During September in Japan, summer vibes still linger in the air and temperatures are cooler than the earlier summer months, hovering around 80-85F. The summer heat begins to fade as temperatures drop even further towards the end of the month, making it a good time to travel. During early September there are still plenty of clear skies and sunny days. You can still climb Mount Fuji, and beer gardens remain open. Later in the month, many local festivals are themed around viewings of the autumn moon, known as tsukimi in Japanese.
While the month of September weather is generally quite pleasant some regions of Japan can experience patches of bad weather and typhoons are fairly common in late August and early September, so it would be a good idea to keep your plans a bit flexible. Let’s take a look at some of the late-summer and early-autumn events that take place across Japan in September.
Planning a trip to Japan this year? Check out my 5 Day Tokyo Itinerary article for ideas on what to see and do in Japan’s capital!
Japan in September – 14 Things to See and Do in 2024!
1. Chofu City Fireworks, Tokyo
The autumn fireworks in Chofu City in the west of Tokyo sees around 10,000 fireworks released over the Tamagawa River. The first event was held in 1933 and has been held periodically ever since, with the 2023 festival being the 38th event. You’ll find the festival setup around 10 minutes walk from Tamagawa Station. Whilst in the area take advantage of dining at one of the city’s many soba restaurants.
- WHERE & WHEN: Fuda venue, Keio Tamagawa venue, and Dentsu Grand Grand venue in the Tamagawa area of Chofu City are the best places for viewing. 2024 dates to be confirmed.
- MORE INFORMATION: Hanabi.jp (Japanese)
2. Kichijoji Autumn Festival, Tokyo
This annual event in the vibrant Kichijoji area includes a procession of mikoshi (portable shrines) through the streets to the Musashino Hachimangu shrine. Over two days, watch residents carry the large portable shrines along the festival routes in the city, then enjoy the rest of the festivities including dance performances, and food and drink stalls serving local specialties. While in the area explore Inokashira Park and the tiny eateries, bars, and food stalls of Harmonica Alley where there are fewer crowds.
- WHERE & WHEN: The event begins at Musashino Hachiman-gu 1-1-23 Kichijoji-Higashi-cho, Musashino-shi, Tokyo. The 2023 event was held over the weekend of September 9th and 10th, 2024 dates are still to be confirmed.
- MORE INFORMATION: Musashino-kanko.com
3. Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament
Few things encapsulate Japanese culture more than sumo wrestling, and what could be more memorable than catching a sumo wrestling match during your trip? Official sumo tournaments, known as basho, take place in Japan six times a year. You can catch the final tournament of the year in Tokyo at the Ryogoku Sumo Hall at the end of September. Tickets for the tournaments go on sale a month in advance and can be purchased online at Viator.
- WHERE & WHEN: Sumo tournaments are held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan National Sumo Arena in Sumida City, which is walkable from Ryogoku station on the Chūō-Sōbu line.
- MORE INFORMATION: A schedule breakdown for the September tournament can be found at Sumo.or.jp
4. Ultra Japan, Tokyo
The largest annual EDM festival in Japan is held in the Odaiba area of Tokyo across three days and features the world’s best DJs across several stages. The global event, organized by ULTRA Worldwide, draws tens of thousands of EDM fans to the 3-day festival that features huge electronic light and pyrotechnic displays across the festival’s three stages. Tickets are available to purchase via the Ultra Japan website but usually sell out fast.
- WHERE & WHEN: Tokyo Odaiba ULTRA Park. September 14th & 15th.
- MORE INFORMATION: Ultrajapan.com
5. Cosmos Flower Festival, Tokyo
From late September until early October, the Showa Kinen Park is filled with fields of pink cosmos flowers becoming one of the largest flower displays in Japan, and a great place for an Instagram backdrop. Thousands of colorful Cosmos flowers brighten up the park as visitors roam the three fields. Other activities in the park include rental bicycles, the natural beauty of the nearby bonsai garden, and a boating lake. There are also a lot of chic restaurants and cafes near the park to discover.
- WHERE & WHEN: Showa Kinen Park, Tokyo, late September to late October, 9:30 to 17:00.
