The best events, festivals and things to do in Tokyo in May 2026

One of Tokyo's biggest and best traditional festivals is back this year for three consecutive days. First held back in 1312, the event celebrates the three men who founded Asakusa's Sensoji Temple, and it often draws close to two million visitors. 

The highlight of the festival comes on Sunday May 18, when three enormous mikoshi (portable shrines) are shuttled through the streets of Asakusa. Local residents usually take turns – and often fight each other for the chance – to carry them. Be sure to check the real-time route map to secure a good vantage point to see the mikoshi parade, which kicks off at 8am and continues on throughout the day. 

Saturday May 17 will feature the Chonai Mikoshi Rengo Togyo, where 100 or so mikoshi from 44 districts in the area are brought together to be purified at Asakusa Shrine, followed by a procession of priests, musicians and more. The gathering will take place behind Sensoji Temple's main hall from noon. 

While Saturday’s and Sunday's events bring the most visitors, the main procession on Friday May 16 at 1pm may offer a better opportunity to photograph the mikoshi passing through the famous Kaminarimon gate, as there will most likely be smaller crowds.

Do note that a slice of Japan that usually isn't that visible to visitors is in full view here. The festival is partially known (abroad) for the number of yakuza who attend and participate. If you notice a group of very heavily tattooed, often shirtless Japanese men and women, try to not stare or offend them. Be sure to ask politely if you want to take photos. Generally speaking though, they're there to show off their strength – plus their tattoos – and thus seem to like the attention they get.

Head to easily accessible and verdant Ome this May for one of the countryside town’s biggest springtime festivals. Taking place every year on May 2 and 3, the Ome Grand Festival (aka Ome Taisai) is packed with excitement, with 12 dashi floats from each of the 12 neighbourhoods of Ome being taken on a vibrant parade through the city streets (May 2), as well as over 300 festival stalls selling delicious grub and local specialities.

Don’t miss the main seriai performances on the second day, when all the floats gather along the main Ome Kaido avenue. The energy level reaches its peak as musicians aboard the floats face off, passionately beating drums and ringing bells in a spirited competition.

Kachiya Matsuri commemorates the Heian court bureaucrat Fujiwara no Hidesato's prayer for victory, after which he successfully quelled an uprising spearheaded by samurai rebel Taira no Masakado.

The festival dates back to Hidesato's offering of his bow and arrow to the shrine after his victory in battle. In today's modern iteration of the festival, you’ll witness the dedication of a kachiya (victory arrow) and a traditional warrior parade. Here's the samurai procession route on Google Maps, starting at 1pm from Kamede Shrine in Ojima.

The Kurayami Matsuri, or ‘darkness festival’, is a week-long event at the Okunitama Shrine out in Fuchu. The festivities take place throughout Golden Week, with float parades, performances and lots of family-friendly fun. We recommend visiting on the evening of May 5, when eight mikoshi (portable shrines) are carried through the shrine grounds to the beat of huge taiko drums from 6pm to 9pm. Don’t miss the spectacular yabusame (horseback archery) demonstration at 10.30pm on the same day. Check the full programme details (in Japanese) on their website. 

The iconic Tsukiji Hongwanji temple is hosting a one-day music and food fiesta organised by local volunteers. Pair delicious festival grub with smooth jazz this spring as over 15 stalls highlighting Tsukiji’s culinary traditions will set up shop next to an outdoor jazz stage. Seven groups of artists will be strutting their stuff, including the Tokyo x Seoul Band, drummer Shun Ishiwaka's Answer to Remember and Lisa Ono and Masaki Hayashi duo. Be sure to check the event Instagram for more details.

While the event is free to enter, reservations are required. Tickets are available now via Ticketpia.

Tokyo is indisputably home to some of the world’s most breathtaking architecture, from iconic buildings that define past eras to boundary-pushing creations by today’s starchitects. The third annual Tokyo Architecture Festival, held over a week in May, offers an opportunity to glimpse architectural wonders usually hidden from view and get the lowdown on many other key structures. Seventy buildings will be specially opened to the public (free entry, no reservation required), while experts in the field will lead participants on some 120 guided architectural tours.

Buildings accessible to the public include the Kyu Iwasaki-tei House in Yushima, built in 1896 for the son of the founder of the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi and designed by British architect Josiah Conder. Across the pond in Ueno, Tokyo University of the Arts Red Brick Building No. 1, believed to be the oldest surviving brick building in Tokyo, will open its second floor to visitors, revealing the original roof trusses and scars left by past earthquakes.

