# Summer festivals in Tokyo 2027

From mid-July to the end of August, Tokyo evenings fill with drums: bon odori circles in temple grounds and parks, dance parades that take over whole shopping streets, shrine festivals where the crowd throws water over the mikoshi. Almost all of it is free, outdoors and open to anyone who turns up, and most of it happens after sunset, when the heat eases a little. The list below is updated daily with bon odori, dance parades and other summer festivals.

## How festival season works

Tokyo traditionally keeps Obon, the Buddhist holiday when the spirits of ancestors are welcomed home, in mid-July, while most of Japan keeps it in mid-August. So the city gets two waves: temple and shrine events around July 13 to 16, then neighbourhood bon odori and the big dance parades through August, when many people are on holiday anyway. The last two weekends of August are the peak, and several of the largest festivals often fall on the same weekend.

Fireworks have their own guide. This one is about the dancing, the lanterns and the street festivals that fill the rest of the summer calendar.

- → [Fireworks festivals in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/fireworks.md)
- → [Matsuri in Tokyo through the year](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/matsuri.md)

## Bon odori: dance circles anyone can join

A bon odori is a circle dance around a yagura, a raised wooden stage with a taiko drummer and lanterns strung out from the top. Songs come from speakers or a live singer, and the same few tunes repeat all night: Tokyo Ondo, Tanko Bushi from the coal mines of Kyushu, and whatever local song the neighbourhood is proud of. Nearly every ward has several, in temple grounds, parks, school playgrounds and shopping streets, and most are run by the local residents' association.

[Tsukiji Honganji](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E7%AF%89%E5%9C%B0%E6%9C%AC%E9%A1%98%E5%AF%BA%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E5%8C%BA%E7%AF%89%E5%9C%B03-15-1), the big Indian-style temple near the old fish market, holds one of the best known: several evenings in late July or early August, with stalls run by shops from the [Tsukiji outer market](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E7%AF%89%E5%9C%B0%E5%A0%B4%E5%A4%96%E5%B8%82%E5%A0%B4%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E5%8C%BA%E7%AF%89%E5%9C%B04%E4%B8%81%E7%9B%AE). The nearest station is [Tsukiji](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E3%83%A1%E3%83%88%E3%83%AD%20%E7%AF%89%E5%9C%B0%E9%A7%85%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E5%8C%BA%E7%AF%89%E5%9C%B03-15-1) on the Hibiya Line. In Chuo ward, the Oedo Matsuri Bon Odori in [Hamacho Park](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E6%B5%9C%E7%94%BA%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E5%8C%BA%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E6%A9%8B%E6%B5%9C%E7%94%BA2-59-1) has a big yagura stage, folk singers and usually a slot just for children.

Joining in is the whole point. Step into the circle behind someone who clearly knows the moves and copy their hands and feet; each dance is a short pattern repeated over and over, so by the third round you have it. Nobody minds mistakes, and older dancers are often happy to show you.

- Most bon odori are free and need no booking. Look for 盆踊り on ward notice boards and shopping-street posters.
- 小雨決行 means it goes ahead in light rain. 雨天中止 means it is cancelled if it rains.
- Dancing starts after dusk and ends early, often by 9pm, because people live right next door.

- → [Matsuri & Festivals events in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/matsuri.md)
- → [Events in Chuo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/chuo.md)
- → [Free events in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/free.md)

## Dance parades: awa odori, yosakoi, eisa and samba

Koenji Awa Odori is the big one. It started in 1957 and now brings around 10,000 dancers in about 150 groups (ren) to the streets around [JR Koenji Station](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=JR%20%E9%AB%98%E5%86%86%E5%AF%BA%E9%A7%85%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%9D%89%E4%B8%A6%E5%8C%BA%E9%AB%98%E5%86%86%E5%AF%BA%E5%8D%974-48-2&query_place_id=ChIJHUjien3yGGARbKdSZURvKnw) over two evenings, usually in late August, with around a million spectators. Women dance in tight lines with straw hats pulled low, men crouch and swing, and the shamisen and drums never stop. The streets are narrow, so the crowd is dense; police keep spectators moving at the busiest corners.

Harajuku Omotesando Genki Matsuri Super Yosakoi, on a weekend in late August, brings more than 100 yosakoi teams from all over Japan to stages around [Meiji Jingu](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E6%98%8E%E6%B2%BB%E7%A5%9E%E5%AE%AE%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%B8%8B%E8%B0%B7%E5%8C%BA%E4%BB%A3%E3%80%85%E6%9C%A8%E7%A5%9E%E5%9C%92%E7%94%BA1-1), [Omotesando](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E8%A1%A8%E5%8F%82%E9%81%93%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%B8%8B%E8%B0%B7%E5%8C%BA%E7%A5%9E%E5%AE%AE%E5%89%8D4%E4%B8%81%E7%9B%AE) and [Yoyogi Park](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E4%BB%A3%E3%80%85%E6%9C%A8%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%B8%8B%E8%B0%B7%E5%8C%BA%E4%BB%A3%E3%80%85%E6%9C%A8%E7%A5%9E%E5%9C%92%E7%94%BA2-1). Yosakoi comes from Kochi: big teams in bold costumes dance to fast modern music holding wooden clappers called naruko. Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri, on a Saturday in late July, fills the streets around Shinjuku Station with eisa, the Okinawan Obon dance with hand drums. The Asakusa Samba Carnival, held since 1981, sends samba teams down [Umamichi-dori](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E9%A6%AC%E9%81%93%E9%80%9A%E3%82%8A%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%8F%B0%E6%9D%B1%E5%8C%BA%E6%B5%85%E8%8D%89) and [Kaminarimon-dori](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E9%9B%B7%E9%96%80%E9%80%9A%E3%82%8A%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%8F%B0%E6%9D%B1%E5%8C%BA%E6%B5%85%E8%8D%891%E4%B8%81%E7%9B%AE), usually on a Saturday in late August.

