Written by Patrick Balfe
Researched by Alexandra Ziminski
This month, we can finally start to feel the cooler weather, embrace autumn, and make our way to fall festivals and spooky Halloween events.
You could visit a ginormous tug-of-war, a secret mud festival, or battle zombies. Wherever you are this month, be sure to check out all the top events near you.
For events in Tokyo and the surrounding area, see our listings on Tokyo Cheapo.
Kansai events
Here is the line-up of October events in Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, Mie, and the surrounding areas.
Zuiki Festival
KyotoOctober 1–5
Multi-day Kyoto harvest festival
Witness ornate shrines paraded through the streets in offering for a successful autumn harvest. Alongside the portable shrine processions, other traditional ceremonies and performances take place at various shrines and other locations in the festival area.
Kangetsu no Yube: Full Moon Viewing
KyotoOctober 4–6
Traditional Kyoto moon-viewing event
A chance to float beneath a full moon on a beautiful lake, this Kyoto event is as tranquil as it gets. It’s a tradition that’s continued since the Heian era. If the moon is in the right position, you’ll see it both in the sky and the lake at once.
| At the door: ¥500 | ||
| At the door: ¥300 | ||
Uneme Festival
NaraOctober 5–6
Lantern-lit lake boats
While more melancholic and somber than most Japanese summer festivals, this is also one of the most beautiful. Watch as lantern-lit traditional boats glide across the Sarusawa Lake in Nara in memory of Uneme, a court lady who drowned herself in the lake after being spurned by the emperor.
Kiyomizu Temple Seiryu-e Dragon Festival
KyotoOctober 15
Dragon procession at Kyoto’s famous temple
Head to the beautiful Kiyomizu-dera to see the procession of the blue dragon as he drinks from the Otowa Waterfall below the temple. With masked characters and colorful dances, this is a simple but impressive display, adding a touch of the mystical to one of Kyoto’s most famous spots.
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Japan
OsakaSeptember 5–November 3
Zombies, zombies, and more zombies
Dodge zombies as they stumble through the streets of USJ or fight them off in Resident Evil: Night of Heroes. Party it up at HamiKuma’s Sweet Scream Party or steel yourself at Chucky’s Carnival of Chaos. Due to the immense popularity of this event, it’s recommended that you get your park tickets in advance.
Intercollegiate Festa
KyotoOctober 12
Local community parade
Designed to help students bond with the community, this event has a huge procession with 1,000 dancers, a mikoshi (portable shrine) parade, marching bands, performances from acoustic bands, and a group dance competition too.
There will also be a fashion show, food stalls, and plenty of activities for children. Since the students make up 10% of the city’s population, they put on a great show.
Saiin Kasuga Shrine Festival
KyotoOctober 11–12
Portable shrines, music, and dancing
A large fall festival held in the heart of Kyoto, this event has grand mikoshi parades through local streets, with live music and dancing. There will be horseback parades, lanterns, food stalls, and plenty more to enjoy.
Otsu Hikiyama Festival
ShigaOctober 11–12
One of the prefecture’s most historic festivals
This is one of the area’s three biggest festivals and features a parade of elaborate mikoshi. It has over 400 years of history, with unusual tanuki masks, music, and chanting — as well as 13 floats — one from each area.
The night before the parade is filled with music and dance to prepare for the following day, so stay for both if you can.
Mecha Happy Festival
OsakaOctober 13
Huge Osaka dance festival
Created in the year 2000 to bring smiles to the faces of everyone lucky enough to be in Osaka at the time, this annual festival has dance performances with 2,800 participants in teams competing to be the overall winners. It takes place in multiple locations, and the final round is an amazing sight.
Nada no Kenka Festival
Hyogo and HimejiOctober 14–15
See locals battle it out with heavy portable shrines
A fighting festival held at Matsubara Hachiman Shrine, the Nada no Kenka sees groups of locals carrying large portable shrines from seven different districts on the first day. On the following day, three teams of younger men carry three giant mikoshi and jostle them around the shrine from several points throughout the day.
Goryo Jinja Autumn Festival
OsakaOctober 16–17
Classic shrine festival vibes
You can explore the shrine grounds, all lit up by decorative lanterns. There will be traditional entertainment, including music and performances, as well as food stalls to keep your hunger at bay. You can add your own lantern to the shrine grounds.
Kurama no Hi Matsuri
KyotoOctober 22
Residential Shinto festival
This festival is held in a small residential area, with a community procession of burning torches to commemorate the day in 970 when the Yuki Myōjin shrine was moved from central Kyoto to Kurama. The festival starts in the evening when big kagaribi bonfires are lit along the village streets.
Jidai Matsuri
KyotoOctober 22
One of the three great festivals of Kyoto
The biggest historical parade in Kyoto, the Jidai Matsuri translates to the “Festival of the Ages” and commemorates the founding of Kyoto as the Imperial Capital in 794. There will be over 2,000 people forming a procession — all dressed in costumes and departing from the Imperial Palace up to Heian Jingu Shrine. One of the highlights is the presence of geisha dressed in the incredibly elegant junhitoe kimono.
