Free Festivals in Japan

Rice planting festival at Sumiyoshi Taisha with traditional music and dance.

Sapporo's dynamic dance festival blending Yosakoi and Soran traditions.

Alternate-year festival at Hie Shrine in Tokyo with an imperial procession.

Festival in Yamagata featuring a grand procession and traditional performances.

Kobe's biggest spring festival with samba parades and multicultural performances.

Grand festival at Nikko Toshogu with a 'Thousand Warrior' samurai procession.

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

Tokyo's wildest festival at Asakusa Shrine with over 100 portable shrines.

Boys' Day with carp streamers and samurai helmet displays.

Crying baby sumo contest where sumo wrestlers try to make babies cry first.

Italian-style flower petal art festival with floral carpet displays.

Stunning cherry blossoms at Hirosaki Castle with moat reflections.

Noh performances on the floating stage at Itsukushima Shrine.

Walk through 20-meter high snow walls on the Tateyama Alpine Route.

One of Japan's most beautiful festivals with ornate floats in the mountain town of Takayama.

Traditional lion dance performances across various shrines in Saitama.

Fertility festival at Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki, known for its unique iconography.

Spring festival in Shizuoka celebrating Tokugawa Ieyasu with a cherry blossom parade.