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    • Festivals & Seasons

    The festivals, fireworks and seasonal openings that come back to this coast every year. Six towns, twelve months. Use it to pick when to visit; use the live Event Calendar to see what is on while you are here.

    Dates move every year. Only the events marked Fixed date fall on the same calendar day annually. Everything else shifts by a week or more, so the timing below follows the organiser and is not a guess. Always confirm the current year on the organiser link before you book anything.
    Sources: municipal offices, tourism associations, shrine offices and race organisers only. Last checked: 6 September 2026.
    Category
    Town
    JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC
    Winter

    January

    NatureShimodaFixed date

    Suisen Matsuri — Narcissus Festival

    20 December to 31 January, every year
    Three million wild narcissus open on the Tsumekizaki headland while the rest of Japan is still frozen. The single best reason to be in Shimoda in January.
    Shimoda City →
    FestivalHigashi-IzuFixed date

    Hanging Hina Doll Festival, Inatori

    20 January to 31 March
    Inatori is where hanging hina dolls began. Thousands of handmade cloth ornaments fill the halls of the hot spring town for ten weeks.
    Inatori Onsen Ryokan Association →
    FestivalNishi-IzuFixed date

    Dogashima New Year Mochi Throwing

    2 January, every year
    Rice cakes thrown from a stage into the crowd at Dogashima Park on the second day of the new year. Loud, chaotic, over in minutes.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    FestivalMatsuzakiFixed date

    First Boats of the Year

    2 January
    The fishing fleet leaves harbour for the first time of the year, every boat flying its full-size catch flags.
    Matsuzaki Tourism Association →
    Winter into early spring

    February

    NatureKawazuDate varies

    Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival

    Early February to early March
    2026: 7 February to 8 March
    The earliest cherry blossom in Japan, four kilometres of it along the Kawazu river. The biggest visitor event in the whole Kamo area — book accommodation months out.
    Kawazu Sakura Festival Committee →
    NatureMinami-IzuFixed date

    Cherry Blossom and Rape Flower Festival

    10 February to 10 March
    Recent years have opened earlier — confirm before travelling.
    Pink cherry above, yellow rape flowers below, along the Aono river. Quieter than Kawazu and, for many people, the better photograph.
    Minami-Izu Town →
    FestivalShimodaFixed date

    Obisha — Demon Archery Rite

    11 February, every year
    Archers shoot at a target marked with the character for demon to drive misfortune out of the coming year. Small, old, and almost entirely local.
    Shimoda City →
    NatureMatsuzakiDate varies

    Flower Fields in the Rice Paddies

    Mid-February to 5 May
    Matsuzaki plants its off-season rice paddies with flowers. Roughly three months of colour on land that would otherwise sit bare.
    Matsuzaki Tourism Association →
    NatureKawazuDate varies

    Kawazu Carnation Garden

    1 February to the second Sunday of May
    Pick-your-own carnations, open right through spring.
    Kawazu Town Tourism →
    Spring

    March

    FestivalShimodaFixed date

    Okichi Memorial Festival

    27 March, every year
    A memorial service on the death day of Tojin Okichi, the woman whose life sits at the centre of Shimoda’s opening-of-Japan story.
    Shimoda City →
    NatureShimodaDate varies

    Weeping Peach Blossom Festival, Rendaiji

    Late March to early April
    2026: 21 March to 5 April
    Weeping peach trees in the Rendaiji hot spring valley, roughly two weeks behind the Kawazu cherry and far less crowded.
    Izu Shimoda Tourism Association →
    NatureNishi-IzuDate varies

    Dogashima Sunset Illumination

    March to early May
    2026: 1 March to 6 May
    A hundred thousand lights along the Dogashima coast, timed to come on as the sun goes into the sea.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    NatureNishi-IzuDate varies

    Dogashima Tombolo Opening

    Late March
    2026: 21 March
    At low tide a sand path rises out of the sea and you can walk to the island. The opening ceremony marks the start of the season.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    NatureNishi-IzuDate varies

    Ootago Beach Sunset

    Mid to late March, and again mid to late September
    Twice a year, around the equinoxes, the sun sets exactly through the gap between the Meoto rocks. Photographers plan whole trips around it.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    NatureMatsuzakiDate varies

    Osawa Cherry Festival and the Naka River Blossom Avenue

    Late March to early April
    An eighty-year-old cherry tree beside the Osawa hot spring, and six kilometres of blossom along the Naka river.
    Matsuzaki Tourism Association →
    SportHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Shirata River Trout Fishing Tournament

