Japanese Art at World’s Fairs from the Late Edo Period Onwards Expo: Nihonga in Profusion Hokusai • Taikan • Suiseki
2025/07/19 - 2025/09/28
Art / Music / Theater Things to Do
Festivals & Events
Kyoto holds many cultural, artistic, and nature-related events throughout the year.
See which ones you will have a chance to experience during your upcoming trip.
Featured Events
Art / Music / Theater 
Hozugawa River Cruise
2025/01/05 - 2026/03/09
Tours & Experiences 
Yayoi Kusama Print Works: Repetition & Proliferation (Matsumoto City Museum of Art Collection)
2025/04/25 - 2025/09/07
Art / Music / Theater 
Kamogawa’s Noryo Yuka (Riverside Dining)
2025/05/01 - 2025/09/30
Cuisine / Markets / Other 
Higashi Hongan-ji Temple, Goei-do-mon (Founder’s Hall Gate) – Kyoto Summer Special Openings
2025/07/11 - 2025/09/30
Special Openings 
Byobu Matsuri (Folding Screen Festival) – Nagae Family Residence
2025/07/13 - 2025/07/16
Special Openings Search for Events
118 Results
Takekiri-e (Bamboo Cutting Ceremony)
20 Jun 2025
Traditional Events Venue: Kurama-dera Temple
Green Maple Leaves in the Historic Site of Odoi
10 Apr - 22 Jun 2025
Special Openings Venue: Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
Hydrangea Garden Illumination
07 Jun - 22 Jun 2025
Special Openings Venue: Mimuroto Temple
Free Admission to the Hydrangea Garden
21 Jun - 22 Jun 2025
Cuisine / Markets / Other Venue: Hydrangea area in the garden of the Old Mitsui Family Shimogamo Villa
Anselm Kiefer: Solaris Exhibition
31 Mar - 22 Jun 2025
Art / Music / Theater Venue: Nijo Castle, Ninomaru Palace Kitchen & Okiyodokoro
Hakuryu-en Garden Spring Special Opening
20 Mar - 22 Jun 2025
Special Openings Venue: 106 Kurama Ninosecho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City
Japanese Stewartia Flowers Viewing Event with Matcha, Sweets and Vegetarian Cuisine
09 Jun - 22 Jun 2025
Cuisine / Markets / Other Venue: Torin-in Temple, a sub-temple of Myoshin-ji Temple
Maiko Dinner
02 May - 27 Jun 2025
Cuisine / Markets / Other Venue: Hyatt Regency Kyoto, 1st basement floor "Higashiyama"
Main Events
Aoi Matsuri Festival
May 15
A long-held procession from Kyoto Imperial Palace to two historic shrines, with 500 people in courtly Heian attire.
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Gion Matsuri Festival
July 1-31
One of the three greatest festivals of Japan, when downtown Kyoto is lively with lavishly decorated festival floats.
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Kyoto Gozan Okuribi Bonfires
August 16
Five mountains around Kyoto are lit up with bonfires as a send-off for ancestral spirits who visit during Obon.
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Jidai Matsuri Festival
October 22
This parade of roughly 2,000 participants dressed in period garb representing over 1,000 years of Kyoto’s history.
Read moreSeasonal Events
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Seasonal Information
No matter what time of year you visit, special experiences await.
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