Festivals in Kyoto

Daimonji Gozan Okuribi: Kyoto's iconic mountain bonfire ritual. Aug 16, 2026. Five giant kanji characters blaze on mountainsides at dusk.

Gion Matsuri: Kyoto's legendary month-long festival. Jul 1–31, 2026. Grand float processions on Jul 17 & 24. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Mid-year purification ceremony where visitors walk through a reed ring.

One of Kyoto's three great festivals with a Heian-era imperial procession.

A procession with flower umbrellas and ritual dancers offers springtime prayers for good health.

Dramatic fire festival at Kurama Temple in northern Kyoto.

Mikoshi travel through western Kyoto during the shrine's outgoing and returning processions.

Ceremonial boats on Arashiyama's Oi River recreate Heian-era boating traditions.

Floating lanterns and fireworks on Miyazu Bay in Kyoto Prefecture.

Autumn leaf festival at Jingoji Temple in Kyoto with illuminated maple trees.