    A Sunday in mid-March
    A one-day open trout competition on the Shirata river.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    Spring

    April

    FestivalMinami-IzuFixed date

    Iro Gongen Festival, Cape Irozaki

    3 April, every year. Rite from 10:00, boat parade from 10:30
    The annual rite of the shrine built into the cliff at Cape Irozaki, followed by a parade of decorated fishing boats along the coast.
    Minami-Izu Town →
    NatureNishi-IzuFixed date

    Koganezaki Cherry Festival

    The first Sunday of April
    Cherry blossom on the headland above the golden cliffs.
    Nishi-Izu Town →
    NatureHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Hosono Kogen Wild Vegetable Picking

    Mid-April to early May
    125 hectares of open highland above Inatori, opened for a few weeks so anyone can walk in and pick spring greens.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    NatureKawazuDate varies

    Bagatelle Park Spring Rose Festival

    28 April to 30 June
    A formal French garden modelled on the Parc de Bagatelle in Paris, at its peak from late April.
    Kawazu Bagatelle Park →
    Late spring

    May

    FestivalShimodaDate varies

    Black Ship Festival

    The Friday, Saturday and Sunday around the third Saturday of May
    Shimoda’s largest event of the year, marking the opening of Japan at this port in 1854. Three days of parades, US and Japanese navy bands, and fireworks over the harbour.
    Shimoda City →
    NatureMatsuzakiFixed date

    Free Flower Picking in the Paddy Fields

    1 to 5 May
    At the end of the season the flower fields are opened and anyone can cut and take home as much as they can carry.
    Matsuzaki Tourism Association →
    FoodNishi-IzuDate varies

    Tokoroten Seaweed Jelly Festival

    Late May
    Free tokoroten, the jelly made from tengusa seaweed harvested off this coast, served to whoever turns up.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    NatureHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Firefly Viewing Evenings

    Late May to early June
    Atagawa and Okawa run on separate dates.
    Two parks, two organisers, roughly two weeks between them. Matsuzaki holds its own firefly evenings over the same period.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    Early summer

    June

    NatureShimodaFixed date

    Shimoda Hydrangea Festival

    1 to 30 June, every year
    Three million hydrangea blooms across Shimoda Park, on the hill above the old harbour. The whole month, no exceptions.
    Shimoda City →
    FoodShimodaDate varies

    Red Squid Campaign

    1 to 30 June
    Restaurants across Shimoda put red squid on the menu for one month only, each in their own way.
    Izu Shimoda Tourism Association →
    SportHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Izu Inatori Kinme Marathon

    A Sunday in mid-June
    2026: 14 June
    A coastal road race named after the golden eye snapper the town is known for. Runners get fed it afterwards.
    Race organiser →
    NatureHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Shirata River Sweetfish Season Opens

    The first Sunday of June
    The ayu season opens and the river fills with anglers before dawn.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    Summer

    July

    FireworksShimodaDate varies

    Shirahama Sea Festival and Fireworks

    Mid to late July
    Recent year: 25 July
    Shirahama opens its beach season with fireworks fired from boats offshore, seen from the white sand.
    Izu Shimoda Tourism Association →
    SportShimodaDate varies

    Japan International Billfish Tournament

    Mid to late July
    Recent year: 23 to 26 July
    Japan’s oldest international game fishing tournament, run out of Shimoda harbour since 1967. The port fills with boats and the weigh-in is open to watch.
    JIBT Committee →
    FestivalNishi-IzuFixed date

    Raising of the Great Sacred Rope

    16 July, every year
    An eighty-metre sacred rope is hauled up across the town by hand. One of the strangest and least touristed rites on the peninsula.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    FireworksNishi-IzuDate varies

    Dogashima Fire Festival

    Late July, 18:00 to 21:00
    2026: 24 July
    A pirate ship is set alight on the water and fireworks go up over the Dogashima rocks behind it.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    FireworksHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Inatori Onsen Fireworks Nights

    Consecutive evenings in late July and again in late August, from 20:30
    Not one big night but a run of consecutive evenings, twice a summer, fired short and close from the harbour.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    FireworksHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Atagawa Onsen Sea Fireworks

    Late July
    Fireworks over the water at Atagawa, the hot spring town where steam rises straight off the street.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    FoodMatsuzakiFixed date

    Kumomi Turban Shell Catching

    Marine Day (the third Monday of July)
    Shellfish are seeded into the shallows and you wade in and take them.
    Matsuzaki Tourism Association →
    NatureNishi-IzuDate varies

