Kyoto Events

Kyoto’s Boating Festival is an annual re-enactment on the Oi River of an imperial boating party from the Heian period when Kyoto first became the capital of Japan. Two dozen boats loaded with courtiers, Noh actors, musicians and dancers take pare in the spectacular event. It's worth arriving early to see the participants proceeding from Kurumazaki Shrine down to the river in their gorgeous costumes. You can watch the event from Arashiyama's famous Togetsu Bridge or the broad banks of the river, but for a closer view it's worth hiring a rowing boat or booking a seat on a sightseeing barge.

Noh theatre performance by torchlight at night in the shrine precincts. Noh is a classical Japanese performance art, which combines dance, drama, music and poetry. It is performed mainly by men dressed in spectacular costumes and masks.

Massive bonfires in the shape of Chinese characters and other forms are lit on five hills surrounding Kyoto, to farewell the ancestral spirits. The largest is in northeastern Kyoto and can be seen from all over the city when it gets dark. Also called Gozan Okuribi, Kyoto’s bonfires are associated with the Buddhist summer festival of Obon, which is celebrated throughout Japan.

Kyoto's Jidai Matsuri is a glorious opportunity to see the history of the country brought to life. Some 2,000 people wear authentic costumes from every period in Japanese history from the 19th century all the way back to the eighth and walk in a 2km-long (1.4 miles) parade. The festival only began in 1895, but it commemorates Kyoto's position as the capital of Japan and residence of successive emperors from 794 to 1868. The procession is led by a band impersonating the fife and drum corps of the Meiji Restoration Royal Army and takes you from the grandeur of the Meiji era back through the fierce samurai and elegant geisha of the shogunate to the elegant costumes of the Heian period when Kyoto was first established.

On Okera Mairi, it is traditional to visit Kyoto’s Yasaka Shrine to obtain the sacred flame of okera, a medicinal herb. The lighted roots of the herb are then carried back home where fires are lit on which the first meal of the New Year is cooked. The herb is used to cleanse the evil forces and energies of the previous year.

Japan's most famous festival takes place in downtown Kyoto, lasts for a month and includes the spectacular Yama-boko Junko parade of 30 floats on 17 July.

The geisha and maiko (apprentices) of the Gion Kobu district perform traditional spring dances with live musical accompaniment.

The festival's main event features a procession of beautifully outfitted ox-carts accompanied by 400 people in Heian-period dress. Leaving the Old Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho) in the morning, the procession winds its way north, stopping around noon at Shimogamo Shrine and then heading on to arrive late in the afternoon at the Kamigamo Shrine. The Hollyhock festival is one of Kyoto's three major annual events. It dates back to the sixth century, when the hollyhock was believed to have the power to ward off lightning and earthquakes.