All festivals, fireworks & bon odori (47 events)
In calendar order, January to December.
Foodpia Kanazawa
Throughout February
Kanazawa's month-long winter food festival since 1985 — reservation-based dining events in ryotei restaurants, machiya townhouses, and hotels across the city.
Gongan Shinji (Bamboo-Splitting Festival)
February 10 every year, around 11:00–noon
A 1,300-year-old rite in Kaga — young men in white smash hundreds of green bamboo poles on the shrine's stone steps, then hurl a great serpent-rope into the river.
Kenrokuen & Kanazawa Castle Light-up "Shiki Monogatari"
Winter editions on February Saturdays; also held each season (check dates)
Free evening light-ups of Kenrokuen Garden and Kanazawa Castle each season — the winter edition, with snow-hung ropes over the pines, is Kanazawa at its most iconic.
Aenokoto (Rice Field Deity Ritual)
December 5 (welcoming) and February 9 (sending off) every year
A UNESCO-listed household ritual of Oku-Noto farm families, who welcome the rice field deity into their homes, bathe it, and serve it a feast — viewable only at public demonstrations.
Oide Festival (Heikokusai)
March 18–20 (shortened schedule in 2026)
A rare long-distance sacred procession — a portable shrine and sacred horse travel across the Noto Peninsula from Keta Taisha Shrine, heralding the arrival of spring.
Seihakusai Festival (Dekayama Floats)
May 3–5 (all three floats gather on May 5)
Japan's largest festival floats — 12m tall, 20-ton "Dekayama" — are pulled through the streets of Nanao. A UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage event.
Kutani Chawan Pottery Festival
May 3–5, 9:00–18:00 (until 17:00 on the last day)
Hokuriku's biggest pottery fair, held since 1908. Around 50 Kutani porcelain kilns and dealers sell everything from everyday tableware to collector pieces at festival prices.
Otabi Festival (Children's Kabuki)
May 8–10 (float lineup on May 9)
A 260-year-old festival in Komatsu where children perform kabuki plays on ornate wooden festival floats — one of Japan's three great children's kabuki traditions.
Mikawa Okaeri Festival
May 16–17 (3rd weekend of May)
A spring festival in Mikawa where 13 ornate wheeled floats parade with trumpet calls, and a midnight procession returns the portable shrine along a special street that changes every year.
Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Festival
June 5–7 (main parade June 6)
Ishikawa's biggest festival reenacts Lord Maeda Toshiie's 1583 entry into Kanazawa Castle, with a grand costume parade from Kanazawa Station to the castle park.
Hyakumangoku Odori Nagashi (Street Dance Parade)
June 6, 18:00–20:00 (part of the Hyakumangoku Festival)
The night-time street dance that closes the Hyakumangoku Festival — some 9,000 dancers flow down Kanazawa's main avenue, with a drop-in section open to visitors.
Abare Festival (Fire & Violence Festival)
July 3–4 (1st Fri–Sat of July)
The wildest festival in Noto — 40 giant lantern floats dance through showers of sparks from great torches, and portable shrines are hurled into the sea, river, and fire.
Nanao Gion Festival
July 11 (2nd Saturday of July)
A summer kiriko festival in central Nanao, where lantern floats from each neighborhood parade until late night — one of the easiest kiriko festivals to reach by train.
Nanao Port Festival Fireworks
July 18, 20:30 (about 30 minutes)
Harbor fireworks over Nanao Port — revived in 2026 after a two-year hiatus following the Noto earthquake.
Hakusan Festival in Shiramine (Kanko Dance)
July 18–19; Kanko dance on the 18th (stage 19:45, circle dance 20:00)
The Kanko dance of Shiramine village at the foot of Mt. Haku — a prefecturally designated folk dance said to date back to the year 717, performed on stage and then in a circle.
Hasebe Festival Fireworks (Anamizu)
July 19, in the evening
Harbor fireworks over Anamizu Bay — revived in 2026 after three years, with 350 sky lanterns released in memory of earthquake victims.
Iida Toroyama Lantern Float Festival
July 20–21 every year (eve festival on the 19th)
A summer festival in Suzu where a 16-meter illuminated float — one of Japan's tallest — and eight lacquered, gold-leafed floats parade through the town of Iida.
Hokkoku Fireworks Kanazawa
July 25, from 19:50 (rain date July 26)
Kanazawa's only large-scale fireworks show — about 12,000 shells over the Sai River, the biggest summer night in the city.
Uchinada Summer Festival Fireworks
July 25, fireworks in the evening finale
Uchinada's town summer festival on the Kahoku Lagoon, ending with a music-synchronized fireworks show over the water — an easy trip from Kanazawa.
Summer Festa in Kahoku
July 25–26; fireworks July 25 at 20:45 (about 20 minutes)
Kahoku City's biggest summer weekend — two days of stage events and a 20-minute fireworks show on the first night.
Neagari Tanabata Festival
July 25–26; fireworks July 26 at 20:45
A 60-year tradition in Nomi City — a tanabata street festival ending with fireworks on the second night, an easy walk from the train station.
Koda Fire Festival (Notojima)
Around the last Saturday of July
One of Japan's three great fire festivals — villagers hurl hand torches to ignite a 30-meter pillar torch, and the direction of its fall foretells the year's harvest.
Matsunami Ningyo Kiriko Festival
July 25
A unique kiriko festival where neighborhoods compete over elaborate doll tableaux mounted on their lantern floats — best enjoyed by day for the craft and by night for the lights.