    Beach Season Opens

    Mid-July to late August
    Recent year: 18 July to 23 August
    Nine supervised beaches open across Nishi-Izu for roughly five weeks. Shimoda, Minami-Izu and Higashi-Izu run to a similar window.
    Nishi-Izu Town →
    Summer — the busiest month of the year

    August

    FestivalShimodaFixed date

    Shimoda Taiko Festival

    14 and 15 August, every year
    Two days, no negotiation. Drum floats and portable shrines are hauled through the old town from morning until late night. If you see one festival in Shimoda, this is it.
    Shimoda City →
    FireworksMinami-IzuFixed date

    Yumigahama Beach Fireworks

    The evening of 8 August, every year
    Some recent years have moved to an early-August Saturday.
    Fireworks straight off the beach at Yumigahama, one of the best stretches of sand in Japan. You watch from the sand itself.
    Minami-Izu Town →
    FestivalMinami-IzuFixed date

    Mera Bon Odori

    The evening of 15 August, every year
    A prefecturally designated folk dance held on the shore at Mera. Almost no visitors, and it has not changed in generations.
    Minami-Izu Town →
    FireworksMatsuzakiFixed date

    Matsuzaki Summer Festival — Bon Odori and Fireworks

    Bon odori 14 to 16 August, 19:00 to 21:00
    Fireworks 15 August at Kumomi and 16 August at Matsuzaki, from 20:30, with floating lanterns first
    Three nights of dancing at the harbour, then fireworks on two different beaches on two consecutive nights.
    Matsuzaki Town →
    FestivalNishi-IzuDate varies

    Tago Harbour Festival and Asaraki Summer Festival

    Mid-August
    Two fishing villages, two of their own summer festivals, both in mid-August.
    Nishi-Izu Town →
    FestivalHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Inatori Children’s Night Market

    Three evenings in early August, 19:30 to 21:00
    Festival stalls run for the town’s children. Good with a family, quiet compared to the big nights.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    Early autumn

    September

    FestivalShimodaDate varies

    Yoi Yoi Yomatsuri Night Festival

    A weekend in mid-September
    2026: 12 September 12:00 to 19:00, 13 September 13:00 to 20:00
    Shimoda’s newer autumn night festival — sake, food and live music in the square by the culture hall and at Hachiman shrine.
    Shimoda Event Office →
    FestivalMinami-IzuDate varies

    Oine Tiger Dance

    The night before the harvest moon (the 14th day of the 8th lunar month)
    Set by the lunar calendar, so it moves every year. A prefecturally designated tiger dance performed at the village shrine.
    Minami-Izu Town →
    FireworksNishi-IzuDate varies

    Dogashima Sunset Fireworks

    Weekends in late September and early October
    Recent year: 26 and 27 September, 3 and 4 October
    Ten minutes of fireworks let off right at dusk, while the sky over the west coast is still burning. Short and unusually beautiful.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    FireworksHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Ishibiki Dokan Festival Fireworks

    Late September, 18:30 to 21:00
    Atagawa’s autumn festival, named for the stone-hauling that once supplied Edo castle, closing with fireworks over the seafront.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    NatureNishi-IzuDate varies

    Ootago Beach Sunset — Autumn

    Mid to late September
    The second of the two windows each year when the sun sets exactly between the rocks.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    FoodMatsuzakiDate varies

    Umi no Pika-Ichi Seafood Market

    A Sunday in September, 10:00 to 15:00
    A seafood market on the quayside at Matsuzaki port.
    Matsuzaki Tourism Association →
    FestivalMatsuzakiDate varies

    Chohachi Festival

    A Sunday in late September
    Matsuzaki honours Irie Chohachi, the plaster relief master whose work is the reason the town looks the way it does.
    Matsuzaki Tourism Association →
    Autumn

    October

    FestivalShimodaFixed date

    Shirahama Shrine Grand Festival

    28 October fire rite · 29 October grand rite · 30 October offerings set adrift · 31 October closing rite
    Four days at the oldest shrine in Izu, including a night fire rite on the beach. Fixed dates, every year.
    Izu Shirahama Shrine →
    FestivalHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Dontsuku Festival

    Early October
    2026: 3 October
    Inatori’s famously frank fertility festival, discontinued in 2018 and brought back in 2023. A giant portable shrine, a parade, and fireworks to finish.
    Inatori Onsen Ryokan Association →
    FestivalKawazuFixed date