The festival’s guided tours explore an assortment of architecturally rich districts, with an emphasis on the urban. Areas covered include Marunouchi, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Roppongi and Ginza, with one of the must-see tours being Mon Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives, which opened in March 2026 as part of Takanawa Gateway City. The tour offers a look inside the new cultural hub designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates, including its vast 100-tatami room, showcasing an experimental space that blends traditional Japanese spatial design with future-facing creative programmes.

The colourful Children’s Day koinobori carp streamers are an annual sight at Tokyo Tower, and this year you can see them at the main entrance from March 18 through Golden Week until May 6. There are 333 streamers set-up here, signifying the 333m height of the iconic tower. 

Among the 333 streamers, there's one that's not a carp – see if you can spot the 6-metre-long sanma (Pacific saury) nobori. This unique inclusion is Tokyo Tower's way of sending hope to the region affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

As this display is held right outside the tower on the ground level, you don't need a ticket to see this joyous sight.

One of Tokyo’s largest koinobori festivals takes place at the foot of Tokyo Skytree, with 1,000 carp streamers fluttering in the air. The traditional koinobori carp streamers are put up to celebrate Children’s Day, which happens every May 5 during Golden Week. 

If you visit the fifth-floor Block 12 event space near Space 634, children can participate in a fun workshop to colour their own koinobori with guidance from carp streamer artisans for ¥500 (April 11-12). Additionally, other activities will also be taking place at venues around Tokyo Skytree Town, including a Taiwanese food festival, a workshop to make full-length embroidered carp streamers at Kyototo, and a carp streamer candy sculpting workshop at the Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin store.

With the motto ‘Save the Beach, Save the Ocean’, this outdoor party at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse celebrates beach and surf culture, with an emphasis on protecting the shrinking number of beaches and coastal environments in Japan.

This surf-themed art-and-music jamboree has been a mainstay of the city’s spring event calendar since 2005 and offers a leisurely introduction to the summer music festival season, with film screenings, exhibitions and projection mapping shows adding to the relaxed vibe.

Greenroom is known for hosting a variety of established Japanese and international musicians and visual artists. Acts to look out for on this year’s line-up include the UK’s Ella Mai and Emma-Jean Thackray, American artists Jon Batiste and Janelle Monae, and Japan’s Otoboke Beaver and Kid Fresino, as well as a special Nujabes tribute set.

You can also take part in beach cleanups and peruse a green market selling products made from recycled materials.

Tickets are now on sale via the event website. 

For much of the year, Shiofune Kannonji is a quiet temple on the foothills of Ome, off the beaten path. However, once a year, crowds flock to see the temple grounds come to life in a vibrant array of colours during the annual azalea festival.

The main attraction of this festival is the scenery: a spectacular display of 20,000 azaleas of 20 varieties that blanket a valley with a patchwork of pink, white, purple and green colours. The best time to see them is around Golden Week. 

Coinciding with the bloom, the Shiofune Kannonji Azalea Festival is also hosting a fire-walking event on May 3 to pray for the blessings of the deity Fudo. The public is welcome to take on the challenge of walking over red-hot charcoal in exchange for a charm that is said to help ward off evil (alternatively, you can just buy the charm – no fire walking required). Expect to also see live performances, such as a magic show, (April 18 from 11am and 1pm), a Koto performance (April 19 from 10am, 11am, 1pm & 2pm), traditional Japanese Nihon buyodance performances (April 25 from 11am & 1.30pm) and a taiko drumming performance (April 29 from 11am & 1pm).

There's a ¥300 entry fee (primary school children and younger ¥100) during the azalea season. Check the temple's Facebook page for the latest blooming updates. 

Jindai Botanical Garden is one of only ten gardens in Japan that has been given an award of excellence by the World Federation of Rose Societies, and you can see why. It boasts a staggering 5,200 roses of 400 species that bloom in variations of pink, white, red, yellow and orange. You can catch this beautiful sight during the Rose Festival from May 2 to 31 (except Mondays).

There’s plenty to do during the event. Grab a rose ice cream at the Terrace Cafe and stop by the outdoor stalls to shop for rose-themed goods. There’s also an exhibit with rose flower arrangements on display, plus a collection of rose bonsai happening daily from May 12 to May 17.

The garden opens at 9.30am on weekdays, but you can beat the crowds on weekends by arriving at the earlier opening time of 8am.

The garden is closed on May 7, 11, 18 & May 25.

Kyu Furukawa Gardens in Tokyo’s Kita Ward is known for its colourful roses that start to bloom in May, and this festival is your best chance to enjoy them all. The Western-style garden on the upper grounds is adorned with 200 roses of 100 different varieties. In addition to your vivid red and pink blossoms, you’ll get to see pastel-coloured ones including Kinda Blue, Cinderella, Manyo and New Dawn roses, too.

