Tokyo Ramen Festa ★ 4.7
Tokyo Ramen Festa at Komazawa Olympic Park is Japan's largest outdoor ramen event, three rotating four-day windows in late October. 36 regional shops.
39 food festivals with a guide across 6 cities in Japan, in date order from today. Each opens the festival page with dates, what to eat and what to book around it. How these cities compare with the rest: the city food festival index.
October 2026
All festivals in OctoberHiroshima Food Festival ★ 4.5
The prefecture's largest autumn food event fills Hiroshima Castle and the surrounding moats with producer stalls, oyster counters and sake bars over one October weekend.
TipEntry is free and the stalls run 10:00 to 17:00, but the castle approaches are shoulder to shoulder by late morning.
Tsukiji Autumn Festival ★ 4.2
Tsukiji Autumn Festival, 30 October to 1 November 2026, pairs a sale in the Outer Market with a Tsukiji Food Fest at Ichibabashi Park serving seafood, meat, sweets, beer and wine.
TipEntry to the Food Fest is free and you pay for what you eat; it is held in rain and cancelled in severe weather.
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November 2026
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Tori-no-Ichi Asakusa ★ 4.5
Tori-no-Ichi at Tokyo's Otori Shrine Asakusa runs every rooster day of November. Lucky kumade rake stalls, yakitori, yatai food, sake under the lanterns.
Setagaya Pan Matsuri ★ 4.4
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Setagaya Pan Matsuri (La Fete du Pain Setagaya) in Tokyo brings 100-plus Japanese bakeries to Setagaya Park each November. Bread market, bread university.
Ebisu Taisai (Ebessan) ★ 4.3
Hiroshima's merchants' festival, held since the early 1600s, packs the streets around Ebisu Shrine each 18 to 20 November, with food and drink stalls along Chuo-dori while shopkeepers buy komazarae rakes for luck.
TipThe dates never move, whatever the weekday; the stalls around the shrine and Hondori arcades are busiest after office hours.
Sapporo's winter illumination on Odori Park with the German Christmas Market (sister-city Munich) and food booths of glühwein, sausages and lebkuchen.
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Kobo-ichi is the monthly market at Toji Temple in Kyoto, held on the 21st of every month, with stalls of food, crafts and antiques in the temple grounds.
February 2027
All festivals in FebruaryExpected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Yoshida-jinja's Setsubun festival in Kyoto runs 2 to 4 February with the oni-yarai ritual and a bonfire, drawing about 500,000 visitors and roughly 800 stalls on the first two days.
TipThere is no parking, so take a city bus to Kyodai Seimon-mae or walk from Demachiyanagi; the busiest stall days are 2 and 3 February.
Sapporo Snow Festival ★ 4.6
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Eight days of snow sculptures across three venues with food street stalls of hot ramen, grilled corn, jingisukan bites and Sapporo Brewery taps drawing eight.
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Okoshi-yasu Hiroba is the Kyoto Marathon's two-day expo at Miyako Messe, with stalls from well-known Kyoto restaurants, sponsor booths and a tea ceremony, held the days before race day.
TipEntry is open to everyone, not only runners. The marathon itself finishes at Heian Jingu.
March 2027
All festivals in MarchUeno Sakura Matsuri ★ 4.1
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
The Ueno Sakura Matsuri, 14 March to 5 April 2026, fills Ueno Park with lantern-lit cherry blossom and the Ueno Sakura Festa food area of regional dishes and 100-plus shops.
April 2027
All festivals in April
Sake Festival Japan ★ 4.3
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Sake Festival Japan in Tokyo's Ueno Onshi Park is the city's biggest spring sake tasting. Three days of regional and limited brews, tasting tickets.
Beers of Japan Festival ★ 4.1
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
The Beers of Japan Festival sets up in the 1F Oval Park at LaLaport Fukuoka, rotating seven breweries through the run, among them The Brewmaster, Kuju Kogen, Skyhop and the sparkling sake from Dassai.
TipTickets per pour. LaLaport Fukuoka leg runs April 25 to May 6 in 2026.
Craft Gyoza Fes Tokyo ★ 4.4
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Craft Gyoza Fes in Tokyo's Komazawa Park is Japan's biggest gyoza-only festival, with 20-30 regional gyoza vendors over 8 Golden Week days. Free entry.
Kyushu Craft Beer Week ★ 4.4
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Kyushu Craft Beer Week takes over Tenjin Central Park in Fukuoka across the Golden Week break, running 11:00 to 21:00 with competition winners, veteran labels and newer brewers pouring in limited quantities.
TipTickets sold per pour. Tenjin Central Park, April 29 to May 5 in 2026.
Niku Fes (Meat Festival) ★ 4.0
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Niku Fes in Tokyo's Odaiba is the Golden Week meat festival, two dozen restaurants pouring wagyu sushi, A5 steak, Philly cheesesteaks and craft beer over 12.
May 2027
All festivals in MayExpected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Hakata Dontaku runs May 3 and 4 in Golden Week and is Japan's largest festival, drawing over 2 million people. Procession of three gods of fortune.
TipFree to attend. Food stalls run all weekend; arrive before midday on either day.
Hiroshima's biggest festival takes over Peace Boulevard for three Golden Week days with parades, stages and about 130 food and drink booths from Hiroshima and overseas lining the side lanes.
