Summer has officially arrived in Tokyo! That means firework festivals galore, as well as summer markets, cultural events, and much more. July does crank up the heat and humidity to sky-high levels. But, the abundance of beer gardens, seasonal shaved ice treats, and limited-edition summer drinks on sale all over the city is the secret to beating the heat this month while adventuring in Tokyo. Put on your best yukata - that’s a summer kimono to you - and head out to a festival or three.
Fireworks at the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival © Fabian Reus
2 July-9 November 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Sou Fujimoto
Location: Mori Art Museum
Time: 10:00am-10:00pm (until 5:00pm on Tuesdays)
Admission: TBC
Website: Official website (English)
Sou Fujimoto is one of Japan’s most notable architects, with a bevy of iconic buildings under his belt over the course of his international career. From the Musashino Art University Museum & Library to the White Tree housing complex in Montpellier, France, this first major retrospective of Fujimoto’s work offers a birds-eye view of his architectural journey over the last quarter-century. If you love contemporary Japanese architecture, this exhibition at the Mori Art Museum is a must-go.
Tanabata festivities © yisris
3-7 July 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Shitamachi Tanabata
Location: Kappabashi Kitchen Town
Time: 10:00am-8:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Tanabata, or the Star Festival, has its origins in the Chinese Qixi festival. It’s based on a folk story about star-crossed lovers who are only allowed to meet once a year - typically on 7 July by most calendar counts. These days, people celebrate by writing their wishes on paper and hanging them on bamboo trees. Shitamachi Tanabata, held in the traditional downtown districts of Ueno and Asakusa, takes the day as a pretext for street performances, parades, dances, food stalls, and general festivities over 4 days in July, making it one of the biggest Tanabata festivals in Tokyo. The parade usually starts at around 1pm on Saturday. Highly recommended.
A variety of morning glory © TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋)
5-7 July 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Iriya Asagao Matsuri (Morning Glory Festival)
Location: Iriya Kishimonjin, Iriya
Time: 5:00am-11:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
There’s a festival for everything in Japan, it seems, but who can argue with a country that loves and celebrates its flowers? In early July, head over to Iriya Kishimojin Temple for the glorious Iriya Asagao Matsuri, centered around fabulous morning glories. The Iriya breeds of these flowers have been beloved by all and sundry from around the late Edo period, and it’s worth waking up early to see them in all their – yes – glory. Even if you’re not a gardener, there’s no arguing with the beauty of asagao. Just be forewarned that past events have drawn crowds of around 400,000 – go early to try and beat most of them.
5 July-7 September 2025
Event: Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine Wind Chime Festival
Location: Hikawa Shrine, Saitama
Time: 9:00am-9:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
If your online dating adventures are proving to be an endless slog of unfulfilling matches, perhaps it’s time to enlist a little divine help. Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine in Saitama is one of Japan’s many ‘love shrines,’ and it’s especially popular with single folks seeking the partner of their dreams – or at least someone they can get along with for a few years! This summer, head to the shrine for a charming festival at the shrine, which for this occasion is decorated with around 2000 colourful wind chimes making beautiful music in the breeze. Who knows – maybe you’ll run into someone nice there. At the very least, it’s a great day trip out of the city.
5-6 July 2025
Event: Design Festa vol. 61
Location: Tokyo Big Sight, Ariake
Time: 10:00am-6:00pm
Admission: ¥1000 (One-day pass)
Website: Official website (English)
It’s that time of the year again - your favorite art & design jamboree is back! Thousands of artists from within Japan and without are descending on Tokyo Big Sight to bring you the 61st Design Festa, which has been running biannually in spring and autumn since 1994. You’ll experience the full gamut of artistic expression here across all mediums: crafts, paintings, cuisine, performances, music, dance - if you can imagine it, you’ll find it here. Two day tickets are necessary if you want to be able to see and experience everything here. Have some extra cash handy, too - you’re sure to walk away with unique handmade gifts and souvenirs for loved ones here.
