A summer festival in Fukuoka where teams from seven districts race through city streets carrying one-ton floats. The event’s final timed race is held before dawn on July 15.
The Shoro Nagashi is a Nagasaki festival on August 15 to send off spirits of the deceased. Participants parade handcrafted boats with loud firecrackers, gongs, and chanting.
A lantern festival in Yamaga City, it features women performing a dance while wearing illuminated paper lanterns on their heads. The event is held annually in August.
The annual Okinawa Eisa Festival is a spectacular celebration of traditional folk dance, booming drums, and vibrant local culture, held every year in late summer.
An autumn festival in Munakata City, the Miare Matsuri is a maritime procession where boats carry deities from offshore islands to a mainland shrine for an annual ritual.
An autumn festival in Nagasaki, the Kunchi features dedicatory dances performed by rotating city districts. These performances showcase the city’s historical Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese cultural influences.
A 17th-century festival featuring a monumental contest where massive crowds pull a record-breaking forty-ton straw rope to pray for bountiful harvests and peace.
A hot air balloon festival in Saga City, this event features competitive flights, character-shaped balloons, and a nighttime glow show synchronized with music.
An autumn festival in Karatsu City, Karatsu Kunchi is a UNESCO event featuring large, ornate hikiyama floats paraded through streets and across a sand beach.
An autumn festival in southern Kyushu features 20,000 participants performing synchronized street dances alongside taiko drums, marching bands, and an illuminated flower tram.
A sumo tournament in Fukuoka, the Kyushu Basho, is held over 15 days in November. It is the final major tournament of the year for professional sumo wrestlers.
