Events in Japan in August 2027
Dates verified: September 27, 2026
The most memorable festivals, fireworks nights, flower seasons, snow festivals and light-ups in August 2027, each date checked against its organiser. Filter by kind or city, and open an event for the details.
- Nagaoka Fireworks Festival · 2–3 Aug長岡まつり大花火大会Nagaoka · NiigataOne of Japan's three great fireworks festivals, two August evenings on the Shinano River famed for the colossal sanshakudama shells and the Niagara curtain.
Koichi Hayakawa via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · cropped - Aomori Nebuta Matsuri · 2–7 Aug青森ねぶた祭Aomori · FreeSix August nights when illuminated warrior floats roll through Aomori to the chant of dancing haneto, ending with the floats afloat under harbour fireworks.
Roméo A. via Unsplash · Unsplash License · cropped - Akita Kanto Matsuri · 3–6 Aug秋田竿燈まつりAkita · FreeSome 270 bamboo poles hung with 10,000 lanterns, balanced on palms, foreheads and hips along a closed avenue in Akita for four August nights.
mko294 via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · cropped - Lake Biwa Great Fireworks Festival · Early August 2027びわ湖大花火大会Otsu · Shiga · From ¥5,000Shiga's August fireworks over Japan's largest lake, launched from barges off Otsu Port and reached in ten minutes by train from Kyoto.
YOSHIFUMI OGISO via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped - Sendai Tanabata Matsuri · 6–8 Aug仙台七夕まつりSendai · Miyagi · FreeJapan's grandest star festival, three August days when Sendai's arcades hang with towering handmade paper streamers, preceded by a fireworks night on 5 August.
Nikm via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · cropped - Edogawa Fireworks Festival · Early August 2027江戸川区花火大会Tokyo · FreeEast Tokyo's big August show, around 14,000 shells fired from the Edogawa riverbed and famous for the thousand-shell barrage that opens it within five seconds.
Dick Thomas Johnson via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · cropped - Awa Odori · 12–15 Aug阿波おどりTokushima · FreeJapan's largest dance festival, four Obon nights when troupes in straw hats and yukata fill Tokushima's streets to the drive of drums, flutes and shamisen.
ayumi kubo via Unsplash · Unsplash License · cropped - Kumano Fireworks Festival · 17 Aug熊野大花火大会Kumano · Mie · FreeAn Obon memorial fireworks display on a pebble beach in southern Mie, famous for shells detonated on the sea surface and among the cliffs of Onigajo.
Captain76 via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped - Minato Mirai Festival Fireworks · Late August 2027みなとみらいフェスティバル(みなとみらいスマートフェスティバル)Yokohama · Kanagawa · FreeYokohama's biggest fireworks night, some 18,000 shells in forty-five minutes over the Minato Mirai skyline on a single August weekday evening.
KQuhen via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped - Omagari National Fireworks Competition · Late August 2027全国花火競技大会「大曲の花火」Daisen · Akita · FreeJapan's most prestigious fireworks competition, a late-August night in Akita where the country's finest makers compete, with a rare daytime round.
KANSEI via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped - Guzu-yaki Festival · Late August 2027ぐず焼まつりKaga · Ishikawa · FreeKaga's fire festival, when seven-metre effigies of a monster fish are hauled through an old post town and burned at the shrine after dark.
Hurohukidaikon via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped - Already running
- Gujo Odori · Mid July 2027 – Early September 2027郡上おどりGujo · Gifu · FreeJapan's longest dance festival, some thirty summer nights of street dancing in Gujo Hachiman, with four all-night sessions in mid-August that anyone may join.
丸山徹 via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped
Frequently Asked Questions
The biggest of the year. Nagaoka fires its colossal sanshakudama shells over the Shinano River on 2 and 3 August, Edogawa opens with a thousand shells in five seconds on the first Saturday, Lake Biwa’s display is reflected in open water off Otsu, Kumano’s Obon memorial detonates shells on the sea surface on the 17th, Yokohama’s Minato Mirai packs 18,000 shells into 45 minutes, and the Omagari competition closes the month.
They fall within one week. Aomori Nebuta rolls its illuminated warrior floats through the city from 2 to 7 August, ending with the floats afloat under harbour fireworks. Sendai Tanabata hangs its arcades with towering paper streamers from 6 to 8 August, with fireworks on the evening of the 5th. Further south, Awa Odori fills Tokushima over Obon, 12 to 15 August, and Gujo Odori dances all night from the 13th to the 16th.
Obon, around 13 to 16 August, is a national homecoming, so trains and rooms in festival towns are booked months ahead; Niigata City serves Nagaoka, Hirosaki serves Aomori, and Akita or Morioka serve Omagari. It is the hottest month, so treat mornings as rest and evenings as the event, and keep a rain date in mind, since displays are cancelled in heavy rain or wind.