Rachel Teo

Osaka is a lively city year-round, and it gets even more exciting in the summer when there are festivals abound. Many of our favourite seasonal celebrations are fireworks festivals. When vibrant explosions start lighting up the cloudless skies after sundown and the yukata-wearing crowds turn their heads towards the spectacle, that’s when you can get into a truly magical Japanese summer mood. This year’s celebrations kicked off in spectacular fashion with three fireworks festivals on the first weekend of June. The next wave of fireworks will begin in July. Outside of Osaka, you'll find equally stunning displays in Kyoto and Mie that are well worth a day trip. So dust off your yukata, arrive early to secure the best viewing spot, and enjoy the colourful fireworks while snacking on some tasty festival grub. Meanwhile, plan out your June with our curated lists of the best events in Osaka and Kyoto.

Cherry blossoms are the icon of spring, while summer is defined by hydrangeas. These colourful blooms appear in large clusters on leafy bushes from June through early July, and their photogenic arrival marks the start of the rainy season that sees Japan transition from spring into summer. We get it, the regular wet days and rising humidity may feel uncomfortable, but this early summer period is perhaps your last chance to head out for one final romp in the great outdoors before the intense heat sets in. In Osaka, hydrangeas grow in abundance at some of the prefecture's most scenic parks, while in Kyoto, you'll find them at serene temples tucked away from the city centre crowds – one of which even hosts an after-dark illumination in mid-June. So, head out and catch these gorgeous blooms now. And if you're looking to explore more nature, here are the best beaches and hiking trails in and around Osaka.

Osaka’s markets are as varied and vibrant as the city itself. From its temple courtyards and leafy shrines to its park promenades, the city hosts regular flea markets and antique and vintage clothes fairs throughout the year. Some unfold every Sunday for a slow, easy day of perusing; others appear monthly for treasure hunters who prefer quiet prospecting; yet others are festival-style events that come complete with music. Whether you’re chasing rare collectables, classy antiques, one-of-a-kind outfits or just a bargain, Osaka’s markets guarantee good finds and a good day out. Plus, almost all the markets we’ve put together boast a wide array of stalls offering seriously tempting food and drink, so even if you don’t find the niche memorabilia or eccentric ensemble you were hunting for, you’ll at least leave well fed. RECOMMENDED: The 15 best museums in Osaka

If you love a good knick-knack or a browse at a pop-up shop, you’ll definitely be interested in Zakka Wonderland, a little market that sells a collection of miscellaneous items by independent brands and sellers. Held on the weekend of July 4 and 5 at the Namba SkyO Convention Hall, it’s set to feature everything from apparel and home décor to camping gear and garden tools. The sellers present will have some handmade items, too, including ceramics, woodcrafts and jewellery. Tickets cost ¥800 if you get them online, but they can also be purchased at the door for ¥1,000. Entrance is free for children in elementary school and under.

The Hankyu Umeda Department Store has opened its lush rooftop once again to ring in the warm weather with summery food and copious amounts of beer. Seatings run for 120 minutes and include a buffet and an all-you-can-drink deal. You get to choose from a spread of 30 different dishes, including deli items, salads, fritters, curry, pizza and shaved ice desserts. 120 kinds of drinks are available, with a wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Travel-themed booths featuring the cuisines of different countries also run for a limited time. The current special, Asian Table, is on until July 7 and serves up a range of Asian dishes alongside beverages like sake and shochu. You’ll get to enjoy eats and drinks from North and South America from July 8 to August 25, while a European wine market takes over from August 26 to October 12. Standard plans cost ¥5,000 per person (¥1,800 for children in elementary school). In addition to the buffet, each diner can choose one item from three options: a barbecued chicken leg, popcorn shrimp or soft-serve ice cream. For an additional ¥1,000, you can upgrade to the premium plan, which includes the buffet and a platter of barbecued chicken, steak and sausages. While walk-ins are possible, we recommend making reservations in advance online.

The Umeda Tanabata Festival is returning to Shin Umeda City (the area around the Umeda Sky Building) until August 8. Running for its 20th year, the free-to-enjoy festival features brilliantly colourful Sendai Tanabata streamers, which can be found around the Umeda Sky Building and along the ‘Showa retro’ shopping street at Takimi Koji.  Until July 7, those who dine at restaurants along the shopping street are presented with strips of coloured paper to write their wishes on, which are then tied onto bamboo branches along the street.  A small summer festival with carnival games for children will be held at Takimi Koji on the weekend of July 4 and 5, as well as July 7. The festival runs from 4pm to 8pm daily. In addition, from 5pm to 9pm on the same days, you can light a tealight and set it out on a pond in a bamboo boat at the Star Pocket square outdoors. Live jazz performances will also take place from 6pm on these days to further enhance the vibrant atmosphere.