There will also be musical performances held on the lawn on May 23 and June 21 from 12noon and at 3pm.  Expect to also see a market in the garden selling potted roses, rose-inspired gelato and gardening goods from 10am to 4.30pm.

Check the garden's Twitter account for the most up-to-date flowering status.

The annual Fuji Shibazakura Festival is returning this spring with a staggering 500,000 pink, purple and white blooms from April 11 to May 24. With its seemingly endless fields of shibazakura (pink moss) and view of majestic Mt Fuji on the horizon, it's no wonder that this annual spring festival out at Lake Motosu in Yamanashi typically attracts hordes of Tokyoites over Golden Week. 

In addition to the eight kinds of shibazakura, you’ll get to see other colourful blooms like cherry blossoms, grape hyacinth, poppy anemone, forsythia, primrose and Japanese azalea. While you’re here, it’s also worth checking out the adjacent Peter Rabbit-themed English Garden, decorated with around 300 kinds of plants as well as figurines of the characters from the storybook. 

One of the best ways to get here is by highway bus. A round-trip ticket including festival entry fee starts from ¥9,000, with the bus departing from an area in front of Kogakuin University near Shinjuku Station West exit, or a different route from Shin-Yokohama Station. It takes you directly to the Fuji Shibazakura Festival in around two and a half hours. We recommend making reservations in advance because seats can fill up quickly.

Otherwise, you can opt for the two-hour-long Limited Express Fuji Excursion train from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko Station, and hop on the Fuji Shibazakura liner shuttle bus for another 40 minutes to get to the venue.

Head up to Ibaraki's Hitachi Seaside Park from mid-April to early May and see a whopping 5.3 million 'baby blue eyes' – also known as nemophila – flowers in full bloom. The hilly grounds span 3.5 hectares and are almost completely covered with the little blue blossoms, making for a pretty spectacular sight.

The blooms are usually at their best from mid- to late April, but they are still a magnificent sight if you catch them a bit earlier or even right after peak bloom. According to this year's forecast, the flowers will be in their full glory between April 16 to 25.

Along with the flowers, the park has gone all-out with blue food and drink for you to enjoy during your visit. Sample blue ramune-soda-flavoured soft cream served with nemophila-shaped cookies, pretty blue iced tea, blue dango skewers, lattes and even a blue-tinged crêpe. While you're at it, pick up a few souvenirs to take home with you including nemophila cotton candy, cookies and jewellery featuring the flower of the season. 

The park is home to various other spring flowers, too, including daffodils and tulips, which also bloom between late March and late April.

You can catch free movies at Shibuya Stream this spring at the outdoor main staircase and Inaribashi Square from April 28 to May 10. Two to three different films will be screened each day, including the likes of ‘Green Book’, ‘Wicked' (2024), ‘Notting Hill’, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home, 'The Intouchables’ and 'Back to the Future'. 

Most movies will be in English with Japanese subtitles, but there will also be a few dubbed in Japanese. Screening times depend on the day, but you can check the schedule on the event website.

The event is free and no tickets are required. However, reservations aren't accepted and space is limited, so we recommend arriving earlier to guarantee a seat.

This Golden Week, an outdoor cinema festival is taking place at six different locations around Yokohama’s seaside neighbourhood of Minato-Mirai. You’ll be able to catch both Japanese and international movies at the various venues across the holidays from May 2 to May 6. While most films are dubbed in Japanese, there are three movies that will be screened in English with Japanese subtitles.

All of the English-language movies are being screened at the Marine & Walk Yokohama. You can catch the Hong Kong action film 'Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In' featuring Sammo Hung and Louis Koo on May 3, 'The Straight Story' by the late David Lynch on May 5 and an A24 4K restoration of the 1984 concert film 'Stop Making Sense' featuring David Byrne on May 6. All three showings start at 6.40pm (doors open 2pm) and no ticket is required – just show up and enjoy the film. 

You can also catch movies at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, Pacifico Yokohama, Bay Quarter and World Porters. A live broadcast talk show will also be taking place at Yokohama Hammerhead. For more information about the screenings, check the website.

If you’re craving some Taiwanese food this spring, then drop by Tokyo Skytree Town for its Taiwan Festival. Head over to the fourth floor of Sky Arena until May 31 to feast on Taiwanese food throughout the day. Several stalls are offering popular Taiwanese festival cuisine such as lu rou fan (braised pork over rice), sheng jian bao (pan-fried soup dumplings) and da ji pai fried chicken.

You can also shop for Taiwanese goods and even enjoy massages and fortune telling. The dining area is decorated with red and Tainan-style vibrant lanterns to give it a Taiwanese night market feel.

