［The Manto Festival at Taga Taisha Shrine (Inukami-gun, Shiga Prefecture) is a festival to offer thanks to the deity who protects the spirits of ancestors in the Land of Hades.
After sunset on August 3 each year, the sacred fire is cut in accordance with the ancient ceremony at Sugisaka Mountain and carried to the head office, where more than 10,000 lanterns dedicated from all over Japan are lit. During the festival, lanterns are lit from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. every day, and various other festive events are held.

Period / August 3 (Sat.) to 5 (Mon.), 2024
Hours: 19:00-21:30

The Gozan Okuribi (Bonfire Festival) will be held at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 16, 2024, at various locations in Kyoto City. On the day of the event, fires will be lit in the order of Daimonji, followed by Myoho, Funagata, Left Daimonji, and Torii, in five-minute intervals. This is a traditional Obon event to send off the spirits who have returned from the other world. Let's think of our ancestors as we enjoy watching the festival and wondering where to start.

Date/Time: Friday, August 16, 2024, from 20:00
Scheduled ignition time / Daimonji from 20:00, Myoho from 20:05, Funagata from 20:10, Left Daimonji from 20:15, Torii from 20:20

Kibune Shrine (Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture), a popular summer tourist spot, will hold an evening lighting event from Monday, July 1 to Thursday, August 15. The refreshing sound of bamboo branches will make you feel cooler from your ears as well. If you have not yet written your wishes for Tanabata, there is still time to do so here.

Period / July 1 (Monday) to August 15 (Thursday), 2024
Time/sunset to 20:00 (gates closed)

The cool sound of wind chimes relieves the heat of summer. The wind chimes at Shojuin Temple (Tsuduki-gun, Kyoto Prefecture), also known as "Fu-ring Temple," are all pleasing to the eye. The spectacle of local wind chimes from all over the country and wind chimes with summer flowers trapped in them filling the air above you is breathtaking. Grab your camera and let's go!

Period: During the exhibition - Monday, September 30
Time/9:00-16:30 (Last entry/16:15)

Cormorant fishing is a traditional summer event in Arashiyama that has been held since the Heian period. You can get on a yakatabune and watch the traditional fishing method of cormorants taming several sea cormorants in the midst of a bonfire to catch sweetfish. There is also a plan that you can enjoy slowly with meals, so for detailswebsitecheck.

Period / July 1, 2024 (Monday) - September 23, 2024 (Monday, national holiday)
Departure time: 19:00/20:00 in July and August, 18:30/19:30 in September
*On Friday, August 16, only available for private rentals.

A Nijo Castle x Naked festival produced by the creative company [NAKED, INC.] The beautiful nighttime Nijo Castle will be decorated with projection mapping fireworks, the Amanogawa River illuminated by the cool sound of wind chimes, and digital artwork at the fair stalls. This year, in addition to food and drink stalls, the festival yagura (festival tower) will make its first appearance. This is an event that can be enjoyed by everyone from children to adults.

Period / July 26 (Friday) to August 25 (Sunday), 2024
Time/18:30-22:00 (last admission/21:20)

This year marks the 19th year of the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" special exhibition. ［The exhibition includes two Hyakki Yagyo picture scrolls, one old and one new, from the collection of Kodaiji Temple, a hanging scroll of Jigokudayu by Kawanabe Kyosai, and the "KYOTSUBE version Hyakki Yagyo picture scroll" by animator and AR picture book artist KYOTSUBE. Lanterns with drawings of ghosts will be hung here and there in the precincts of the temple to add to the evening atmosphere.