Japan’s rainy season is now officially underway, and so we’ve arrived at the best time to admire the rain-kissed hydrangea flowers that thrive amidst all the precipitation. The Hydrangea Fair at Nagai Botanical Gardens is one of the largest events of its kind in Osaka, showcasing approximately 10,000 hydrangea plants in full bloom. Besides the flowers themselves, programme highlights include displays of hydrangeas floating in water basins and an exhibition of different varieties of the bloom on a glass shelf, showcasing hues ranging from lilac and pink to purple and blue. Beautiful photo spots will also be set up in the garden: think hydrangea-coloured umbrellas suspended in mid-air, and a path decorated with traditional Japanese wind chimes that tinkle in the breeze. The gardens are open daily from 9.30am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.30pm. Tickets cost ¥300 for adults and ¥200 for university and high school students.

If you’re a fan of Japanese whisky, mark your calendar for August 22. Kyoto’s annual Whisky Messe showcases an impressive range of spirits across more than 100 booths set up by global and Japanese producers and distilleries. Expect free tastings, event-exclusive whiskies, opportunities to purchase your favourite bottles, and even a charity auction. Different exhibitors will be featured across the two sessions, which run from 10am to 1.30pm and 2.30pm to 6pm respectively. There are also optional add-ons you can purchase to enrich your experience, including tickets for whisky seminars by industry experts and the right to partake in special tastings of rare whiskies.  Tickets can be purchased in advance for ¥4,500 for the first or second session, or on the door for ¥5,000. All-day tickets that cover both sessions are available too; these cost ¥8,000 and can also be purchased online before your visit.

Summers are for grilling up meals around the barbecue and beating the heat with icy cold beers, and the ‘R’ Riverside Grill & Beer Garden at Nakanoshima Park is one of the best spots in Osaka to do just that. Open throughout summer and all the way to December 25, it offers 120-minute seatings that come with an all-you-can-drink deal featuring an extensive line-up of alcohol and soft drinks, plus a choice of three multicourse menus.  The Casual BBQ Course (¥4,500) highlights wagyu beef, pork chops in a lemon marinade and jerk chicken, while the Standard BBQ Course (¥5,500) gets you all of the above plus an additional plate of Indonesian-style lamb skewers and an assorted seafood platter. For the full monty, choose the Premium Course (¥6,500), which includes everything in the Casual and Standard offerings, an additional platter of Japanese Black wagyu steak, and a cut of tuna cheek. All three ‘courses’ also include assorted vegetables, shrimp crackers, Javanese chilli fries and spicy fried noodles. Lunchtime deals featuring the Casual BBQ Course are available on weekends and public holidays. While walk-ins are possible, we recommend making a reservation online in advance.

If you’re a fan of the relaxed and carefree nature of cute bear character Rilakkuma, get this: a Rilakkuma café is running from May 28 to June 28 at Box Café & Space in Tennoji. Here, you can enjoy an afternoon tea set with themed main dishes, which are shaped like the lead characters Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma and Kiiroitori. You get to customise your tea set with a choice of three sides from a line-up of six plates of pancakes and tarts, and a range of beverages like coffee, colourful fruit teas and refreshing herbal teas. Merch like stickers, keychains and mugs will also be available for purchase. The café is open daily from 11.15am to 9.30pm, and there are 13 seatings throughout the day. Walk-ins are possible, but reservations are highly recommended. These can be made online for a 75-minute session and a booking fee of ¥715, but you do get two postcards on the door as a reward for the trouble (and extra yen spent).