- MORE INFORMATION: Showakinen-koen.jp
6. Red Spider Lily Festival, Saitama
In late September you can enjoy the natural beauty of tens of thousands of red spider lily flowers make for an impressive sight at this flower festival in Hidaka city in Saitama prefecture, earning it a spot on the 30 Most Beautiful Places in Japan. The festival lasts around two to three weeks and features live music performances and food stalls. The journey time from Tokyo is around one hour by train, and the event is also close to the town of Hanno, home to Metsä Village, a Nordic-themed entertainment complex that includes the Moomin Valley theme park.
- WHERE & WHEN: Kinchakuda, 125-2 Komahongo, Hidaka, Saitama. Second half of September.
- MORE INFORMATION: Kinchakuda.com
7. Uneme Festival in Nara
This beautiful and moving festival tells the tragic legend of a female servant who supposedly drowned herself in the Sarusawa Pond after being rejected by the Emperor. During the event, a costume procession makes its way from Nara Station to the famous pond where a dragon boat floats across the water surrounded by lanterns that line the bank. There is a memorial at Uneme Shrine where the procession ends and an offering is made in memory of Uneme.
- WHERE & WHEN: Kasuga Taisha Shrine, on the banks of Sarusawa Pond, 160 Kasuganocho, Nara. September 16th and 17th.
- MORE INFORMATION: Narashikanko.or.jp
8. Tsukimi Moon Viewing Festival
Tsukimi is the popular Japanese custom of moon viewing in the autumn. On the fifteenth night of every month of the old calendar a full moon appeared, and the eighth month (September in the modern calendar) was believed to be the best time of year for viewing. Moon viewing spots, such as balconies or garden areas, are commonly decorated with branches of susuki (silvery pampas grass) that represent a healthy bounty of harvested rice, and offerings of tsukimi-dango (rice dumplings) that represent the full moon and are believed to being health and happiness. A variety of other seasonal foods and drink such as sake (Japanese rice wine), soy beans, sweet potato, and kabocha (pumpkin/winter squash) are also often displayed.
Tsukimi dates vary each year, but moon-viewing festivals are always held in September or October. You can find events across the country, but some highlights include the nighttime illumination of the Tokyo Tower, the festival at Himeji Castle, and musical performances at the Sankeien Garden in Yokohama.
- WHERE & WHEN: Nationwide
9. Kishiwada Danjiri Festival, Osaka
The small coastal town of Kishiwada in Osaka prefecture is home to one of the biggest Danjiri festivals in Japan, which sees traditional wooden floats weighing up to four tons hauled at speed through the streets using heavy ropes. Teams of runners representing their respective neighborhoods pull their huge floats through the streets of Kishiwada at impressive speeds. Visitors can enjoy the food stalls that line the streets from Kishiwada Castle where you can pick up classic Kansai street food including takoyaki and okonomiyaki.
- WHERE & WHEN: Kishiwada Castle, 9-1 Kishikicho, Kishiwada, Osaka. September 14th & 15th.
- MORE INFORMATION: City.kishiwada.osaka.jp
10. Tokyo Jazz Festival
The largest Jazz festival in Japan features performances at several different venues around Tokyo by Jazz musicians from around the world. NHK Hall in Shibuya serves as the main venue for the festival, however jazz fans will be able to catch regular free open-air performances at the nearby Yoyogi Park, where you can sit back and enjoy the live music. Tickets can be purchased through the event’s website after details are released for the 2024 event.
- WHERE & WHEN: NHK Hall, 2 Chome-2-1 Jinnan, Shibuya City, Tokyo, & Yoyogi Park, accessible via the park’s East entrance close to Harajuku Station. Early September.
- MORE INFORMATION: Tokyo-jazz.com
11. Seiryū-e Dragon Festival, Kyoto
The Seryū-e Blue Dragon festival is a Buddhist ceremony held twice a year at Kiyomizu-dera temple to honor Seryū, the blue dragon god who guards the east. Dancing performers dressed in brightly colored warrior costumes parade through the nearby streets and grounds of the temple carrying a 60-foot-long blue dragon figure while reciting a prayer to expel bad luck from the town. The dragon, one of the four gods said to be protectors of Kyoto, welcomes the changing of the season and brings good luck to all within its territory.