- Parade routes are closed to traffic and lined with staff. Cross only where they let you, and never cut through a dancing group.
- Two big parades can fall on the same late-August weekend. Pick one per evening; getting between them takes longer than you think.
- For a spot at the rope, arrive an hour before the start. Later, the second row behind small kids is often the best view.

- → [Events in Suginami](https://eventstokyo.com/en/suginami.md)
- → [Events in Shibuya](https://eventstokyo.com/en/shibuya.md)
- → [Events in Shinjuku](https://eventstokyo.com/en/shinjuku.md)
- → [Events in Taito](https://eventstokyo.com/en/taito.md)

## Lanterns, water and food: more summer festivals

Mitama Matsuri at Yasukuni Shrine runs every year from July 13 to 16, during Tokyo's Obon, when more than 30,000 lanterns line the approach and are lit each evening. In recent years there have been no open-air food stalls inside the grounds (food trucks instead) and drinking parties are banned. The nearest station is Kudanshita.

Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri at [Tomioka Hachimangu](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E5%AF%8C%E5%B2%A1%E5%85%AB%E5%B9%A1%E5%AE%AE%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%B1%9F%E6%9D%B1%E5%8C%BA%E5%AF%8C%E5%B2%A11-20-3), near [Monzen-nakacho Station](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E3%83%A1%E3%83%88%E3%83%AD%20%E9%96%80%E5%89%8D%E4%BB%B2%E7%94%BA%E9%A7%85%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%B1%9F%E6%9D%B1%E5%8C%BA%E9%96%80%E5%89%8D%E4%BB%B2%E7%94%BA1-4-8), is held around mid-August. Every three years it is a main year, when more than 50 neighbourhood mikoshi parade together and spectators throw buckets of water over the bearers; in other years it is smaller. On a weekend in late August, the Azabu-Juban Noryo Matsuri turns the [Azabu-Juban shopping street](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E9%BA%BB%E5%B8%83%E5%8D%81%E7%95%AA%E5%95%86%E5%BA%97%E8%A1%97%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%B8%AF%E5%8C%BA%E9%BA%BB%E5%B8%83%E5%8D%81%E7%95%AA2%E4%B8%81%E7%9B%AE) into a food festival, with stalls selling specialities from regions all over Japan alongside the local shops.

- At Fukagawa in a main year, standing near the route means getting soaked. Put your phone in a zip bag.
- Azabu-Juban gets very crowded in the evening. Arriving in the late afternoon is easier, especially with kids.

- → [Matsuri in Tokyo through the year](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/matsuri.md)
- → [Food festivals in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/food-festivals.md)
- → [Events in Koto](https://eventstokyo.com/en/koto.md)
- → [Events in Minato](https://eventstokyo.com/en/minato.md)
- → [Events in Chiyoda](https://eventstokyo.com/en/chiyoda.md)

## Heat, yukata, cash and trash

Tokyo summers are hot and humid, and afternoons above 35 degrees are common. The Ministry of the Environment issues heatstroke alerts (熱中症警戒アラート) the evening before or early in the morning when the heat index is expected to be dangerous. Go in the evening when you can, drink water before you feel thirsty, take salt or a sports drink, and step into a convenience store or station to cool down. Sit down at the first sign of dizziness or a headache, and ask staff for help.

Yukata are normal at summer festivals, and rental shops in Asakusa and other areas will dress you. Wrap the left side over the right; right over left is how the dead are dressed. New geta rub, so carry plasters. Stalls mostly take cash, so bring coins and 1,000-yen notes. Public bins are rare: use the stall's bin or carry your trash home. Toilets are scarce along parade routes, so use the station or a convenience store before you go in, and expect packed trains for an hour after the end.

- Check the heatstroke alert on the [Ministry of the Environment site](https://www.wbgt.env.go.jp/en/) or a weather app before an afternoon parade.
- A bottle frozen overnight stays cold for hours. Add a small towel and a hand fan.
- After a big parade, walk to the next station along the line instead of queuing at the nearest one.

- → [Going to events in Tokyo: the basics](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/event-basics.md)
- → [Tokyo with kids](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/kids.md)

## Other summer festivals

- **[Tokyo Beer Hall & Terrace 14: Tokyo Beer Wave](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/14tokyo-beer-wave)** — Ongoing · iiyo!! (Chiyoda) · Free entry

## Questions people ask

**Can tourists join a bon odori?**
Yes. Bon odori are open circles and anyone can step in. Copy the people in front of you; the moves repeat, and locals are used to beginners.

**Are Tokyo summer festivals free?**
Almost all bon odori and dance parades are free to watch and join. You pay only for food and drinks at the stalls, mostly in cash.

**When is Koenji Awa Odori?**
Usually on a weekend in late August, in the evening, around JR Koenji Station. Check the [official page](https://www.koenji-awaodori.com/english/) for the exact dates and times.

**When is Obon in Tokyo?**
Tokyo traditionally keeps Obon around July 13 to 16, while most of Japan keeps it in mid-August. Bon odori run through both months.

**Do I need a yukata?**
No, normal summer clothes are fine. Many people wear yukata to bon odori and festivals, and rental shops will dress you for the day.

**What happens if it rains?**
Most festivals go ahead in light rain (小雨決行). Heavy rain or thunderstorms can cancel bon odori (雨天中止), so check the organiser's page or social media on the day.

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Tokyo Events: https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/summer-festivals