Tokyo events for Monday, July 29 to Sunday, August 4, 2024.
Tokyo’s summer festivities continue and this week — once again — fireworks take the headline.
Bon Odori dance festivals aren’t far behind and you’ll see more and more of them as we get deeper into summer. Heat dragging you down? Cool off with a convention, music water festival, or exhibition celebrating tiny things.
Vket (Virtual Market) Real Summer
Dip in and out of physical and virtual reality at this year’s Vket Real. Akihabara, Shibuya, and even Osaka are celebrating Social VR, technology, gaming, and indie 3D content creators with a real-world meetup event. Hub, the pub chain, will also join in with a special collab menu from July 23 to August 4 (except for August 2) — customers under the age of 20 must be accompanied by an adult.
Rakuten Optimism
Rakuten Optimism once again transforms Tokyo Big Sight into a hub of innovation. This is Rakuten’s largest interactive event and includes highlights such as an AI Zone, a world-class business conference, and culinary delights from across Japan.
Hakone Ashinoko Summer Festival
Held every year, this summer night festival incorporates a series of local festivals held around the water’s edge of Lake Ashi in Hakone. Moto-Hakone is the center of festivities with food stalls and festival games to keep you entertained and in the festival spirit.
Balinese Kecak Festival
The Kecak Festival is one of Shinjuku’s main summer events. This dance drama is a sight to behold and makes you feel like you are in a trance. It is performed around a burning light, with dancers wearing traditional masks and costumes.
Tsukiji Honganji Bon Dance Festival
Dance to the beat of the taiko drums — or just watch — at this annual Bon dance festival at Tsukiji Honganji Temple. The dancing gets underway after sunset from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on all days except the last (Aug. 3), where it will take place from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Sakura Citizens Fireworks Festival
Turn up the lights for the Sakura Citizens Fireworks Festival in Sakura City, Chiba. This year’s fireworks show will be a dazzling display to celebrate Sakura’s 70th anniversary. Handheld fireworks will be available for the paid seats — perfect for little ones to get a close-up view.
Ōme City Nōryō Fireworks Festival
The Ōme City Nōryō Fireworks Festival features more than 4,000 fireworks hurled into the night sky over Nagayama Park in Ōme City in the evening of the first Saturday in August. While fireworks can be seen in some areas around the venue (they are in the sky after all), the official website says there are no free viewing areas and you will have to pay to sit down and get a front-row view.
Itabashi Fireworks Festival
The Itabashi Fireworks Festival is always a good show. Roughly 13,000 fireworks are expected to go off this year — and there should be some colorful characters and flower shapes in the mix. The event goes on for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
S2O Japan Songkran Music Festival
The S2O Songkran Music Festival is making a worldwide comeback and Japan is not missing out. Expect to get wet as Odaiba becomes an oasis in the excruciating heat of Tokyo’s summers. Top international and local DJs choose the hottest dance beats and water guns cool down the crowd.
Nakameguro Summer Festival
Returning for the 59th time, the Nakameguro Summer Festival takes over this fashionable neighborhood for two nights of outdoor dance performances. Festivities begin at 6 p.m. and conclude at 8:30 p.m. on both days.
Nakano Bon Dance Festival
The Bon Odori festival held annually at Nakano Central Park attracts huge numbers of revellers. The major difference is that there is a main stage with highly varied live acts and DJs playing from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Minato Mirai Smart Fireworks Festival
The Minato Mirai Smart Fireworks Festival celebrates the charms of Yokohama. As well as the main fireworks display, there are a host of other things happening.
NAKED “Omatsuri” Festival: Eat, Play, and Dance
The art collective NAKED has returned to Tokyo to put on an interactive matsuri (festival) like you’ve never seen before. There are typical festival staples too: dance performances including Awa Odori, shaved ice, and Daruma-shaped goodies at the numerous food and drink stalls.
Tatsuya Tanaka Miniature Exhibition
This limited-time exhibition is based on the concept of mitate, which in Japanese means to perceive an object in a non-habitual way, and features around 160 miniature pieces of art. There are seven different zones to explore, all of which have their own theme and perspective.
| Advance sales: ¥1,000 | At the door: ¥1,200 | |
| Advance sales: ¥1,000 | At the door: ¥800 | |
Art Squiggle Yokohama
There’s a new family-friendly arts festival in town — don’t miss Art Squiggle Yokohama 2024. Highlights include interactive workshops where you can make cool instruments, craft pixel art with iron beads, or help create an existential sandpit from a giant rock.
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