Period: July 15 (Mon., holiday) - August 31 (Sat.), 2024 *August 10 (Sat.) and August 22 (Thu.) are exhibition exclusion days.
Hours/9:00-17:30 (last admission at 17:00)
During the nighttime viewing period from August 1 (Thu.) to 18 (Sun.), from 10:00 to 22:00 (last admission at 21:30)

The "Feast Festival" is a festival to remember the days of Otsunomiya Shrine by offering special offerings of Omi specialties that are thought to have been eaten in the days of Otsunomiya Shrine. After the ceremony, a "Naokai" is held, during which medicinal herbal dishes for passing the summer in good health (a meal only available at the Feast Festival) are served, and Japanese dance, folk songs, and other performing arts (this time, a yoshi-bue flute performance) are performed, allowing visitors to spend an enriched day at the sacred shrine.

Period / Sunday, June 30, 2024
Time/Celebration 11:00

The "Oryomi Kagura" is held every year on July 20 in the evening in conjunction with the annual "Oryomi" festival. On the front stage of the Kaguraden, a shrine maiden with a lucky bamboo branch in her hand performs the Kagura, and the bamboo branch is given to the shrine maiden. In front of the main shrine, two icicle pillars containing wooden and sakaki prayer sticks are offered to pray for safety and good health. Visitors are invited to touch the icicles to purge themselves of the heat and to pray for safety from the heat, safety in the home, and good health.

Date / Saturday, July 20, 2024
Time/18:00-20:30 (every 15 minutes)
Fee: free to view (1,000 yen for the first harvest of the lucky bamboo special award)

Shimogamo-jinja Shrine (Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture) is a power spot with the longest history in Kyoto. Every year around the day of the Ox of Doyo (the day of the first day of the Ox), the Ashitsuki ritual is held to pray for good health and safety by submerging one's feet knee-deep in the spring water of the Mitarashi Pond on the shrine's grounds.

Period / July 19 (Friday) to 28 (Sunday), 2024
Time / 9:00-20:00
Lantern fee/500 yen

Atago Shrine (Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture) is the headquarters of Atago Shrine, one of about 900 such shrines throughout Japan, and is known for its spiritual power to prevent fire. The "Sennichimairi" (pilgrimage for a thousand days), which attracts tens of thousands of worshippers every year, is said to be a way to be spared from fire for the rest of one's life if one visits the shrine before the age of three.

Period / July 23, 2024 (Tuesday) 9:00 to August 1, 2024 (Thursday) 16:00
Detailed scheduleherecheck. The Goma-taki ritual is canceled.

The Honmiya Festival is a major festival in which worshippers from all over Japan, who worship the spirit of Inari, worship the head shrine (Fushimi Inari-taisha) in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, to express their gratitude for the daily blessings of the gods. The Yoimiya Festival, held the day before the festival, features the Mantoh Ritual, in which stone lanterns and thousands of votive lanterns are lit on Inari Mountain and throughout the grounds of the shrine. In addition, about 400 lanterns dedicated to the shrine will be on display, and a variety of other events will be held in conjunction with the festival.

Time / Yoimiya Festival: Saturday, July 20, 2024, 18:00~, Hongu Festival: Sunday, July 21, 2024, 9:00~.

This summer festival is based on the legend that Yamatotakeru no Mikoto followed a fleet of boats along the sea route. The Seta River is used as a sea route, and a boat carrying a large portable shrine is led 4 km downstream to Kurotsuhama, where the Otabisho is located. The highlight of the festival is the fireworks display, which is launched in time with the movement of the portable shrine.

Date / Saturday, August 17, 2024
Time/16:50 - 21:30

Various events such as Nagaokakyo Ondo and Eshu Ondo Bon Dances, Kuse Rokusai Nembutsu, and Japanese drum performances are held. Food stalls line the streets, attracting many people. The "Kaya-no-wa-kuguri" ceremony is also held to pray for good health by passing through a cogon grass ring.

Date / Sunday, August 25, 2024

Kiyomizu-dera Temple, one of Kyoto's most popular sightseeing spots, offers special nighttime viewing from August 9 to 16. Enjoy a different atmosphere than during the daytime.

Period / Friday, August 9 - Friday, August 16, 2024
Hours/9:00-17:00
Nighttime viewing is available from Wednesday, 14th to Friday, 16th (reception closes at 21:00, gate closes at 21:30).

