Tokyo events for Monday, July 22 to Sunday, July 28, 2024.
This is the most popular week of the summer for fireworks — three of them all on July 27 (including Tokyo’s biggest, Sumida River Fireworks).
If big bangs are not on your summer hit list, you could always take to the streets to see traditional dancing or seek air conditioning inside a museum or indoor festival.
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Katsushika Fireworks Festival
The annual Katsushika Noryo Fireworks Festival sees an impressive 15,000 fireworks go off and almost 800,000 spectators set to watch them. The fireworks will take place at the Shibamata Baseball Ground near the Edogawa River — just 10 minutes from Keisei Shibamata Station.
Sumida River Fireworks Festival
This is the big daddy of summer fireworks festivals in Tokyo. The Sumida River Fireworks show kicks off at 7 p.m. and runs for a full 90 minutes. If there is stormy weather, the event may be postponed or canceled (announced at 8 a.m. on the day).
Chidorigafuchi Moat Lantern Floating Festival
Chidorigafuchi Moat is stunning during cherry blossom season, but it also lights up for this annual lantern floating festival known as Tōrō Nagashi. Around 2,000 lanterns will travel down Chidorigafuchi Moat, near the Imperial Palace, as the sun sets.
Shimbashi Koichi Festival
For two days, the area around Shimbashi station becomes a mass of festival stalls, event stages, and of course, people! You can try your hand at wearing yukata, joining the Bon Odori dances, and eating as much street food as you can handle.
Ebisu Bon Odori Festival
One of central Tokyo’s biggest but least-known Bon dance festivals. The area around the bus rotary on the west side of JR Ebisu Station is transformed into a giant yukata-clad dance circle with a lantern-strewn yagura stage at the center.
Hachiōji Fireworks Festival
Approximately 3,500 fireworks are launched at Hachiōji Shimin Kyūjō Ballpark, Fujimori Park. While the show is quite a small one, you can expect a good variety of explosions.
Shinjuku Eisa Festival
The traditional costumes, dancing, and drumming are quite different from what you’re likely to see in other festivals in Japan. The organizers are only expecting about 1 million people to turn up to watch!
Kagurazaka Festival
This is the biggest summer matsuri (festival) of the year in the trendy neighborhood of Kagurazaka. The second half of the festival (Fri-Sat) is an Awa Odori festival in which participants perform the fluid and graceful dance that originated in Tokushima Prefecture.
Showa Kinen Park Fireworks Festival
Entrance to Showa Kinen Park in Tachikawa is entirely free after 6 p.m. for a fireworks display. However, if you pay the entrance fee to the park earlier in the day, you’ll get a better viewing spot. It gets crowded around 5 p.m.
Nogi Shrine Summer Festival
A traditional summer shrine festival at Nogi Shrine — one of the most serene shrines in central Tokyo. Thankfully, the festival takes place during the relative cool of the late afternoon and early evening.
Summer Wonder Festival
At this event, figure manufacturers unveil the latest and upcoming additions to their product lines, to the excitement of collectors. But it’s not just professionals exhibiting their figures at this event — amateurs also showcase their creations, too. The event also features stage events, such as talk shows about upcoming or recently concluded anime.
Taiwan Festa
Get lost in a Taiwanese night market in the middle of Tokyo and experience Taiwan’s entertainment, culture, and gastronomy. The festival aims to maintain a strong relationship between Japan and Taiwan, as well as to increase tourism, notably through a real-life experience of Taiwanese culture — something that can’t be experienced via the Internet.
Honey Festival
Everyone loves honey — including Japan. They even have a whole festival for it. Stalls offer honey from around the world and you’ll get a chance to try them with a variety of snacks, and maybe even take home a jar of your favorite.
Fuji Rock Festival
Fuji Rock is the biggest music festival in Japan, with between 100,000 and 150,000 people attending in normal years. Held mostly outdoors, you must be prepared for rain or shine, as you never know which way it will go.
Haneda Summer Festival
This lively festival happens on the last weekend of July and attracts around 30,000 spectators each year. Around 3,000 volunteers, from 14 neighborhoods, carry mikoshi (portable shrines) in a unique but rigorous way known as yokota. This involves tilting the mikoshi to a 90-degree angle and passing it between the carriers who are jumping up and then crouching down.
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. The most surprising part of the festival is a Bon Odori dance conducted by a gigantic, talking Daruma doll. Using projection mapping and AI, this doll communicates with passers-by and even becomes a DJ.
Summer Night Museums
As the temperature gets to ridiculous highs, it’s the perfect time to hide out at an air-conditioned museum — at night. Many museums in Tokyo will open their doors after hours on Friday nights from 5 p.m. to either 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.
Shinsuke Yoshitake Art Exhibition
Popular picture book author Shinsuke Yoshitake is holding his first large-scale exhibition in Yokohama. Loved by both children and adults alike, he is best known for his quirky portrayal of everyday people with their funny gestures.
| Advance sales: ¥1,200 | At the door: ¥1,400 | |
| Advance sales: ¥1,000 | At the door: ¥1,200 | |
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