
Hanagasa Festival
The Hanagasa Festival is the largest festival in Yamagata City where thousands of dancers fill the streets. In 2026, join the dance yourself for the first time!
The Hanagasa Festival is the largest festival in Yamagata City where thousands of dancers fill the streets. In 2026, join the dance yourself for the first time!
The Uesugi Festival commemorates the samurai clan who once ruled Yonezawa. The main event is a reenactment of the Battle of Kawanakajima.
The Sakata Fireworks Festival is an extravagant riverside fireworks display that takes place in Sakata City, Yamagata every summer.
The Tohoku Kizuna Festival, a collaboration event combining the Tohoku region’s 6 most famous summer matsuri into one giant celebration!
The annual Hassaku Ritual is a great chance to see around 150 yamabushi training in the holy Dewa Sanzan mountain area.
Shoreisai is a religious yamabushi festival which takes place at the top of Mount Haguro in Tsuruoka, Yamagata every New Year’s Eve.
The small town of Oishida goes all out during their Oishida Matsuri, a summer festival featuring fireworks and exuberant traditional dance.
The Akagawa Fireworks Festival of Tsuruoka is counted among the 10 best fireworks festivals in all of Japan.
At the Sakata Ika Tsuri Festival, onlookers cheer on the fishermen of Yamagata as they depart on their first squid fishing trip of the year.
Every winter, the young boys of Shonai brave subzero to participate in this intense religious and cultural ritual.
The Yamagata Snow Festival, held in Sagae City, is one of Yamagata Prefecture’s biggest winter events and boasts a great fireworks display.
This dance festival is held in downtown Sakata; hundreds of dancers fill the streets and dance to Sakata Jinku, a traditional folk song.
Held annually since 1609, the Sakata Matsuri is Sakata City’s biggest event. It boasts parades, performances, and hundreds of street vendors.
At the Yamagata Nihonichi Bishuken Fair (lit. “Yamagata: Japan’s Most Delicious Alcohol Fair”), enjoy a wide variety Yamagata-made sakes and wines.
A special event bringing special crafts and artisans from Niigata Prefecture to Huntington Beach on October 18-20th, 2025