FOLLOW US

World Travel Guide > Guides > Asia > Japan > Tokyo

Local time Tokyo

Currency

¥

Tokyo Events

Kanda Matsuri (Kanda Festival)

For a lavish display of portable shrines and floats, visit Tokyo during the three-day festival that honours the deities of the Kanda Myojin Shrine. Worshippers parade ornate golden mikoshi (portable shrines) through the streets in one of the three largest festivals in Japan. Revel in the Edokko spirit, famed for knowing how to have a good time.

Date: 01 May 2021 - 31 May 2021
(Date to be confirmed)
Venue: Kanda Myojin Shrine.
Cost:

Free.


Asakusa Sanja Matsuri (Sanja Festival)

At one of Tokyo’s biggest shrines, May sees one of Tokyo’s biggest festivals. Thousands fill the streets to watch the mikoshi (portable shrines) wobble along the streets on the shoulders of men, women and children. If the wobble looks like an intentional jolt, don’t be surprised. Jolting is supposed to increase the power of the deities.

Date: 21 May 2021 - 23 May 2021
Venue: Asakusa Shrine.
Website: http://www.asakusajinja.jp/english
Cost:

Free.


Sanno Matsuri (Sanno Festival)

This is another big festival involving parades of portable shrines through the streets of Tokyo. This one sets itself apart by having a phoenix on display plus a number of legendary goblins called Tengu. This creature with a red face and a long nose has supernatural powers (but apparently nothing to do with Pinocchio). Look out for flower displays and plenty of food stalls.

Date: 01 June 2021 - 30 June 2021
(Date to be confirmed)
Venue: Hie-jinja Shrine.
Website: http://www.hiejinja.net/en/
Cost:

Free.


Sumida Hanabi (Sumida Fireworks Festival)

Tokyo's biggest and most spectacular fireworks display erupts over the Sumida River, to commemorate those who died in the Great Famine of the Edo Period. Over the course of an hour, countless rockets are launched from the banks of the river into the Tokyo sky in one of the most spectacular displays anywhere in Japan. Stalls and kiosks selling mulled sake and Japanese specialities add to the bustling, party atmosphere.

Date: 01 July 2021 - 01 July 2021
(Date to be confirmed)
Venue: Two sites along the Sumida River – see website for details.
Website: http://www.sumidagawa-hanabi.com/index_eg.html
Cost:

Free.


Tokyo International Film Festival

Japan's annual film extravaganza is held at various venues throughout the metropolis. Expect an international display that leaves you with plenty to think about.

Date: 30 October 2021 - 08 November 2021
Venue: Various venues including TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills.
Website: http://www.tiff-jp.net/en
Cost:

Various.


O-Shogatsu (New Year)

After the convenient bonenkai parties, designed to forget the old year and start the new one with a clean slate, New Year in Japan signals the start of a major holiday. Unlike the West, it’s important to see the first sunrise rather than the switching of the clock from 23:59 to 00:00. People display pine and bamboo ornaments and it’s traditional to visit a shrine.

Date: 01 January 2022 - 01 January 2022
Venue: Shrines across the city, but the Meiji Shrine in particular.
Cost:

Free.


A digital image at https://illuminoto.com

Related Articles

15 shrines and temples to visit in Japan

Stepped in heritage, thousands of shrines and temples dotted around Japan and here are 15 of the best shrines and temples to visit

Book Accommodation

Featured Hotels

SEE MORE

Claska Hotel

Modern minimalist design and classic Japanese aesthetics brush shoulders in this hip hotel, just outside of the city centre. There’s the chance to choose between a western–style room or traditional tatami space. Each option comes with plenty of home comforts, including beautiful toiletries and access to a huge CD and DVD collection. There’s even an in–house gallery, plus a French/Japanese fusion restaurant.

Hoshinoya Tokyo

Opened in the summer of 2016, Hoshinoya is a unique urban offering for Tokyo, a hotel with a contemporary take on Japan’s legendary omotenashi hospitality, set right at the heart of the city's Otemachi district. Leave your shoes at the door and unwind into spacious quarters, designed with a tasteful nod to the traditional Japenese aesthetic. The 19-floor hotel with stylish lattice exterior forms a bijou enclave in this bustling business district, just a 10 minute walk from Tokyo Station. You won't want to leave your ochanoma lounge area, allocated exclusively to guests staying on each floor and decked in traditional tatami mats, it has a library, sofas and kitchen space. But if you do the rooftop onsen spa is a truly unique Tokyo experience. The hot spring waters are the perfect cure for urban fatigue and will help you revitalise your body and mind, all the while staring up at the open Tokyo skies above.

Hotel Gracery Shinjuku

Set only a few minutes' walk from Shinjuku train station and in easy walking distance of a dizzying array of shops and restaurants, Gracery Shinjuku is something of a landmark - it's set in a modern high rise building that's 30 stories high, and there's a giant replica godzilla head peering out the side. If you're willing to pay extra, you can stay in a godzilla-themed room too. Though the rooms are compact, the bathrooms are larger than the norm and the higher rooms have scenic city views; there's also a convenient Italian restaurant on-site and a cinema on the ground floor.

Park Hyatt Tokyo

The Park Hyatt Tokyo's role as muse and backdrop to Coppola's Lost in Translation pushed it onto the world stage in 2003. Towering over fashionable Shinjuku, guests enter on the 41st floor and gaze across the neon-lit Tokyo sky. Art blends with sleek architecture and spacious rooms, and even the spa combines tradition and modernisation with impressive success. Plus, there's something to be said for working out in the gym that tormented Bill Murray.

Hotel Asia Center of Japan

Quite possibly offering the cheapest double rooms in central Tokyo, this hotel is ideal as as a central base for a short visit. Within walking distance of the ex-pat haven of Roppongi, and the restaurants and bars of Aoyama Itchome, guests are well placed for sightseeing.

Imperial Hotel

This 5-star luxury hotel in Vilnius and is set in a historic 16th-century building. Its great Old Town location, super helpful staff and 55 spotless rooms combine to make this a deservedly popular choice with business and leisure travellers alike.