Festivals in Japan

The Sapporo Snow Festival is one of Japan’s most magical winter events held every February in the snowy city of Sapporo. It’s famous for its enormous, detailed snow and ice sculptures – some as big as buildings – lit up at night. Visitors can enjoy food stalls, ice slides and a lively atmosphere despite the chilly temps.

Sapporo is known to have some harsh winters, so this festival turns the winter blues into something to celebrate. What originally started with school students making snow sculptures in the park, has since developed into one of the largest ice sculpture festivals in the world.

The Gion Matsuri is one of Japan’s biggest festivals, held in July in the heart of Kyoto. It began centuries ago to appease the gods during an epidemic. The main highlight is a parade with massive, intricately decorated floats pulled through the streets, and evening parties where you can see the floats up close and try local food.

You’ll also get a glimpse into local life, with families displaying treasured heirlooms and merchants proudly showing their art collections. Kyoto is an easy stop to add a few days to the start or end of a trip, but it’s worth planning ahead – this is a busy time to visit but for good reason.

The Aomori Nebuta Festival is held every August and is known for its huge, glowing papier-mache floats called ‘nebuta’, hence the name. Each float depicts characters from myths and legends, gods and spirits, and sometimes TV characters or local personalities. It takes local teams a full year to design and build these floats, so every detail is incredible.

During the parade, ‘Hento’ dancers leap and spin around the floats in colourful traditional dress, celebrating Aomori’s local heritage. The festival originally started off as a way to ward off bad spirits that cause drowsiness during the farming season and today it still adds lively energy to the city every summer.

The Kamakura Festival is a spring celebration held in April in the historic town of Kamakura. The festivities honour the town’s samurai heritage with streets filled with traditional dances, colourful parades and tea ceremonies. One of the biggest highlights is horseback archery, where riders hit targets at full speed.

You can learn about the history and culture of the local samurai on an Intrepid trip to Kamakura, then bring your knowledge to the festival for an up close and personal experience with the town’s history. Plus, you’ll recognise the tea ceremonies and know just what to do after participating in one yourself.

Celebrated in February during the Chinese New Year, the Nagasaki Lantern Festival transforms the city into a display of light. Streets and neighbourhoods glow with colourful lanterns, with Minato Park hosting the most impressive display.

Visitors can enjoy parades, traditional dances, acrobatics and live music performances. Both amateur and professional entertainers showcase their talents on multiple stages, filling the festival with culture, light and energy, and giving visitors plenty to experience.

The Takayama Autumn Festival is celebrated in October centred on the Sakurayama Hachiman Shrine. It features colourful, intricately handcrafted floats parading through the town, with Edo-period marionette performances and evening lantern displays.

The festival honours the harvest and marks the start of winter preparations with floats ornately decorated, showcasing traditional craftsmanship. Even if you miss the festival, you can still view the floats at the Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan exhibition hall, making it easy to experience the festival’s artistry any time of year on a trip to the historic city.

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