Gion Matsuri ★ 4.9
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.
Focus: Yatai street food
Food festivals in Kyoto worth planning a trip around, by month.
Festivals through the year
Aoi Matsuri ★ 4.5
The Hollyhock Festival in Kyoto, dating to the 6th century and held annually May 15. A Heian-court procession from the Imperial Palace to Shimogamo and Kamigamo Shrines.
Focus: Procession with hojicha and wagashi stalls
Jidai Matsuri ★ 4.4
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.
Focus: Period parade with shrine food stalls
Setsubun at Yoshida-jinja ★ 4.2
Kyoto's biggest Setsubun bean-throwing festival, early February each year at Yoshida-jinja. Roasted soybean and amazake stalls line the shrine grounds.
Focus: Roasted soybeans and amazake
Kyoto Marathon Food Villages ★ 4.0
Kyoto Marathon weekend food village at Heian Shrine in mid-February. Kyoto street food and matcha stalls open for race spectators alongside the finish line.
Focus: Kyoto street food and matcha stalls
Fushimi Sake Festival ★ 4.3
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.
Focus: Sake tastings from 25+ Fushimi breweries
Kamogawa Kawayuka Season ★ 4.5
Riverside kawayuka deck season on the Kamogawa in Kyoto, May to September. 90 restaurants from Pontocho to Kiyamachi open outdoor terraces over the river.
Focus: Riverside kaiseki and bistro decks
Toji Kobo Monthly Market ★ 4.5
Monthly market on the 21st at Toji Temple in Kyoto, the city's most-loved food market. 1,200 stalls; pickles, sake, wagashi and street snacks fill the temple.
Focus: Pickles, sake, wagashi, street snacks