| O-Shogatsu
(New Year) |
1–3
January
Families visit shrines and temples to offer prayers for the
coming year, at temples and Shinto shrines across the city |
Opening of the
Imperial Palace
Grounds |
2
January
Crowds assemble for the public appearance of the
Emperor and Empress, Imperial Palace
Grounds |
| Dezomeshiki |
Early
January, (New Year’s Parade of Firemen)
Tokyo’s firemen perform traditional acrobatic stunts
and show the newest equipment, Odaiba |
| Setsubun |
3
or 4 February
Ceremony to scare away demons, Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, and
major temples across the city |
| Golden
Week |
29
April to 5 May
A major holiday incorporating many national
holidays, during which several offices close and large
numbers of locals take a holiday (a crowded time to
travel), throughout the city |
Cherry
Blossom
Viewing |
April
Picnics and amusement beneath the city’s 1000's of cherry
trees, throughout the city |
| Kanda
Matsuri |
A
weekend in mid May (odd-numbered years only)
A major street festival with parades of portable shrines and
traditional floats, Kanda Myojin Shrine |
| Sanja
Matsuri |
3rd weekend in May
Tokyo’s biggest and most famous festival featuring
huge parades of portable shrines carried by
men and women in traditional costume, Asakusa |
| Sanno
Matsuri |
A weekend in mid-June (even-numbered years only)
Historic street festival featuring parades of portable
shrines and a procession of 500 people in traditional
court dress, Hie Shrine |
| Sumida
Hanabi |
Late July / Early August
Sumida Fireworks Festival, a spectacular fireworks display
on Tokyo’s Sumida River, Asakusa |
Asakusa
Samba
Carnival |
Late August
A show of colour and sound organised by Brazilian- Japanese
returnees, Asakusa |
Bon-odori
dances |
August
Dancing is held place beneath colourful lanterns to honor
the spirits of the ancestors, various venues |
Tokyo
Film
Festival |
28 October to 5 November
Tokyo International Film Festival, Japan’s annual film
extravaganza, Bunkamura, Shibuya |
Tokyo
Motor
Show |
Late October to Early November
Tokyo Motor
Show, passenger cars and motorcycles
presented on odd-numbered years, commercial
vehicles featured on even-numbered years, Makuhari Messe,
Chiba |
| Shichi-go-san
|
15 November (or closest weekend)
Children are dressed in their best clothes and taken to Shinto
shrines to pray for their future. Meiji Shrine,
Asakusa Shrine, Hie Shrine and others across the city |
| Tori-no-Ichi
|
Mid-Nov
Extraordinarily decorated rakes, believed to bring good fortune,
are sold at a huge shrine fair, Otori Shrine, Asakusa |
| Hagoita-Ichi
|
17 to 19 December
Extravagantly decorated battledore paddles of all sizes are
sold at a large and well-liked temple fair in the hope of
an auspicious start to the New Year, Sensoji Temple, Asakusa |
| Omisoka |
31 December
Temple bells ring out 108 times and people gather to temples
and shrines to see in the New Year, Meiji Shrine and temples
and shrines across the city |
