Festivals in Osaka

As part of our guide for visitors to Osaka City, here is a list of traditional Japanese festivals in Osaka, Japan.

Many of these festivals are specifically in the summer.

Osaka Festivals

— Temma Tenjin Ebisu Festival (January)
— Toka Ebisu Festival (January)
— Doya Doya Festival (January)
— Setsubun Festival (February)
— Nakanoshima Festival (May)
— Tenjin Festival (June – July)
— Aizen Festival (June – July)
— Umeda Yukata Festival (July)
— Sumiyoshi Festival (July – August)
— Kishiwada Danjiri Festival (September – October)

See our separate list of the biggest annual events in Osaka. More details below.

Temma Tenjin Ebisu Festival

Date: January 9-11
Location: Osaka Tenmangu Shrine
Nearest station: Osakatmnmangu Station (JR Loop Line)
Website: https://osakatemmangu.or.jp

Temma Tenjin Ebisu Festival is held in Osaka Tenmangu, located in Tenjinbashi-suji shopping district. People visit the Osaka Tenmangu Shrine in January to pray for prosperity in the new year. You can buy bamboo lucky charms and drink a cup of hot sweet Japanese sake called amazake to make your body warm.

Toka Ebisu Festival

Date: 9-11 January
Location: Imamiya Ebisu Shrine
Nearest station: Imamiyaebisu Station (Nankai Line)
Website: https://www.imamiya-ebisu.jp/english

Ebisu Toka Festival is held at Imamiya Ebisu Shrine. The festival is sometimes call “Ebessan.” During the Toka Ebisu Festival, visitors wave a ceremonial bamboo branch and pray to the god of commerce for financial success in the new year.

Doya Doya Festival

Date: January 14
Location: Shitennoji Temple
Nearest station: Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station (Tanimachi Line, Osaka Metro)
Website: https://www.shitennoji.or.jp

Osaka Doya Doya Festival is a New Year’s “naked” festival held at Shitennoji Temple on January 14th every year. The original purpose of this unique event was to pray for the harvest. You can see young people are wearing fundoshi, which traditional Japanese underwear.

Setsubun Festival

Date: February 3
Location: Sumiyoshi Taisha
Nearest station: Sumiyoshitaisha Station (Nankai Line)
Website: https://www.sumiyoshitaisha.net/en/

Setsubun Festival is a traditional Japanese event held the day before the beginning of spring. Going to the festival is part of a tradition to ward off evil spirits for the new season and to bring good luck.

Nakanoshima Festival

Date: May 3-5
Location: Nakanoshima Park
Nearest station: Naniwabashi Station (Keihan Line)
Website: http://www.nakanoshima.net

The Nakanoshima Festival began in 1973 in Nakanoshima Park. It is one of the largest citizen festivals in Japan. It is held every year for three days on May 3-5, at Nakanoshima Park in Kita-ku, Osaka City.

Tenjin Festival

Date: June 24- July 25
Location: Osaka Tenmangu Shrine
Nearest station: Osakatenmangu Station (JR Loop Line)
Website: https://osakatemmangu.or.jp

Tenjin Festival is one of Japan’s three biggest festivals. It is held annually in Osaka Tenmangu on July 24-25. The festival celebrates Sugawara no Michizane (a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian period of Japan).

Aizen Festival

Date: June 30- July 2
Location: Aizendo Shomanin Temple
Nearest station: Shitennojimae-Yuhigaoka Station (Tanimachi Line, Osaka Metro)
Website: https://www.aizendo.com/festival.htm

The Aizen Festival (originally a Buddhist ceremony) was created to pray for health and happiness. The day is dedicated to the Aizendo Shomanin Temple main deity, Aizen Myouou (a guardian deity in Buddhism).

Sumiyoshi Festival

Date: July 31- August 1
Location: Sumiyoshi Taisha
Nearest station: Sumiyoshitaisha Station (Nankai Line)
Website: https://www.sumiyoshitaisha.net/en/

The Sumiyoshi Festival is held annually on July 31 to August 1, at the historic Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine. The highlight of the festival is the mikoshi togyo (portable shrine procession), where several ceremonial shrines are carried by participants across the Yamato River to Sakai City.

Umeda Yukata Festival

Date: July 1st – July 31st
Location: Gran Front Umekita Hiroba
Nearest station: Osaka Station/Umeda Station
Website: https://umeda-connect.jp/yukata/

Umeda Yukata Festival has local performers taking the stage with Bon Odori dancing and live music. It is a fitting opportunity to wear a yukata and take part in the traditional Japanese summer festival.

Kishiwada Danjiri Festival

Date: Mid September and Mid October
Location: Kishiwada Castle
Nearest station: Kishiwada Station (Nankai Line)
Website: https://www.city.kishiwada.lg.jp/site/danjiri/

Kishiwada Danjiri Festival is one of the most famous festivals in Osaka. The festival is a parade involving large wooden shrine floats (danjiri) that are pulled at a high speed by a large team of men. The danjiri paraded around the neighborhoods near the Kishidawa castle.

Festivals in Osaka

Osaka Festivals

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