Dance Events in Japan

Gion Odori

Kyoto’s Gion Odori is a performance by the geiko (geisha) and maiko (apprentice geisha) of the Gion Higashi district. It’s the only one of the annual odori events to take place in …

Osaka Mecha Happy Festival

Started in 2000 with the aim of making Osaka the “Number One City of Children with Smiles”, this festival celebrates with dance displays by over 2800 performers. Held in six different …

20th Kyoto Intercollegiate Festa

The 20th Intercollegiate Festa is a display organised by the students of Kyoto aimed at bonding with the local community as students make up 10% of the city’s population. The entertainment …

2023 Domannaka Matsuri

The Nippon Domannaka Festival (called the Domatsuri for short) is the largest team dance festival in the Chubu region of central Japan and one of Nagoya‘s most well-known events. Started in …

Okinawa Zento Eisa Festival

Due to COVID-19, the 2022 festival has been postponed. Find yourself in Okinawa around O-bon time, when the spirits of the dead return to the world of the living? Check out the Okinawa Zento Eisa …

Miyako no Nigiwai

See dancers from all five of Kyoto's hanamachi (geisha districts) on stage together.

Kamogawa Odori

This is the last of Kyoto’s spring geisha dances, held annually in May, and featuring the geiko (the Kyoto word for geisha) and maiko (apprentice geisha) from Pontochō. The performance has …

Miyako Odori

Celebrate spring in Kyoto with the annual Miyako Odori, a performance by geiko (the Kyoto word for geisha) and maiko (apprentice geiko) from Gion Kōbu — the largest of the city’s …

Kyo Odori

A performance by the geiko and maiko of Kyoto's Miyagawachō district to welcome spring.

Kitano Odori

The first of Kyoto's annual spring geisha performances, performed by the geiko and maiko of Kamishichen.

Worldwide Eisa Festival

Dance, they say, like nobody is watching. If that’s not your jam, go watch somebody else dance instead. Head down to Naha in Okinawa and experience the Worldwide Eisa Festival. This dance …