Shiramine Jingu Shrine is revered as the "God of Kemari" and attracts worshippers who wish to improve in various sports, including baseball and soccer. At this festival, held on Tanabata, the Kemari Preservation Society, dressed in Heian costume, dedicates "kemari" (a Japanese game of ball game), and visitors can try their hand at playing kemari.

Date / Sunday, July 7, 2024
Time/Kemari dedication 13:30, Komachi Odori dedication ceremony 16:00

Known affectionately as "Kitano Tenmangu Shrine" or "Tenjin-san," various Tanabata rituals are held at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine from early August, including special nighttime viewing and the Mitarashi River Adding Light Ceremony. The main shrine building, a national treasure, and other shrine pavilions are beautifully illuminated. Let's purify your mind by the pure Mitarashi River and be healed by the gentle lights.

Date/Time: Mitarashi Festival August 7 (Wed.) 10:00
Kitano Manto Kai, Tanabata Festival Light-up August 2 (Fri.) - August 18 (Sun.) Sunset - 20:00 (closing time)
Mitarashi River Ashizuke Tomei Jinji August 2 (Fri.) - August 18 (Sun.) 9:00 - 20:00 (last admission 19:40)
Ishi-no-Ma (stone room) passage through the shrine, exhibition of sacred treasures and costumes August 9 (Fri.) - August 12 (Mon., holiday) 9:00 - 20:00 (last entry 19:40) *Please note that the entry hours may change according to the ceremony.
Kitano Summer Festival (Ume-en Naiju-hama Light-up) August 9 (Fri.) - August 12 (Mon., holiday) 16:00 - 20:00 (closing gate)

One of the largest Tanabata Sky Lantern Festivals in Japan is held to enjoy the summer night sky with light. The spectacle of thousands of lanterns floating in the sky above, turning the summer night sky orange, is breathtaking. There are also many food stalls and Tanabata-related events to enjoy in your spare time.

Dates / July 12 (Friday) to 16 (Tuesday), 2024

The "Hiwatari Festival" is held to pray for safety in the home and good health. About 20 Yamabushi (mountain priests) walk barefoot across a fire made by collapsing a burning gomadan (fire altar). General visitors are also welcome to follow the Yamabushi. Visitors can witness the mysterious sight of flames soaring up and illuminating the main hall.

Date / Sunday, July 28, 2024
Time／19:00~

The festival is held to express gratitude to the deity of Shingu Shrine, a regent shrine that enshrines the deity of the Chinese zodiac for the year 2024, and to pray for a safe journey through the extreme heat of the summer. Feel the blessings of the water and be healed by the murmuring of the stream.

Date / Sunday, July 28, 2024
Hours/9:30-16:30

The "Daigoji Manto-e" is an event to offer offer offerings to ancestors and spirits, and to pray for thanksgiving for life. At sunset, lanterns and lantern baskets along the approach to the temple are lit, and Buddhist services and memorial services are held. The Kondo Hall and the five-story pagoda, both national treasures, are illuminated by the lights, creating a fantastic atmosphere in the temple grounds.

Date / Monday, August 5, 2024
Time/18:00 - 20:30

The Shimogamo Summer Used Book Festival is held in the Tadasunomori forest of Shimogamo Shrine, which is registered as a World Heritage site. The festival features about 800,000 books, including paperbacks, art books, technical books, prints, paperbacks, Japanese books, and complete works, making it a fun place to just walk around.

Period / August 11 (Sun.) to 16 (Fri.), 2024
Time/10:00-17:30 (Last day closes at 16:00)

The "Joya no Age-taimatsu" held every year on August 14 during the Bon Festival is a traditional event in which lit torches are thrown up and ignited by a 16-meter-high giant torch. The festival is based on the legend of the extermination of a giant snake, and is registered as an Intangible Folk Cultural Asset of Kyoto Prefecture.

Date / Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Time/scheduled ignition time 22:00