TipThe booths run roughly 11:00 to 18:30 each day, and Peace Memorial Park adds candle illuminations on the evenings of 3 and 4 May.
Sanja Matsuri Asakusa ★ 4.8
Sanja Matsuri is Asakusa Shrine's grand festival, held 14 to 16 May 2027 with a procession, the binzasara dance and portable mikoshi shrines carried through Asakusa's streets.
Aoi Matsuri ★ 4.5
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
The Hollyhock Festival in Kyoto, dating to the 6th century and held annually May 15, runs a Heian-court procession from the Imperial Palace to Kamo Shrines.
Sapporo Ramen Show ★ 4.2
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
A late-spring ramen showcase at Odori Park, with Hokkaido and national ramen masters pouring miso, shoyu and shio bowls across two weeks in May.
Sapporo Lilac Festival ★ 4.2
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
The early-summer lilac-blossom festival at Odori, with the Hokkaido Wine Garden, Lilac Music stage and 400 lilac trees in bloom, plus local vintages by glass.
June 2027
All festivals in JuneToukasan Yukata Festival ★ 4.4
Toukasan opens yukata season each June, when the Inari rites at Enryuji Temple spill onto Chuo-dori and hundreds of yatai stalls feed crowds of around 450,000 over three nights.
TipGo after dark on the Friday or Saturday, wear a yukata if you have one, and graze the stalls along Chuo-dori rather than sitting down anywhere.
Yosakoi Soran Festival ★ 4.2
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Sapporo's biggest dance-and-music festival, drawing 30,000 dancers in mid-June. Long food-stall runs of grilled lamb, ramen and Hokkaido fried snacks.
Aizen Matsuri ★ 3.7
Aizen Matsuri at Aizendo Shomanin in Osaka's Tennoji ward runs 30 June to 2 July, opening the summer with a yukata Hoekago parade, a purification service and festival stalls.
July 2027
All festivals in July
Gion Matsuri ★ 4.9
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Japan's most famous festival, July in Kyoto since 869. Yamaboko Junko float parades July 17 and 24; yoiyama evenings of yatai food stalls in Nakagyo nights.
Hakata Gion Yamakasa ★ 4.8
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Hakata Gion Yamakasa runs July 1 to 15 every year with a climax race at 04:59 on July 15. One-ton kazariyamakasa floats parade Hakata, food carts fill.
TipJuly 15 climax starts before dawn. Stake out a spot near Kushida shrine by 04:30.
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Japan's largest beer garden runs late July through mid-August at Odori Park. 10,000-plus seats divided across five areas by beer brand, one each for Sapporo.
Sapporo Summer Festival ★ 4.3
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
The umbrella city-summer festival that includes Odori Beer Garden, Hokkaido Wine Garden and the Summer Bon Odori dance week. Lamb, ramen and Hokkaido produce.
Tenjin Matsuri ★ 3.7
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
One of Japan's three great festivals, Tenjin Matsuri fills the Tenma riverbank and canals with over 100 procession boats on July 25 while 3,000 street-food.
Sumiyoshi Matsuri ★ 3.8
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Sumiyoshi Matsuri closes Osaka's summer festival season at Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine, with a portable shrine procession across the Sumiyoshi bridge and yatai street stalls for takoyaki, yakisoba and kakigori.
September 2027
All festivals in SeptemberSapporo Autumn Fest ★ 4.5
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Hokkaido's largest food festival, ~300 stalls across seven themed venues in Odori Park, from ramen to soup curry, meat dishes and Hokkaido sweets.
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
The Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, held for over 300 years, sends wooden danjiri floats racing through Kishiwada's streets; the September festival is 19 to 20 September 2026, with another in October.
TV Osaka YATAI Fes ★ 3.4
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
TV Osaka YATAI Fes is a free-entry food festival of stalls serving dishes from across Japan, held at Osaka Castle Park on 18 to 23 September 2026 with stage acts and draught beer.
TipFood and drink are paid while entry is free. The 2025 edition was on the Great Lawn of Tsurumi Ryokuchi, so confirm the venue on tv-osaka.co.jp/tvofes before you travel.
Meat and Wine Fukuoka ★ 4.3
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Meat and Wine Fukuoka pours 30 wines from 11 countries alongside Kyushu wagyu, hosted in Daimyo Garden City Park with restaurant participants from Imaizumi.
TipTickets via the event site.
October 2027
All festivals in October
Saijo Sake Matsuri ★ 4.6
Saijo's sake festival takes over the brewery district in Higashihiroshima each October, pouring several hundred labels from across Japan among the brick chimneys.
TipThe tasting hall is ticketed while the street stalls are free, and Saijo is about forty minutes by train from Hiroshima Station.
Fushimi Sake Festival ★ 4.3
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Fushimi's annual sake festival in Kyoto, mid-October weekend. Tasting tickets cover 25+ local breweries plus food stalls; the city's biggest sake gathering.
Jidai Matsuri ★ 4.4
Expected dates, not yet confirmed by the organiser
Kyoto's Festival of Ages, October 22 each year since 1895. 2,000-strong period-costumed procession from the Imperial Palace to Heian Shrine with food stalls.
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