Festivals in Japan in December
Dates are computed from each festival’s rule, so future years work too
4
- 2–3 December 2026Saitama
Chichibu Night Festival
秩父夜祭
On a winter night, lantern-covered floats are hauled up a steep slope while fireworks burn overhead.
- 10 December 2026Saitama
Tōkamachi Market (Hikawa Shrine, Ōmiya)
十日市(武蔵一宮氷川神社 大湯祭)
A market of lucky rakes held at Hikawa Shrine in Ōmiya, Saitama, on the main day of the shrine’s Daitōsai rite. Stalls selling kumade, good-luck charms and food line the grounds and the approach, ringing with rhythmic hand-clapping as deals are struck. Held every year on 10 December.
- 15–18 December 2026Nara
Kasuga Wakamiya On-matsuri
春日若宮おん祭
Once a year the young deity of Kasuga Shrine is carried out to a temporary shrine, and through one day and night the old performing arts of Japan are offered before it.
- 31 December 2026 – 1 January 2027Yamagata
Shōreisai, Mount Haguro
羽黒山松例祭
On New Year’s Eve, on the summit of Mount Haguro, two mountain ascetics come to the end of a hundred days’ seclusion, and their power is tested by fire.