    Onabe Shrine Kagura

    15 October, every year
    Village kagura danced by the residents themselves at the autumn rite. Tiny, and entirely unmodernised.
    Kawazu Town Tourism →
    NatureKawazuDate varies

    Bagatelle Park Autumn Rose Festival

    1 October to 30 November
    The second rose season, running right through to the end of November.
    Kawazu Bagatelle Park →
    NatureNishi-IzuDate varies

    Nishiizu Beach Candle Night

    Early October, 17:15 to 20:00
    Candles set out along Norihama beach and lit as the sun goes down.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    NatureHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Atagawa Onsen Candle Night

    One Saturday in October and one in November, 20:00 to 21:00
    The hot spring street lit by candle.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    FoodMatsuzakiDate varies

    Ishibu Rice Terrace Harvest Festival

    October
    Harvest on the restored terraces above the sea at Ishibu, one of the most photographed landscapes in Izu.
    Matsuzaki Tourism Association →
    FoodShimodaDate varies

    Persimmon and Mandarin Picking

    Late October to the end of November
    Orchards around Shimoda open for pick-your-own through late autumn.
    Shimoda City →
    Late autumn — the TADAIMA season

    November

    FestivalMinami-IzuFixed date

    Minami-Izu Taiko Festival

    1 and 2 November, every year
    Thirty-four districts of the town each bring out their own drum float and flower cart on the same two days. The largest single event in Minami-Izu.
    Minami-Izu Town →
    FestivalMatsuzakiFixed date

    Matsuzaki Autumn Festival

    2 and 3 November
    Lion dances, portable shrines and drum floats through the plaster-walled streets, run by the young men of each shrine district.
    Matsuzaki Town →
    FestivalNishi-IzuFixed date

    Nishi-Izu Autumn Festivals

    2 and 3 November
    Three shrines, the same two days, with sanbaso dance and kagura offered at each. The whole Kamo coast holds its autumn rites in the same 48 hours.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    NatureHigashi-IzuDate varies

    Hosono Kogen Pampas Grass Viewing

    October into early December
    Recent year: 1 November to 1 December
    125 hectares of silver pampas grass above Inatori, with the sea on one side and Mount Fuji behind you on a clear day.
    Higashi-Izu Town →
    FoodNishi-IzuFixed date

    Nishi-Izu Furusato Festival

    The second Sunday of November, 10:00 to 14:00
    The town’s produce and craft fair at Koganezaki, in the place that calls itself the town of the setting sun.
    Nishi-Izu Tourism Association →
    SportKawazuDate varies

    Kawazu Flower Triathlon

    A Sunday in mid-November
    2026: 15 November
    Swim, bike and run through the town and up into the hills behind it.
    Kawazu Town →
    NatureShimodaDate varies

    Aloe Flower Festival, Itado

    Late November to mid-January
    Thirty thousand aloe plants flower red on the coast at Itado. It runs straight into the narcissus season, so late autumn and midwinter overlap here.
    Izu Shimoda Tourism Association →
    Winter

    December

    NatureShimodaFixed date

    Suisen Matsuri Opens

    20 December to 31 January, every year
    The narcissus festival at Tsumekizaki opens on 20 December and runs to the end of January. Same dates every year.
    Izu Shimoda Tourism Association →
    SportMatsuzakiDate varies

    IZU TRAIL Journey

    A weekend in early December
    Recent year: 12 and 13 December
    One of the biggest trail races in Japan, starting from Matsuzaki port and running the spine of the peninsula north. The town fills the night before.
    Izu Trail Running Race Committee →
    FoodNishi-IzuDate varies

    Salted Bonito Season

    From early December
    Salted bonito hung up to dry for the new year, a Nishi-Izu tradition with roots over a thousand years old. You can see them strung outside houses in Tago.
    Nishi-Izu Town →

    This page is the pattern of the year. For what is actually on while you are here — including TADAIMA events you can join — see the live calendar.

    Open the Event Calendar

    How this page is maintained

    Every entry comes from a municipal office, a tourism association, a shrine office, or the event organiser itself. Nothing here is taken from social media or aggregator sites, and the timing follows the organiser’s own published wording rather than a date we guessed.
    Fixed date means the source states the same calendar day every year. Date varies means the source gives a range, a rule such as the third Saturday, or the lunar calendar. Where a specific recent year is shown, it is there to give you a feel for the window, not as a promise about next year.
    Some events could not be included because no primary source could be found for them, or because the source gave no evidence they run annually. If you organise an event in the Kamo area and it belongs here, tell us and we will add it with your link.
    Last checked: 6 September 2026.