Tokyo events for Monday, July 3 to Sunday, July 9, 2023.
Tanabata, the Star Festival, takes place on July 7, and that means towns will hang decorations and hold parades and performances.
But if you don’t feel like getting starry-eyed, then there are always traditional ceremonies by the sea, Yoyogi Park events, belly button dancing, and local down-to-earth meetups.
Weekend Language Meetup in Akihabara
The WeLearn Community makes learning a new language fun and inexpensive. Japanese teachers for different levels play card and board games together with you in English and Japanese. You can also experience cultural activities, such as learning yo-yo from a specialist.
Enoshima Tenno Festival
A portable shrine gets a dunk in the sea at this annual Enoshima festival. This festival begins at 9:30 a.m. at Enoshima‘s Hetsunomiya Shrine. A large mikoshi (portable shrine) from Yasaka Shrine is carried across the bridge from Enoshima to Koyuguri Shrine on the mainland. On the way to Koyuguri Shrine, the mikoshi gets a bath.
Ocean Peoples Tokyo
Ocean Peoples is “an ocean festival for people who love the sea” — ironically held at a landlocked park in the middle of the concrete jungle. The event brings together all the best parts of the ocean, from surfboards to seafood — all to help sea-souls forget where they are for a few hours.
| Advance sales: ¥8,000 | ||
Hibiya Summer Oktoberfest
Outdoor drinking, German-style eats, and lively music — Oktoberfest is back in town, this time for summer! For 10 days, you and your boozehound friends can hit up Hibiya Park to try various local and German beers. The admission fee includes an original drinking glass that you can take home.
| Advance sales: ¥500 | At the door: ¥500 | |
Shitamachi Tanabata
The festival is known for its colorful decorations and events that celebrate the annual tanabata holiday on July 7. The main events are a parade on Saturday (from 1:15 p.m.) and street performances on Sunday. The parade will include a procession of motorbikes as well as various police troupes.
Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival
Hiratsuka’s Tanabata Star Festival is the biggest in the Kantō region, attracting around 1.7 million visitors over the three days of the festival. The colorful festivities will be centered around the shopping street on the north side of Hiratsuka Station.
Fussa Tanabata Festival
There will be a wide range of events centered around Fussa Station such as performances and dances. Character shows and other events will also be held on a specially constructed stage at the Okano Plaza.
The Nakaita Heso Matsuri
Heso is Japanese for belly button, so this festival in Nakaita goes to town with the concept, featuring eisa dancing, belly dancing, and heso odori — belly button dancing.
Comedy Showcase
Get ready to unwind and have a hilarious evening like no other at Tokyo’s premier stand-up comedy show. Join TCB every weekday at 19:30 for a laughter-filled extravaganza that’s perfect for both tourists and residents in Japan.
Mayumi Mullins Japan Tour
Mayumi Mullins is an award-winning singer and songwriter from Melbourne Australia. Her emotionally stimulating lyrics and dynamic singing style have been compared to Bjork and PJ Harvey.
| At the door: ¥1,500 | ||
Eden at Womb
This event is a teaser party for the biannual outdoor festival Eden coming in June 2024. Get your techno fix here.
| Advance sales: ¥3,000 | At the door: ¥3,500 | |
Miraikan Anniversary Free Admission Day
To celebrate their anniversary, the Museum of Emerging Science and Technology (Miraikan) opens their doors for free on July 9. They have a few different free entry days based on age, but this one is open to everyone.
Tokyo Book Swap
If you are desperate for a good read but dislike the wasteful nature of buying new (or have given up perusing the dismal shelves of BookOff), then this bi-monthly book swap event could be the start of a new chapter.
Immersive Museum
Tokyo’s Immersive Museum presents an audio and visual experience that pays homage to great artists. This year, continuing on from the last exhibition of the great impressionists, they’ll focus on the post-impressionists. Works from Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat, and Cézanne will be on display — but as you’ve never seen them before.
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