Tokyo events for Monday, December 30 to Sunday, January 5, 2025.
Whoever says there is nothing to do in Tokyo over New Year is wrong — just take a look at this list.
Japan has a host of traditions, usually involving the first visit of the year to a shrine or temple, and those religious sites often accommodate the flow of people with markets, food stalls, and rituals. For Western-style events, you’ll still find club parties and a few fireworks here and there.
Womb Presents New Year Countdown to 2025
Ring in the New Year in Shibuya with one of the biggest clubs in Tokyo. Expect lasers, strobe lighting, and a massive LED screen to clearly see the countdown into 2025. Year after year, WOMB boasts a world-class sound system and atmosphere, making for a luxurious countdown experience. Get tickets here.
| Advance sales: ¥6,500 | At the door: ¥8,000 | |
Ōji Inari-jinja Shrine Fox Parade
Japanese legend has it that on New Year’s Eve foxes gather from all over Japan under a large tree, disguised in human costume to visit the Ōji Inari-jinja Shrine. As part of this celebration, there is a parade of people of all ages dressed as foxes and carrying lanterns. Locals will also run stalls selling food and fox masks, while onlookers crowd the streets trying to get the best views.
Yokosuka Countdown
See the new year bright and early with around 500 fireworks at the Yokosuka Countdown. One last festival for 2024, before 2025 brings a new year and new you.
TKNC Countdown
TK Nightclub in Shibuya has a reputation for playing hit EDM music and having an expensive vibe without the price tag. Drinks aren’t over-inflated and it is dangerously cheap during the weekdays. This year, their New Year event will keep you on the dance floor till the early hours.
Happy New Year Tokyo Countdown
Party up until midnight in Shinjuku and see traditional performances, projection mapping, and a whole lot more. Experience projection mapping, DJs, a taiko drum performance, and digital votive tablets (ema) containing wishes for the new year. There will also be food trucks around the venue.
Hanayashiki Countdown 2024/25
Looking for a New Year’s Eve celebration that all the family can enjoy? Come and join the countdown event taking place at Asakusa Hanayashiki, the oldest amusement park in Japan. Attractions, including the merry-go-round, haunted house, and Sky Ship, will be open for visitors. The park itself will be covered with cherry blossom-coloured lights.
| Advance sales: ¥3,500 | ||
| Advance sales: ¥1,500 | ||
New Year Countdown Cruise Around Tokyo Bay
Celebrate the turn of the year with elegance and style on a cruise around Tokyo Bay. This two-hour voyage takes you to see the twinkling lights of Tokyo, Odaiba, and the colorful Rainbow Bridge before a countdown with a clash of champagne to signal the start of 2025.
| Advance sales: ¥25,000 | ||
Liquidroom Presents New Year Party
Join a good bash this New Year’s Eve at Liquidroom, a well-known, popular live music venue in Shibuya. Tickets for their much-anticipated annual New Year’s Party often get snapped up fast, and while you’ll pay more than some other New Year countdowns, it’s because this is predominantly a multi-genre live concert.
| Advance sales: ¥5,000 | At the door: ¥6,000 | |
Geikosai New Year’s Festival
One of the three annual festivals at Yakuoin Temple on Mount Takao, this is a memorable way to see in the New Year. The ceremonies are performed by the head priest of the temple for all visitors (and there are plenty) who climb the mountain to participate. At sunrise, conches are blown by mountain ascetics and the priests recite sutras to welcome the first day of the new year.
New Year at Tokyo’s Gardens
On January 2 and 3, eight metropolitan gardens in Tokyo open and host special events to celebrate the start of the New Year. Each garden will have a special event including New Year’s decorations, children’s play areas, and commemorative photo spots.
Kitain Temple Daruma Market in Kawagoe
Join the annual Daruma Market at Kitain Temple in Kawagoe to experience traditional New Year festivities and buy a Daruma doll. Visitors can purchase daruma dolls — traditional symbol used to hold wishes for the future — and participate in various New Year rituals. The temple grounds will be bustling with vendors and attendees, creating a lively atmosphere to welcome the New Year.
Wrestle Kingdom 19 in Tokyo Dome
This is New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s biggest event of the year. Running every January since 1992, these matches at Tokyo Dome will see top wrestlers from across the globe come to Japan and battle it out.
Yoyogi Park Flea Market
One of Tokyo’s biggest — and most irregular — flea markets. If it happens to well, happen, while you’re here, you might be lucky enough to find hundreds of vendors, peddling everything from clothes to pottery and other crafts, antiques, and tasty snacks.
Hatsumōde Grand Prayer Festival at Ryusenji Temple
Celebrate the beginning of 2025 in Japan by participating in the tradition of hatsumōde — the first visit to a shrine or temple of the year — at one of the most-visited temples near Tokyo. The majority visit on New Year’s Day. Ryusenji is one of only three great temples in Japan that both ward off misfortune and bring good luck — making it a very popular destination for New Year wishes.
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