A traditional Japanese distilled spirit made from grains and vegetables like sweet potato, barley, rice or buckwheat, shochu has been gaining ground among discerning liquor lovers worldwide in recent years. If you’re a fan of its rich and complex flavour profiles, this one’s for you.  Premium shochu tasting event Shochu Nani Wanderful takes place at MyDome Osaka on June 28. Bringing together honkaku (‘authentic’, ie single-distilled) shochu from 14 top-tier heritage distilleries and eats from 14 Osaka restaurants, the event features a delectable range of food and drink pairings. With a roster of big-name distilleries like Iki no Kura Shuzo from Nagasaki and Manzen Shuzo from Kagoshima, the event makes the perfect opportunity to do some serious shochu study, especially if you’re just getting into the spirit. There will be live music and DJ sets to relax with, and you also have the option to purchase some of your favourite bottles as a little treat. Tickets for the event are only available online and will not be sold at the door, so be sure to get yours early. They cost ¥4,500 per person and include a ¥500 food and drink voucher.

Compared to beef, pork or chicken, lamb has long been considered a niche or speciality meat in Japan. But it’s made serious inroads in recent years, and now there’s an entire gourmet festival dedicated to the savoury stuff. The three-day Osaka Hitsuji Festival, brought to you by Australian Lamb, takes place at Osaka Food Lab in Umeda from June 5 to 7 and features a lamb dish line-up courtesy of 11 top-tier restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Chi-Fu. The menu extends from skewers, stews and simple grilled meats like steaks and lamb chops to mapo tofu rice bowls, burgers and paella. Boozy drinks like cardamom shochu highballs, spiced sangria, aged Shaoxing wine, red and white wines and draft and craft beers will be served to enjoy with the food. Admission tickets for the two- or three-hour sessions can be purchased online and cost ¥500 for adults. Entry is free for children in high school and below.

Chidoribashi Omoide Street ‘Tag’ is a week-long, community-driven event that celebrates the local history and culture of the Konohana Sumiyoshi shopping arcade in Konohana ward. The free-to-enjoy event takes place from May 30 to June 6. During the week, you can look forward to guided walking tours of the area and interactive exhibits like maps, illustrations and a timeline of the neighbourhood’s history. Step into local folklore through stories of love, memorable fights and tales from shop owners and residents of the community. A variety of stage performances, including live music, talks and picture-story shows, will be held on the weekends during the period. A night market with delicious street food will also run on the night of June 6.

With the pleasant temperatures and bright days of spring, plants are at their finest this time of year. Kobe Nunobiki Herb Garden, the largest facility of its kind in Japan, is exhibiting a beautiful succession of blooms at its Garden Fest until July 15. Stroll through 12 themed gardens that are teeming with blooming herbs and flowers like nemophila, pot marigolds, a variety of English roses, chamomiles, pansies and violas. A photo contest is also running till July 5, encouraging you to submit photos of your visit. While you’re there, enjoy a variety of flavours at the Garden’s restaurants, from German sausages and lamb brochettes at the Herb Marche to strawberry sweets and desserts at The Veranda Kobe, or opt for a curated picnic experience with wine, picnic blankets and baked goods. Admission to the park includes a round-trip or one-way ride on a cable car that takes you to the top of the park; tickets can be purchased at the door or online. Prices start at ¥2,000 for adults and ¥1,200 for children of elementary and junior high school age.

May is the month of roses in Japan, as many varieties of the flower reach peak bloom during this period. From now until May 24, the Nagai Botanical Garden in Osaka has dedicated two weeks to these beautiful spring blooms. Admire up to 300 varieties of roses, with 3,500 rose bushes in full bloom at the park’s European-style rose garden, which also features arches and pergolas teeming with climbing roses. On weekends and public holidays, you get to enjoy a selection of rose-coloured soft serve ice creams named for the different variants in the garden. The gardens are open daily from 9.30am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.30pm.

Summer is fireworks season in Japan. However, with the rising temperatures in recent years, heading out into the oppressive heat and humidity can be uncomfortable, to say the least. Perhaps it’s a good thing that Osaka is kicking off the 2026 summer fireworks season early, while the weather is still pleasant. The thing is, there isn't just one, but three fireworks events happening back-to-back in the first weekend of June alone. As two of them take place concurrently on opposite ends of Osaka on Saturday June 6, you’ll have to pick a side. Meanwhile, the postponed Japan Fireworks Expo 2026 is set to make up for its April cancellation with a jaw-dropping show on Sunday June 7. Read on for the deets on each fireworks event and make your choice quickly, as tickets are selling fast. Photo: Rinku Fireworks Festival Rinku Fireworks Festival, June 6 Held at Rinku Park’s Marble Beach, Rinku Fireworks Festival returns for its 10th edition this year. The 40-minute display will feature 7,000 fireworks synchronised to music.  While the fireworks begin at 7.30pm, the festival grounds are open from 4pm, giving you plenty of time to stake out a good spot and enjoy the spread that the festival food trucks and booths have to offer. Tickets from ¥3,000. More details here. Photo: Osaka Bay Skylumina Osaka Bay Skylumina Fireworks & Drones, June 6 Held at the Sky Plaza on the artificial island of Maishima in Osaka Bay, Skylumina bills itself as a ‘next-generation’ fireworks show that combines

