Shitamachi Tanabata Festival
Don a light yukata (summer kimono) and join locals celebrating tanabata, a festival commemorating the story of two star-crossed lovers separated by the Milky Way, who can only meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month.
Kappabashi Utensils Street is festooned with bamboo poles decorated with colourful paper streamers, and there are parades of dancers and drummers, as well as food stalls and street performers over the weekend.
It takes place on the 4th and 5th of July at Kappabashi Utensils Street in Asakusa.
Oedo Antique Market
Held twice a month, the Odeo outdoor antique market is a wonderland for vintage enthusiasts and design-minded shoppers.
Boasting over 250 dealers, the market is an all-encompassing cornucopia of antique Japanese home furnishings, artworks, books, jewellery, toys, movie memorabilia and much, much more.
Spread out over trestle tables and blankets, you’ll find Shōwa era (1926–1989) kokeshi (handmade wooden dolls), kimono, obi (long decorative belts) as well as kawaii (cute) wind-up tin toys and retro fashion magazines.
Bear in mind that most vendors are cash only and that bargaining is a total no-no.
It takes place on the 5th and 11th of July from 8 am to 4 pm, outside the Tokyo International Forum in Marunouchi.
Handmade in Japan Festival
Get ready to unleash your creativity at this weekend event that showcases Japanese artistry, craft and hobby making skills.
You’ll have the opportunity to attend kintsugi (repairing broken ceramics with lacquer and gold) workshops and traditional papercraft classes, and purchase unique, handmade and well-priced goods from thousands of Japanese exhibitors.
It’s on the 11th and 12th of July from 11 am to 7 pm at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba.
Brazil Festival
Despite the enormous geographical distance between Japan and Brazil, the two countries have strong ties, with over two million people of Japanese descent living in Brazil and nearly a quarter of a million Brazilians living in Japan.
The friendship between the two nations is celebrated at this exciting weekend festival, with capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian martial art) demonstrations, live bossa nova and samba performances, and the fragrant smell of churrasco (grilled meat) and linguiça (garlicky smoked pork sausage) wafting from the food stalls.
Head there on the 18th and 19th of July from 11 am to 8 pm at Yoyogi Park in Harajuku.
Swim in the Beer Fest 2026
Love loud, live music and cold craft beer? Then have we got an all-day event for you!
Held at Shelter, one of Tokyo’s most famous live music venues, the Swim in the Beer Fest is a boisterous and sweaty affair with over 15 indie bands like the Dradnats (who play melodic, punk rock) and Alaska Jam (who merge hip-hop with energetic rock) taking to the stage over a 12-hour period.
Joining a mosh-pit with other local, music-obsessed fans swilling Indian pale ales and mushroom-infused beers is the quickest way we know how to make mates in the capital.
The festival is on the 20th of July from 12 pm to 12 am in Shimokitazawa and you can book tickets here.
Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival
The streets and skies of eastern Tokyo come alive for one night in late July at Japan’s oldest and largest fireworks festival which was founded in 1733 by Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune to pray for an end to famine and to ward off evil spirits.
These days the festival is attended by over one million visitors wearing yukata (summer kimono) and happily snacking on summer treats like kakigori (shaved Ice) and yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) as 20,000 spectacular fireworks are released into the night sky above the Sumida River.
The event takes place on the 25th of July at 7 pm to 8.30 pm by the Sumida River (take the train to Asakusa Station or Tokyo Skytree Station).
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