- WHERE & WHEN: Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto. September 15th, from 2 PM.
- MORE INFORMATION: Kiyomizudera.or.jp
12. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Reitaisai Festival, Kamakura
Every year in early September, the three-day festival of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, a Shinto shrine in Kamakura, takes place as an offering to the Shinto deity enshrined there. The event dates back more than 800 years to 1187 when horseback archery events were held on the grounds of the shrine.
The event begins with a procession of the kami in a portable shrine, attended by the shrine workers, towards the nearby Ninotorii Gate, where the shrines are placed and a dance performance takes place. On the final day of the festival, the ancient Japanese horseback archery ritual takes place, where skilled archers shoot arrows at targets while moving through the temple grounds on horseback. It is a rare and truly impressive sight to see.
- WHERE & WHEN: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine, Kamakura, Kanagawa. September 14th to 16th.
- MORE INFORMATION: Hachimangu.or.jp
13. Karasuzumo ‘Crow’ Wrestling and Choyo Ritual, Kyoto
September 9th is known as Choyo, the last of five traditional festivals at Kamigamo shrine that mark the changing of the seasons. At 10 AM priests from the shrine present offerings of chrysanthemum flowers to the shrine’s deity Kamo Wakeikazuchi no Okami at the main sanctuary
Following the chrysanthemum ritual, the crow-mimicking ritual is held outside the main hall to purify the sumo ring. Two Shinto priests in white gowns and black caps imitate crows to honor the shrine’s ancient connection to crows, which are believed to have served as a guide to Emperor Jinmu, the first emperor of Japan. After the ritual, the karasuzumo wrestling begins. Young boys from the neighborhood are split into two teams and compete in a sumo tournament to honor the shrine’s deity.
- WHERE & WHEN: Kamigamo Shrine, 339 Kamigamo Motoyama, Kita Ward, Kyoto. 10 AM, September 9th.
- MORE INFORMATION: Kamigamojinja.jp
14. Owara Kaze no Bon (Dancing Festival of Tozawa)
For three nights a year, paper lanterns light up the cobblestone streets of Yatsuo town as visitors from miles around gather to watch the beautiful dance performances of Owara kaze no Bon, a 300-year-old dance festival that shows gratitude for the year’s good harvest and celebrates good health and fortune.
There is no stage. Instead, dancers appear spontaneously in the streets, dressed in intricately decorated robes and gowns and large ceremonial head dresses, performing slow, graceful dances among the crowds. Locals sit outside their homes and visitors gather in the streets, eating and drinking and laughing as they watch and enjoy the nighttime festivities around them. The atmosphere is magical, otherworldly, and reminiscent of old Japan.
- WHERE & WHEN: Yatsuo town center, Toyama. In the evenings of September 1st to 3rd.
- MORE INFORMATION: Kaname-inn.com
Dates to Avoid: National Holidays
Respect for the Aged Day & Autumn Equinox
There are two public holidays in September, Respect for the Aged Day is held on the third Monday of the month, while the Autumn Equinox Day is usually around September 23rd. As usual, avoid traveling during those dates and book accommodation and transport well in advance to secure the best prices and seats.
- WHEN: Respect for the Aged Day, September 16th, & Autumn Equinox September 22nd, 2024.
September to early November can be a great time of year to visit Japan. September is still considered by most to be summer, with more tolerable temperatures during the day. Because it’s not peak season there are fewer tourists, and domestic travel is much quieter than in the previous month. It is also the build up to the autumn foliage season, which can be as beautiful as cherry blossoms in the spring. September brings so many things to see and do throughout Japan including many summer festivals, the above list includes just a few, you will find some incredible local events wherever you are planning on staying.
If you’re planning a trip to Japan this year, don’t forget to take a look at Tokyo Bucket List article for ideas of not to miss experiences. Or, check out my article about Best Hotels with a view of Tokyo Tower for ideas on where to stay!
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