Kōbe Port Fireworks Festival
KōbeOctober 20–24
Multi-day annual fireworks event in Kōbe
There will be a small-scale fireworks event with a 10-minute fireworks show every day for five consecutive days. Meriken Park is the main free spot for viewing the fireworks, but expect crowds. The fireworks are launched from barges located between Kobe Harborland and Port Island.
Ujicha Ceremony
KyotoOctober 5
Quiet and traditional ceremony in the home of Japanese tea
A small tea jar–opening ceremony is held on the first Sunday of October every year, using water drawn straight from the Uji River. The tea jar is presented at Kōshōji Temple and ends when it is presented to the Buddha effigy.
Kanto events
These are events just outside of Tokyo, including Tochigi, Ibaraki, and the surrounding areas.
Nikkō Tōshogū Shrine Grand Autumn Festival
NikkōOctober 16–17
Samurai-themed festival
The Shuki Taisai Festival is a samurai-themed festival near Toshogu Shrine and has a parade of over 1,000 men in era-appropriate dress. They will be taking on the roles of foot soldiers, cavalry, and archers as they march in a faux funeral procession for the mighty Ieyasu Tokugawa. He was the first Tokugawa shogun, and it is he to whom Tōshogū Shrine is dedicated.
Hokkaidō events
Here’s what’s happening on the north island this October.
Lake Akan Marimo Festival
HokkaidōOctober 8–10
A local environmental festival
While not an ancient tradition, the Marimo Festival has been held on Lake Akan since 1950. It was created to protect the local marimo, round algae balls, from pollution and is conducted by significant members of the Ainu community.
Chūbu events
These are events in Nagano, Aichi, Fukui, Shizuoka, Yamanashi, and surrounding areas.
Dontsuku “Penis Festival”
ShizuokaOctober 4
One of Japan’s foremost phallic fests
The annual Dontsuku “Penis Festival” in Shizuoka features a parade of penis-shaped shrines carried through the streets to symbolize fertility and good fortune. The festival also features typical festival fare like food and drink stalls and fireworks to round things off, so to speak.
Asagiri Jam
ShizuokaOctober 18–19
Family- and pet-friendly music festival with epic Mt. Fuji views
Asagiri Jam is held at the original location of the Fuji Rock festival, so, as you might expect, it’s hard to miss the massive looming presence of Fuji-san at this chill and picturesque festival. The music here is a little more laidback than what you get at other big Japanese rock festivals, but there’s no shortage of big-name international and domestic acts.
Kanazawa Marathon
IshikawaOctober 26
The streets of Kanazawa fill with runners in the cool fall air
Even if you’re not running, marathon day is a great time to visit Kanazawa — you can cheer on the runners and see the city at its busy best. There will be 12,000 participants starting from Hirosaki Street and plenty of costumes to see.
Takayama Autumn Festival
GifuOctober 9-10
Elegant fall festival in nature
One of the most beautiful and elegant festivals in Japan, this is the counterpart to the spring festival and comes complete with stalls, food, music, and parades. The large wheeled floats have marionette performances during the parades, which take place both in the afternoon and evening.
Yuwaku Bon-bori Festival
IshikawaOctober 18
Niche local onsen-town festival
An unusual festival straight from the screens of the top TV series Hanasaku Iroha, this festival began in 2011. The small hot-spring town of Yuwaku was used as the model for the scenes of the show, and each year, dedicated fans travel from across Japan to see the fiery festival.
Kyūshū & Okinawa events
Here are Kyūshū and Okinawa’s best October events.
Paantu Festival (Miyako Island)
OkinawaLate October
Muddy Okinawan tradition
A bizarre and somewhat creepy festival in Okinawa, the Paantu Festival is centered around mud. Villagers dress up as paantu — supernatural beings with long faces — using foliage and masks. They then parade through the town covering everything possible with mud, from cars to children — all to exorcise evil spirits.
Dates have been kept quiet following incidents in which tourists who didn’t appreciate the mud-slinging attacked the villagers in retaliation, so finding the dates will take some serious sleuthing.
Kunchi Festival (Nagasaki)
NagasakiOctober 7-9
Multicultural event replete with delicious food and dancing
A huge celebration of the city’s multi-cultural history, this is the must-see event of the year. It dates back nearly 400 years and involves dance troupes from all 59 neighborhoods and five or six dashimono (performance) groups, along with floats and all the usual festival stalls.
Great Tug-of-War (Naha)
OkinawaOctober 11-13
World-record winning show of strength
For displays of brute strength, this is the festival to see. The event attracts thousands of participants and even more spectators. The challenge entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 1997 for being the largest event of its kind in the world, with each side using up to 15,000 participants. The rope is 200 meters long and weighs 40 metric tons, so all those people are needed!
Miyazaki Shrine Festival
MiyazakiOctober 26–27
Traditional shrine event feat. horses
Held at a major shrine with over 140 years of history, this festival features a procession of the gods on both days. Many participants will be on horseback, and all will be in traditional clothing. On the second day, you can enjoy entertainment around the Jinmu-sama Square.
While we do our best to ensure it’s correct, information is subject to change.
Post first published September 2017. Last updated in September 2025 by Patrick Balfe.
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