A fireworks festival in Ota City, this mid-August event launches 5,000 fireworks and includes local musical performances like taiko drumming along the Tama River.
A lantern festival in Nara, the Mantoro involves lighting over 3,000 historic lanterns at Kasuga Taisha Shrine. The event is held twice a year in February and August.
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.
A 300-year-old summer festival honoring ancestors, culminating in an intense spectacle where participants ram massive, lantern-lit wooden houseboats together on a bridge beneath fireworks.
A paper lantern floating festival in Tokyo where participants release lanterns on the Sumida River. The event commemorates war victims and fosters community spirit.
A bonfire festival in Kyoto, Daimonji Gozan no Okuribi is held on August 16. Five fires are lit on mountains to guide ancestral spirits after the Obon holiday.
A biannual convention for selling self-published comics, the Comic Market is a large-scale event. It is also a popular gathering for people who participate in cosplay.
A UNESCO-recognized summer festival preserving Edo-period culture, featuring ten intricately carved floats accompanied by continuous traditional flute melodies and rhythmic taiko drumming.
A bon odori festival in Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills features weekend communal dancing around a central stage and food stalls operated by the complex’s restaurants.
A summer festival in Tokyo, this August event features food stalls operated exclusively by businesses located in the immediate area, serving regional specialties and offering classic festival games.