This festival at Yoyogi Park Events Square brings a taste of Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa to Tokyo on May 16 and 17. Okinawan food is a major part of the event and you can feast on the likes of soki soba, taco rice, spam onigiri and Blue Seal ice cream. You'll also be able to sip on Okinawa's Orion beer. 

Take a break from the food to browse plenty of stalls where you can shop for colourful local goods from Okinawa, and get a good feel of Okinawa's unique culture and charm.

There will also be fun activities like photo booths and a kids’ play area with inflatable bouncy houses. You can also catch live music from Okinawan performers including Kiyokazu from J-pop band Mongol800, Okinawan rapper Ritto and more. The full line-up of artists is expected to be announced in early May.

Head over to Komazawa Olympic Park during Golden Week to spend an entire day sampling some of Japan’s best gyoza. There will be 16 stalls offering more than 30 different styles of this quintessential Japanese dumpling. Enjoy grounded wagyu beef and the meaty keema curry gyoza from Tokyo's Tamagawa Meat, juicy Shinshu wasabi and miso dumplings from Nagano, tangy and succulent lemon gyoza from Kyoto, Hakata-style hitokuchi (bite-size) gyoza and much more.

There will also be other dishes like fried rice to go with the gyoza, as well as craft beers from Hokkaido Brewing, Yatsugatake Beer and Kanagawa's Brimmer Brewing. There’s no entry fee, so you can just pay as you go. If you want to forgo the hassle of paying at each store, there is a package deal sold online for ¥4,500, which includes five ¥700 meal tickets, five ¥100 tickets, and one fast-pass ticket that lets you skip a queue.

Having spent over four decades redefining the relationship between art, technology and desire, Hajime Sorayama is one of Japan’s most celebrated contemporary artists. Noted for his iconic Sexy Robot series and his pioneering fusion of human sensuality and mechanical precision, Sorayama’s work has influenced generations of creators across art, design and popular culture – from RoboCop to Dior. His visionary approach, uniting the sensual with the synthetic, has earned him international acclaim and a lasting place in the subcultural art canon.

Opening this spring at the Creative Museum Tokyo, ‘Sorayama: Light, Reflection, Transparency -Tokyo-’ marks the artist’s largest retrospective in Japan to date, following its acclaimed debut in Shanghai. The exhibition traces Sorayama’s artistic evolution from his first robot painting in 1978 to his latest digital and sculptural works. Visitors will encounter highlights such as the original Aibo robot design for Sony, the artwork for Aerosmith’s Just Push Play album, and an immersive installation that embodies Sorayama’s lifelong pursuit of capturing light, air and reflections.

By blending futuristic imagination with classical mastery, Sorayama invites viewers to contemplate a world where human emotion and machine form merge in radiant harmony.

This expansive exhibition is the largest in the Doraemon franchise’s 56-year history, bringing together manga panels, animation, sculptures, limited-edition merch and a themed food menu all starring the world’s favourite blue robot cat and his friends. It launched in Hong Kong in July 2024, attracting over five million visitors during its month-long run. Since then, it has continued to captivate fans across Asia, making its way through several cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Bangkok, and Kaohsiung in Taiwan.

The exhibition space contains over 100 distinct Doraemon figures, each with its own expression and costume. In addition to showcasing the content from the previous cities, the Tokyo exhibition also features Japan-exclusive works. Here you can see Doraemon transformed into a shiba inu, a sumo wrestler and a few other forms inspired by Japanese culture, as well as view two original animations not seen elsewhere.

‘100% Doraemon & Friends’ runs until September 30 and is open from 10am to 6pm daily (last entry 5.30pm). Tickets start from ¥2,400 for adults, ¥1,800 for primary and secondary school students and ¥1,600 for children four years old and below – purchase yours here. As an added bonus, upon arrival exhibition visitors receive one of nine Doraemon-themed acrylic pins and one of four promotional cards (both chosen at random).

Internationally recognised photographer and film director Mika Ninagawa is hosting a solo exhibition at the homey and intimate DDDArt art gallery in Shimokitazawa this spring. Much smaller in scale than the likes of her recent projects in Kyoto, at Expo 2025 and Tokyo Node, the exhibition takes a step back to revisit Ninagawa’s body of work, from her early career to her latest creations.

Coinciding with the launch of her latest photo book with the same name, the exhibition brings the artist’s worldview to life in a physical space. As if the vibrant pages of the book were superimposed onto reality, the tatami-floored kominka folk house is reborn with shimmering crystal strands, red and pink paint splatters and super-saturated photo prints.

Running until May 31, the exhibit is only a short stroll away from Shimokitazawa, where Ninagawa herself spent over a decade in her formative years. Why not take a detour towards Sangenjaya for a creative journey on your next visit to the area?