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November 2019
December 2019
German-style Xmas Market
3 days of mulled wine, beer, sausage, stollen, music and more at the base of the Urban View Grand Tower.
Find out more »Handel’s Messiah
The annual performance of Handel's Messiah at Jogakuin High School is a rare chance to see a classical concert without charge. Child care is provided too!
Find out more »January 2020
Tondo Festivals
Burn, baby, burn! New Year decorations and talismans go up in flames on huge bonfires across the region. Read more about Tondo and where you can see the spectacle here.
Find out more »Senda Wasshoi Matsuri Flea Market
The biggest and most regular flea market in Hiroshima, held once a month in Higashi Senda Park, has stalls, music and a bit of a festival atmosphere.
Find out more »Mid-winter Swim in front of the A-bomb Dome
Mid-winter swim featuring samurai swimming techniques in the river in front of Hiroshima's A-bomb Dome.
Find out more »Emperor’s Cup Inter Prefectural Men’s Ekiden
Teams from all 47 prefectures battle it out in this annual 48km road relay on an out-and-back course between Hiroshima Peace Park and Miyajima-guchi.
Find out more »February 2020
Setsubun-sai at Saikoku-ji, Onomichi
Lucky beans, mochi rice cakes, mikan oranges and lucky tickets for prizes thrown out into a large crowd after rituals to banish evil spirits and welcome in good fortune at Saikoku-ji Temple in Onomichi. Read more about Setsubun in Hiroshima here.
Find out more »Setsubun-sai at Sumiyoshi-jinja
Have the smell of 1000 fish heads wafted over you by shrine maidens wielding giant fan to ward off bad luck in this ritual Sumiyoshi Shrine claims to date from Heian times. Read more about and see photos and video of Setsubun at Sumiyoshi Shrine here and more about Setsubun in Hiroshima in general here.
Find out more »Setsubun-sai at Gokoku-jinja
After a cleansing ritual to ward off evil spirits and bring in good luck performed in the shrine building which includes a little bit of bean throwing, the action moves outside and a shrine priest shoots arrows at a big image of an oni demon head. Finally, there is quite a battle to grab bags of lucky beans thrown from the top of a tower erected in the shrine precinct. Some of the bags of beans have lucky tickets attached…
Find out more »Mihara Daruma Festival (Shinmei-ichi)
During the 3-day Mihara Daruma Festival the streets are taken over by stalls selling lucky daruma dolls and every kind of festival food you can imagine. The pride of Mihara is also on display, the nation's biggest daruma doll which weighs in at a couple of hundred kilograms. Read and see more photos from the "Daruma Festival" here.
Find out more »Miyajima Oyster Festival
One of Miyajima's specialities is oyster, and every year on the second weekend in February, some of the juiciest are served up at rock bottom prices. Also traditional taiko drumming performances on the Sunday. Held in front of the ferry terminal on Miyajima so you can't miss it. 10:00-15:00 Read in more detail about this festival here and get the low down on all the oyster festivals in the region here.
Find out more »Senda Wasshoi Matsuri Flea Market
The biggest and most regular flea market in Hiroshima, held once a month in Higashi Senda Park, has stalls, music and a bit of a festival atmosphere.
Find out more »Yokogawa Valentine’s Fireworks Event
For anyone looking for something fun to do on Valentine's Day, why not join the annual Valentine's Day fireworks event held in the Yokogawa area of Hiroshima city. The event will be held next to the Yokogawa Ebisu Shrine along the riverside where everyone can enjoy watching heart-shaped fireworks launch into the sky. It's free to come and watch the fireworks, there will also be some food booths, Valentine's activities, and a festival-type atmosphere to enjoy starting from 5:30. For…
Find out more »March 2020
Senda Wasshoi Matsuri Flea Market
The biggest and most regular flea market in Hiroshima, held once a month in Higashi Senda Park, has stalls, music and a bit of a festival atmosphere.
Find out more »Kiyomori Festival
The annual samurai parade through the streets of Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine.
Find out more »April 2020
[CANCELED] Senda Wasshoi Matsuri Flea Market
The biggest and most regular flea market in Hiroshima, held once a month in Higashi Senda Park, has stalls, music and a bit of a festival atmosphere.
Find out more »Fire walking ritual at Daishoin Temple
Photo: Lance Cpl. Benjamin Pryer "Hi-watari-shiki" Fire walking ritual takea place at Daishoin Temple on Miyajima twice a year on April 15 and November 15. Readings from the 8000 verse Perfection of Wisdom Sutra begin at 11am and extravagant Saito-goma rituals begin around 1pm in the temple forecourt with a purification offering to the alter and the chanting of sutras. This is followed by two Buddhist monks circling the area with swords and then shooting 7 arrows into the air…
Find out more »[CANCELED] Onomichi Port Festival
The construction of Onomichi Port was started in 1740 thanks to the efforts of Kakuzaemon Hirayama and it was this port that became the keystone of Onomichi's development. The Minato Festival (“minato” means “port”), sponsored by the Hirayama Shrine, is one of Onomichi's biggest events of the year and includes a parade and many other events. The highlight is the "E-jan sansa-gari" group dance contest (have a listen to the music they have to dance to here - it sounds…
Find out more »[CANCELED] Kintaikyo Bridge Festival
The annual Kintai Bridge Festival in Iwakuni is an excellent way to kick off your Golden Week.
Find out more »[Canceled] Kure Port Festival
Every year on April 29 some of the neighboring city of Kure's main streets (centered on Kuramoro-dori St) are closed for parades, stages and, of course, lots of food and drink stalls Kure Minato Matsuri or Kure Port Festival. Two things that jump out are a local beer festival (Kure's navy beer wins many craft beer awards) and a yacht race in the harbor. The parade starts at 14:00.
Find out more »May 2020
[CANCELED] Hiroshima Flower Festival
Hiroshima's biggest annual event, drawing in many more people than even the August 6 memorial day, the annual Flower Festival was inspired by the celebrations that followed the Hiroshima Carp's first championship in 1975. Crowded, noisy, high in kitsch and overtly commercial, it does, however, pull in tens of thousands of people from near and far, and many of them do seem to have a pretty good time. In addition to all the parades, pop bands, tarento celebrities, comedians and…
Find out more »[Canceled] MCAS Iwakuni Friendship Day
In May of every year, the gates of MCAS Iwakuni US Marine base opens up its gates to over 250,000 visitors who come for the entertainment, games, aerial and static displays, car and motorbike show and one of Japan's largest air shows. And, of course, the food. Friendship Day on the website Friendship Day MCAS Iwakuni Facebook Page Visitors who are not Japanese citizens are required to bring either a residence card or passport and to fill a questionnaire prior…
Find out more »Senda Wasshoi Matsuri Flea Market
The biggest and most regular flea market in Hiroshima, held once a month in Higashi Senda Park, has stalls, music and a bit of a festival atmosphere.
Find out more »[CANCELED] Tomo Bentenjima Fireworks Festival
Tomo Bentenjima Fireworks Festival in the quaint port town of Tomo-no-ura kicks off the summer's fireworks festivals in the Chugoku region. 90min of fireworks over the water silhouetting picturesque Benten Island. Photo: Hiroshima Prefecture
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