6 July 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Hanazono Shrine Antique Market
Location: Hanazono Shrine
Time: 6:30am-4:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Here’s another fun reason to visit Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku: there’s a small but regular antique fair happening there almost every Sunday. The Hanazono Shrine Blue Sky Antique Fair - which is the full name in Japanese, roughly translated - is not exactly endless sprawl and shopping, since there are only 25-30 stalls maximum at any given time. Smaller items are the focus here, rather than large furniture or statement pieces.
The market runs from sunrise to sunset, though visiting in the morning is best since many stalls tend to close around 3:00pm. (Come around then for the best bargains.) Check the calendar above before you go. If it rains, expect it not to run.
6 July 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Oedo Antique Market
Location: Tokyo International Forum
Time: 9:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (English)
Billed as the largest outdoor antique market in Japan, the event attracts shoppers from all walks of life. There is quite literally everything and anything old here: Taisho-period glassware, ceramics, rusty coins, gorgeous jewelry, secondhand kimono ranging from dirt cheap to a few hundred dollars… Whether you’re looking for a cheap bargain or a rare gem from the 1880s, you’re sure to find something for your budget. Haggling is best very early in the morning or towards the end of the day, though you can spend the whole day browsing.
The market is closed in case of rain, but this market is held twice or thrice a month. So, if that happens, you can try your luck again on 20 July.
12-13 July 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Setagaya Firefly Festival
Location: Boroichi Street, Setagaya
Time: 5:00pm-9:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Did you miss the fireflies in June? That’s okay — this local festival in Setagaya is another chance to catch these little glowing bugs. Fireflies don’t appear in the wild in urban Tokyo anymore; for this event, they release them into a dark, enclosed dome so you can feel like you’re out in the countryside surrounded by little arcs of glowing light. Just be prepared for long lines to enter and move through the dome, as lots of other people will be there with you.
17-21 July 2025
Event: Kawasaki Daishi Fuurin-Ichi
Location: Kawasaki Daishi, Kawasaki
Time: 10:00am-6:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (English)
Summer is windchime season in Japan – the gentle tinkling is believed to create an atmosphere of refreshing coolness – and there are quite a few festivals dedicated to traditional wind bells over the hot months. One to head to this July is the Kawasaki Daishi Fuurin-Ichi, taking place annually at Kawasaki Daishi Temple in Kawasaki for the last two decades. Snack on delicious festival food, maybe pick up some beautifully crafted chimes, and chat to the craftspeople who make them.
Performers at the Shinjuku Eisa Festival © Guilhem Vellut
26 July 2025
Event: Shinjuku Eisa Festival 2025
Location: Shinjuku
Time: 12:00pm-8:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Get a taste of Okinawa this July at the Shinjuku Eisa Festival, taking place around the East and West exits of Shinjuku Station. Eisa is a traditional Okinawan dance, and it’s distinctly different from anything you’ll see on the Japanese mainland. Expect bright colours, the sounds of twanging sanshin (three-stringed instrument), merry island vibes, and a million other people trying to take photographs or videos of the proceedings. Cap your night with dinner at an Okinawan restaurant.
26 July 2025
Event: Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival
Location: Taito Riverside Sports Center
Time: 7:00pm-8:30pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
The Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival is by far the largest summer fireworks festival in Tokyo. Held annually on the last Saturday in July, it began as a competition between rival pyrotechnic groups in 1733, and has continued since - with some breaks for wars and other happenings. Of course, the real winners are the Tokyoites watching this brilliant display for free. You can watch the 90-minute light show from the streets, the rooftops, or even the river boats (for a price).
The downside of this festival is the crowds. You’ll be watching the fireworks along with a million or more people in close quarters at the height of summer, which means heat, sweat, and possibly spending too much money on overpriced beer from the festival stalls. But if that doesn’t faze you, put on your best yukata and head out to the river this July. Don’t forget to bring your own iced drinks.
