Hi all,
I’ll travel Japan next year for 3 months arriving in Tokyo on the 11th of July.
I’ve read that the O-bon festivities take place at different times depending on the region and that (for example) O-bon in Tokyo takes place in the middle of July, while Kyoto celebrates mid August. As I’ll be travelling around I am flexible about my whereabouts.
I would really like to see these festivities, yet there seem to be so many different events everywhere that I have no idea which ones are best to visit! It doesn’t necessarily need to be something really big, I would also enjoy small festivities in a remote area, as well as huge celebrations in a major city!
Do you have any recommendations or experienced nice O-bon festivities somewhere? I would be very thankful and happy about some experiences you’ve already made!
8 comments
I don’t think Obon takes place in July in Tokyo. It’s always mid August, no matter where you are, at least in normal sense. I agree it may be possible that there maybe a place that celebrate 旧盆(old Bon, in July). But It’s one of the biggest holiday in Japan, and ordinally people and ordinally company consider bon to be in August.
I think it’s a bit like Christmas in European countries, Bon is all about family gathering and thinking about ancestors. We invite dead ancestors back to our home. It’s kind a deep festival, if you think about it. <edit>
Edit 2: Anyways, Bon can be quite spiritual and personal event, depend on where you are. Modern people may not think much of it and may think it’s just a holiday. But some people may take it very seriously, having family tradition to go to the grave and bring the spirit of dead ancestors back home with them.
If you want to see the festivities, July and august are the right time to come. But as another commenter already mentioned, Obon is more about the family. For something festive I’d look into Gion festival in Kyoto in mid July (it’s the full month, but yoiyama and the float procession are the highlights), Tenjin festival in Osaka or three great festivals of Tohoku.
In normal, non-COVID years, there are tons of summer festivals all throughout Japan from July – September. If you’re thinking about Obon, what you may mean is the Obon dances (Bon Odori). The actual celebration of Obon from Aug 13 – 16th is more family based holiday where you may find roads/traffic and train travel very busy as people in Japan travel back to hometowns to see their family as most people get 4 weekdays off work. It also overlaps with summer break for schools in Japan so kid-friendly activities such as zoos, theme parks, and beaches can also be quite busy.
– [JapanGuide: Obon ](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2286.html)
– [Japan’s Obon Season ](https://matcha-jp.com/en/479)
For the bon odori dances and other summer festivals, they’ve been pretty much cancelled the past two years so if you’re looking for when they are typically held you may only find info from summer 2019. They are usually held about the same time in each location each year though so you can guesstimate 2022 dates a bit but info on schedules for 2022 (Covid permitting) will probably start coming out in May/June for August Bon Odori. Just Google Obon or Festival + City/Region you will be in + year and you should find more info on events nearby.
– [Japan’s 3 Great Bon Odori Dances ](https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/3447/)
– [Daimonji Festival in Kyoto (Aug 16) ](https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/3447/)
There’s also lots of other summer festivals and typically large fireworks festivals from late July through August. It’s very, very hot and humid almost everywhere in Japan them except the mountains or Hokkaido so be prepared for a hot, sweaty but fun night if you get the chance to go to any of the summer festivals.
– [Japan Summer Festival Guide ](https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/culture-and-tradition/japanese-summer-festival/)
– [10 Best Summer Festivals in Japan ](https://www.kyuhoshi.com/best-summer-festivals-in-japan/)
– [Fireworks in Japan: Hanabi Festivals ](https://matcha-jp.com/en/6129)
– [Top 10 Fireworks Festivals in Japan ](https://matcha-jp.com/en/6129)
Fun fact, if you visit Hawaii in summer you’ll also find Bon Odori dances too due to the large numbers of Japanese immigrants. They’re held all throughout the islands on the weekends from June to mid-September (different locations each weekend). If you’re visiting Hawaii during the summer months, Google to see if there’s a Bon Dance near where you are staying.
– [Bon Dance Festivals in Hawaii ](https://www.hawaii.com/discover/bon-dance-festivals/)
– [Do’s and Dont’s of Hawaii’s Obon Festivals ](https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/the-dos-and-donts-of-hawaii-obon-festivals/)
I’ve been to this event near Nakano/Koenji (Tokyo) before (usually at the end of July) and it has been amazing. Traditional elements mixed with modern DJs and performances:
https://daibon.jp/
It’s been cancelled or severely scaled back the last two years, but hoping it comes back strong for 2022.
Here’s a video digest of the 2 day event back in 2018:
https://youtu.be/AhBQ-QZsr5M.
Depending on where you are there, if not cancelled, I would recommend to check koenji awaodori in late august and it’s likely the same weekend as Harajuku Omotesando Super Yosakoi, so it can be a really cool weekend two nice type of Japanese dance.
In general, there is a lot of festival in july-august, so even if they are not related to o-bon, it should be easy to find many matsuri during these months.
Local bon odori events are where the fun is at. Check out tokyocheapo and similar sites for schedules. Also, keep an eye out for fireworks festivals. They happen through July and August
Personally, I liked the paper lantern festival (Toro Nagashi) down the Sumida river (the juxtaposition of traditional lanterns vs modern streetlamps and the Tokyo Skytree is something) and the bon odori in Shimokitazawa (small and local, perfect ending for a day full of craft beers and good food in the area, or a primer for a night in some live house nearby). Both were in August.
If ever you’re in Kyoto mid-August, the daimonji festival is nice, if a bit… underwhelming (it’s five kanji made of fire on a mountainside, what can you expect, right?)
For something more remote, Toi on the Izu peninsula is great. I go there with relatives whenever I visit, cousin’s family lives there. It’s a beach town and the obon fireworks are great (always mid-August.) People gather on the beach and the fireworks are over the water. On clear days you can see Fuji-san from the town.
My cousin took me on a motorcycle tour along the Izu coastline. It was a hair-raising ride on the back of a motorcycle through the mountains, but I’ll never forget it. It’s very beautiful there.
Mid-late July is a MASSIVE festival season in Kansai–Including the Gion Festival (all of July, with the biggest events from the 15th-17th, and other large events from the 22nd-24th), Tenjin Festival (24th-25th–especially the 25th) Motomiya Festival (21st-22nd), and Mitarashi Festival (last 10 or so days of July). I also highly recommend Kobo-san at Toji on the 21st and/or Tenjin-san at Kitanotenmangu on the 25th, though I wouldn’t sacrifice going to the Tenjin Festival just to go to Tenjin-san Market.
In August there are some other events, including Gozan-no-Okuribi (Kyoto’s most famous Obon celebration) and Arashiyama Tourou Nagashi, both of which take place on the 16th. There’s also a pottery festival held near the Kiyomizu-Gojo Area (on the route from the station to Kiyomizu-dera) that’s held during the first part of the month. Osaka (Yodogawa) and Otsu (Biwa) also hold fireworks festivals in early-mid August, that you may be interested in, though I would generally prioritize them lower than some of the other things I’ve listed.