Kawakita Grand Fireworks
August 1, from around 20:15 (rain date August 2)
The largest fireworks display in the Hokuriku region — about 20,000 shells over the wide Tedori River, held together with the Kawakita Festival's great bonfire.
Katayamazu Onsen Summer Fireworks
Every night August 1–30, around 21:00 (about 10 minutes)
Fireworks every single night in August — a 10-minute show over Shibayama Lagoon at 9pm, easy to catch whatever your travel dates.
Issaki Hoto Festival
August 1 (1st Saturday of August)
The most powerful of Noto's kiriko festivals — six 15-meter, 2-ton giant lantern floats are carried through narrow lanes by teams of 100 men, next door to Wakura Onsen.
Horyu Tanabata Kiriko Festival
August 1, kiriko procession from 17:30, fireworks from 20:00
Bearers carry giant lantern floats straight into the sea, circling a great offshore torch as fireworks burst overhead — the most dreamlike scene among Noto's kiriko festivals.
Nafune Grand Festival (Gojinjo Daiko)
August 1, Gojinjo Daiko drumming from around 15:00
The birthplace performance of Gojinjo Daiko — masked drummers whose demonic faces once, by legend, routed an invading army in 1577.
Nonoichi Jonkara Festival
August 1–2, mass dance from 19:10 (1st) / 19:55 (2nd)
A dance festival built on the prefecturally designated "Nonoichi Jonkara" folk song — and the easiest dance circle in Ishikawa for a visitor to join, with drop-in participation from just one person.
Kanazawa Musashi Bon Odori
August 1, 15:00–20:00
A rooftop bon odori at the Kanazawa Musashi department store, right by Omicho Market — the most accessible dance night in central Kanazawa, drawing around 2,000 people.
Ishibiki Gebageba Bon Odori
August 1, 16:00–20:00
A music-forward "new style" bon odori in the Ishibiki shopping street above Kenrokuen, with live bands and DJ sets — free to enter.
Kanazawa Yume Kaido Street Festival
August 8–9
Kanazawa's main avenue closes to traffic for two days in August, filling 1.5km of roadway with yosakoi dance teams, marching bands and street performers.
Torigoe Ikko-Ikki Festival Fireworks
August 9, from 20:00
A small local fireworks show (about 150 shells) in the mountain village of Torigoe, held with a festival commemorating the region's Ikko-Ikki history.
Monzen Recovery Prayer Fireworks
August 13, from 20:30
A recovery-prayer fireworks display in Monzen, one of the districts hit hardest by the Noto earthquake — lights of hope in the Obon night sky.
Evening of Taiko and Dance
August 14, 17:30–20:00
An evening of taiko drumming at Suzu's municipal ballpark, pairing touring professional troupes with local schoolchildren — one of three pillars of Suzu's recovery summer festival programme.
Nishigishi Fireworks Festival
August 15 (2025 edition started at 20:00)
A community-run fireworks night by Nishigishi Station on the Noto Railway — also known to anime fans as a "Hanasaku Iroha" pilgrimage spot.
Gozare Festival
August 15, with music fireworks over the kiriko float at night
An Obon festival at the Yanagida Botanical Park in Noto Town, where music-synchronized fireworks burst directly above a kiriko lantern float.
Iida Recovery Bon Odori
August 15, from 18:30
A bon odori held in Suzu's Iida district as an act of recovery after the Noto earthquake — no registration needed, and anyone is welcome to join the circle.
Wakura Onsen Summer Fireworks
Cancelled in 2026 (resumption date TBD)
Famous for Hokuriku's largest 90cm shells bursting 600 meters wide over Nanao Bay — cancelled in 2026 as the onsen town continues earthquake recovery.
Wajima Grand Festival
Usually August 22–25, four consecutive nights (2026 details TBC)
Four shrines in Wajima hold their grand festivals on four consecutive August nights — giant kiriko floats, torch rites, and portable shrines carried into the sea.
Keroppa Bon Odori for Noto
2026 edition not yet announced (2025 edition was August 23)
A recovery-prayer bon odori held in central Kanazawa by a volunteer group supporting Noto — the 2025 edition was held in Shiko Memorial Park; 2026 dates are not yet announced.
Koikoi Festival (Yamanaka Onsen)
September 19–20, 10:00–21:00
Yamanaka Onsen's biggest festival — and one designed from the start for visitors to join. The name "Koikoi" means "come, come," inviting bathing guests into the dance circle.
Kanazawa Odori (Geisha Dance Performance)
September 19–20 (about 2 hours per performance)
Once a year, the geisha of Kanazawa's three teahouse districts perform together on stage — a rare chance to see an art normally reserved for private teahouse banquets.
Takojima Kiriko Festival
Usually September 10–11 (2026 details TBC)
Called the most gorgeous of Noto's kiriko festivals — sixteen lacquered, gold-leafed lantern floats dance at Takakurahiko Shrine in Suzu.
Hodatsushimizu Grand Fireworks
October 11, from 18:30 (rain or shine; postponed to Oct 12 in storms)
A rare autumn fireworks show in Ishikawa — crisper October air makes for sharper, clearer bursts than summer displays.
Yuwaku Bonbori Festival
October 17
A festival born from the anime "Hanasaku Iroha" — paper wishes are ritually burned as lanterns light up the small hot spring town of Yuwaku.
Hourai Festival (Tsurugi)
Usually the 1st weekend of October (2026 date TBC)
An 800-year-old autumn festival in Tsurugi, where 5-meter figures built anew each year parade the old highway with lion dancers and chants of "Yo-horai!"