In the event of stormy weather, the festival might be postponed to the next day. Check their website for updates.
Lantern-covered scaffolding (yagura) at the Ebisu Bon Odori festival © Tatsuo Yamashita
26-27 July 2025
Event: Ebisu Bon Odori Festival
Location: West side of JR Ebisu Station
Time: 6:30pm-9:00pm
Admission: Free
This is one of Tokyo’s major Bon Odori festivals, yet surprisingly under the radar considering its size and reputation. The last weekend in July sees the west side of JR Ebisu Station transformed into a huge dance floor - if dance floors centered around a 3-storey yagura (festive scaffolding) and most of the dancers were clad in colorful happi (festival jackets) and yukata (summer kimono). Taiko drummers set the beat for the cool summer evening, and the usual food and drink stalls ensure a merry atmosphere.
Fireworks at the Showa Kinen Park Fireworks Festival © ajari
26 July 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Showa Kinen Park Fireworks Festival
Location: Showa Kinen Park
Time: 7:00pm-8:00 pm
Admission: ¥410 (Free after 6:00pm)
Website: Official website (Japanese)
5000 fireworks might sound like a lot, but by Tokyo standards, this makes the Showa Kinen Park Fireworks Festival a medium-sized event. Still, a fireworks festival is a fantastic excuse to visit the gorgeous Showa Memorial Park, which is a little further afield in Tachikawa to the west of central Tokyo. While entry is free in the evening, we suggest arriving around or before 5:00pm. It’ll cost you a few hundred yen, but you’ll also be more likely to find the ideal patch of grass to view the fireworks later. Pack a bento box beforehand and enjoy dinner with your firework show.
27 July 2025
Event: Nogi Shrine Antique Market
Location: Nogi Shrine
Time: 9:00am until it gets dark
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)
This small-scale, local, and charming antique market takes place along the shrine’s main approach every 4th Sunday. Visit to chat and haggle with sellers over items of all kinds: from secondhand clothing to kokeshi dolls to wooden furniture to stamps from several decades ago, you might find anything and everything here. If it rains, though, consider the event cancelled.
30 July 2025
Event: Meiji-Tenno-Sai: Emperor Meiji Memorial Ceremony
Location: Meiji-jingu Shrine
Time: 9:00am onwards
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (English)
30 July is the official Memorial Day for the Emperor Meiji, who passed away in 1912 and was then enshrined at Meiji Jingu in 1920. The main draw at the ceremony for visitors is the performance of ‘Meiji-Jingu-Yamato-Mai,’ a sacred dance performed by a Shinto priest based on a poem by the Emperor Meiji. It’s an elegant dance inspired by an equally romantic, beautiful poem, exhorting us to have open hearts like the blue skies stretching above us. If that isn’t enough to persuade you, entrance to the Homotsuden (the Treasure Museum) and the Hootsu-Tenjishitsu (the “Treasure Museum Annex” exhibition) is also free of charge on this day.
Tokyo Vacation Checklist
- For all the essentials in a brief overview, see my First Time In Tokyo guide
- Check Tokyo accommodation availability and pricing on Booking.com and Agoda.com - often you can book with no upfront payment and free cancellation
- Need tips on where to stay? See my one page guide Where To Stay In Tokyo
- You can buy shinkansen (bullet train) tickets online from Klook - popular routes include Tokyo to Kyoto, Tokyo to Osaka and Tokyo to Hiroshima
- You can buy an eSim to activate in Japan or buy a Japan SIM card online for collection on arrival at Tokyo Narita or Haneda airports. Or rent an unlimited data pocket wifi router
- See my comprehensive Packing List For Japan
- Compare airline flight prices and timings for the best Japan flight deals. Check my guides to arriving at Narita Airport and at Haneda Airport.
- If you're visiting more than one city, you might save money with a Japan Rail Pass – see if it's worth it for you
- World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world
- Do you want help planning your trip? Chris Rowthorn and his team of Japan experts at Japan Travel Consulting can help