April 29 marks the start of the 2026 Golden Week, which runs through May 6. Every year, this long stretch of holidays turns Japan into a lively playground filled with an assortment of events and festivals – and Osaka is no exception. However, if the sheer number of things to do feels overwhelming, let us narrow it down for you.  These food and drink festivals, happening at some of Osaka’s biggest attractions, will appease any foodie looking for an outdoor feast that combines the chance to bask in the beautiful spring weather. While entry is free, food and drinks are to be paid for separately. Plus, the Craft Gyoza Fes and the Meat Osaka are cashless. Photo: The Meat For carnivores: The Meat Osaka, Apr 29–May 6 The Meat Osaka returns after two years, bringing an expanded lineup of top-tier meat dishes from butchers, yakiniku specialists and innovative chefs who’ve developed exclusive menus for the festival. Expect premium wagyu sushi, rare-cut katsu (deep-fried cutlets), Korean-style grilled beef tongue, hearty menchi katsu (deep-fried ground meat patties) and more, served up by vendors from across Japan. Confirmed participants include World Diner (Hokkaido black wagyu sushi and roast beef with truffle sauce), Tamagawa Butcher Shop (rare beef katsu and secret-blend menchi katsu), Korean BBQ specialist 4si (two styles of grilled tongue), and Ishigaki Island Kitauchi Ranch (premium cuts from its own cattle). Photo: Tenshiba Oktoberfest For drinking in the park: Tenshiba Okto

Street art can breathe new life into public spaces, transforming blank walls into vibrant canvases. But it’s more than just decoration. When created with intention, it can reflect a community’s cultural values and identity, and help strengthen the connection between people and place. While murals remain relatively uncommon in Japan, interest is growing – especially in Osaka’s Konohana ward, where a new street art festival is making its debut this month. Photo: Jun Chihara The Enoen Festival will take over Konohana’s Shikanjima Sumiyoshi Shrine on Saturday, September 27, for a day of art, live music, street food and wholesome family fun. Alongside celebrating the town’s 25 existing murals – created by local and international artists from more than 20 countries over the past two years – the festival will also unveil five new murals painted during an artist residency running from September 21–28 in Konohana’s Baika district.  Photo: Wall Share At the heart of Konohana’s emerging street art scene is Wall Share, an organisation established in 2020 with a mission to transform Osaka’s urban landscape with bold, colourful murals. Since launching the Mural Town Konohana initiative in September 2023, Wall Share has invited local and international street artists to participate in an art residency programme, where they create captivating murals across the Yodogawa and Konohana wards during their stay in Japan. Photo: Wall Share In the week leading up to the Enoen Festival, five new

Summertime is festival time in Osaka. Kicking off the celebratory season is Tanabata, a traditional Japanese festival with origins in Chinese folklore. According to legend, deity couple Orihime and Hikoboshi are separated by the Milky Way, and they are only able to meet once a year: on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Tanabata, or the Star Festival, celebrates the day of their reunion. As Japan has largely dropped the lunar dating system in favour of the Gregorian calendar, Tanabata is commonly celebrated on July 7, which falls on a Monday this year. The Star Festival is associated with grand, colourful streamers decorating streets, shopping malls and temples. Another popular custom is to write your wishes on strips of paper and hang them on bamboo trees. Tanabata is one of the most joyous and colourful traditional celebrations in Osaka – and it offers great photo opportunities. So if you’re in the city between July 5 and 7, put any of these three Star Festival events on your to-do list.   Photo via Hirakata ParkTanabata Lantern Festival at Hirakata Park Tanabata Lantern Festival at Hirakata Park July 5–6 Hirakata Park’s Tanabata festival features a special indoor lantern area, where lanterns filled with wishes are launched. Summer festival stalls offer carnival games like superball scooping, yo-yo fishing and shooting. There are also workshops that allow you to paint masks and make flower crowns or have your face painted. Consider picking up a ¥200 fortune-telli