi procession every few years.
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Meguro Sanma Festival 目黒のさんま祭り
A Sunday in early September
Thousands of Pacific saury charcoal-grilled and handed out free, re-enacting a rakugo punchline about a lord who swore the best sanma came from Meguro.
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Fukuro Matsuri ふくろ祭り
Late September, with the dance weekend in October
Ikebukuro's own two-part festival — mikoshi and lion dances first, then the Tokyo Yosakoi weekend: five thousand dancers in costumed teams filling the station square.
October
Autumn This month-
Fukuro Matsuri ふくろ祭り
Late September, with the dance weekend in October
Ikebukuro's own two-part festival — mikoshi and lion dances first, then the Tokyo Yosakoi weekend: five thousand dancers in costumed teams filling the station square.
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Tokyo International Film Festival 東京国際映画祭
About ten days, late October to early November
Japan's biggest film festival since 1985 — premieres, competition screenings and open-air showings scattered across the theatre district.
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Kanda Used Book Festival 神田古本まつり
Late October to early November
The world's largest secondhand-book district puts a million volumes out on open-air shelves along Yasukuni-dori — collectors fly in for it.
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Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fest 池袋ハロウィンコスプレフェス
The weekend around Halloween
One of Japan's biggest cosplay gatherings — closed streets, tens of thousands in character, and the otome-culture heartland at full volume.
November
Autumn This month-
Tokyo International Film Festival 東京国際映画祭
About ten days, late October to early November
Japan's biggest film festival since 1985 — premieres, competition screenings and open-air showings scattered across the theatre district.
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Kanda Used Book Festival 神田古本まつり
Late October to early November
The world's largest secondhand-book district puts a million volumes out on open-air shelves along Yasukuni-dori — collectors fly in for it.
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Tori-no-ichi Fairs 酉の市
On November’s Rooster days — two or three each year
Night markets selling kumade — gilded bamboo rakes that scoop up good fortune — with the biggest fair at Asakusa’s Otori Shrine running into the small hours.
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Chrysanthemum Exhibition 菊花壇展
November 1–15, every year
Imperial-tradition chrysanthemums — cascades, domes and single perfect stems — staged through the garden’s Japanese section by its own gardeners.
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Mt. Takao Autumn Leaves Festival 高尾山もみじまつり
Through November; foliage peaks mid-to-late month
Tokyo's favourite mountain in full maple colour — cable car up, grated-yam soba at the top, and the city's easiest big-nature day trip.
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Winter Illuminations 冬のイルミネーション
Mid-November through February, venue by venue
Millions of LEDs down the avenues of Marunouchi, Tokyo Midtown’s garden displays, the Meguro River in winter mode — the after-dark season that carries the city to spring.
December
Winter This month-
Setagaya Boroichi 世田谷ボロ市
December 15–16 and January 15–16, every year
A flea market running since 1578 — some 700 stalls of antiques, junk, crafts and food, around 200,000 visitors a day, and an official intangible folk cultural property.
-
Winter Illuminations 冬のイルミネーション
Mid-November through February, venue by venue
Millions of LEDs down the avenues of Marunouchi, Tokyo Midtown’s garden displays, the Meguro River in winter mode — the after-dark season that carries the city to spring.
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Hagoita-ichi at Sensoji 羽子板市
December 17–19, every year
A year-end market of ornamental battledore paddles — kabuki faces and this year’s celebrities in padded silk — bought as good-luck charms since the Edo period.
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Oji Fox Parade 王子 狐の行列
New Year’s Eve into the first hours of January 1
A midnight lantern procession in fox masks, re-enacting the legend that every fox in Kanto gathered at Oji on New Year’s Eve — eerie and lovely.
Exact dates shift a little every year — check the official announcement close to your trip.
Curated from the GO TOKYO official seasonal guides.