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List of Annual Events in Osaka

As part of our guide for visitors to Osaka City, here is a list of events in Osaka that are held every year.

List of Events in Osaka City by Month

— Japanese Food Festival (January)
— Osaka Auto Messe (February)
— Osaka Marathon (February)
— Expo 70 Commemorative Park Plum Festival (February)
— Grand Sumo Tournament (March)
— Osaka Asian Film Festival (March)
— Good Coffee Fest (March)
— Ogimachi Cherry Blossom Festival (March)
— Osaka Flower Carpet (April)
— Tenshiba Fruhlingsfwest (April)
— Takatsuki Jazz Street Festival (May)
— Osaka Comic On (May)
— Nipponbashi Street Festa (May)
— Nishi Umeda Candle Days (June)
— Otaue Rice Planting Festival (June)
— Japan Sake and Shochu Fair (June)
— Senshu Beach Lantern Festival (July)
— Summer Sonic Osaka (August)
— Craft Beer Holiday (October)
— Kinoshita Group Japan Open (October)
— Ramen Expo (November)
— Japan Mobility Show (December)

See our separate list of traditional Japanese festivals in Osaka. More details below.

Japanese Food Festival

Date: Early January
Location: Hanahaku Memorial Park
Website: https://www.tsurumi-ryokuchi.jp

The Japanese Food Festival is held at Hanahaku Memorial Park during the early days of January. The food event offers visitors a chance to experience a wide variety of dishes, live cooking demonstrations, and cultural activities.
The entry fee is free and visitors can enjoy Japanese local food such as ramen and karaage (fried chicken).

Osaka Auto Messe

Date: Early February
Location: Intex Osaka
Website: https://www.automesse.jp

Osaka Auto Messe is a motor show held in Intex Osaka. The event provides variety of customized cars. It is one of the largest big events in the Kansai region, with over 200,000 visitors annually.

Osaka Marathon

Date: The end of February
Location: The course starts near the Osaka Prefectural Government Building and finishes inside Osaka Castle Park
Website: https://www.osaka-marathon.com

Osaka Marathon is the largest and most popular marathon event in Osaka City. It is held in February every year, with approximately 30,000 participants. This international marathon event attracts runners from Japan and around the world.

Expo 70 Commemorative Park Plum Festival

Date: Early February to early March
Location: Expo 70 Commemorative Park
Website: https://www.expo70-park.jp/languages/english/

Expo 70 Commemorative Park Plum Festival is held in early February to mid March when the 600 plum trees are the best to see. There are seasonal food stalls selling umeshu (plum wine), plum sweets, and food during festival weekends.

Grand Sumo Tournament

Date: Early March (for two weeks)
Location: EDION Arena Osaka (Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium)
Website: https://www.sumo.or.jp/En/

Grand Sumo Tournament is one of the six-tournament series events that is held annually around Japan. Tokyo hosts three of these tournaments, and the remaining three are held in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. Grand Sumo Tournament Osaka is held in March in Edion Arena Osaka (Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium) located in the Namba area of Naniwa-ku.

Osaka Asian Film Festival

Date: (see their website)
Location: ABC hall, National Museum of Art
Website: https://oaff.jp/en/

Osaka Asian Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Osaka City. The event attracts creators from various Asian countries and serves as a hub for filmmakers, producers, and industry professionals from overseas. Film submissions come from Asian countries including Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Good Coffee Fest

Date: Mid to late March
Location: 1F Shokusai Terrace (Hanshin Umeda)
Website: https://goodcoffee.me

Good Coffee Fest takes places at Hanshin Umeda store to introduce some of the best coffee shops in Japan. The Good Coffee Fest offers educational workshops and four coffee tasting tickets with mini mugs (approximately 2000 JPY) for visitors to sample diverse brews from multiple vendors.

Ogimachi Cherry Blossom Festival

Date: Late March
Location: Ogimachi Park
Website: https://ogimachipark.com

Ogimachi Cherry Blossom Festival is held at Ogimachi Park for three days when the sakura trees are in full bloom. There is a variety of live entertainment shows perfect for spring, such as Japanese instrument performances and street performances. The cherry blossoms are beautifully illuminated at night.

As a local recommendation: Check at Ogimachi Love Burrito, which is located next to the park.

Osaka Flower Carpet

Date: Late April
Location: Expo ’70 Commemorative Park
Website: https://www.city.suita.osaka.jp/shisei/1018880/1028651/1036624/

Osaka Flower Carpet event is held at Expo ’70 Commemorative Park. The event is a part of the project for Kansai University students. In this project, students and volunteers use 100,000 tulips to create flower paintings. After the event, the flowers are reused for flower paper and processed into sketchbooks.

Tenshiba Fruhlingsfwest

Date: Late April to Early May
Location: Tennoji Park
Website: https://www.tennojipark.com

Tenshiba Frühlingsfest is a spring festival held at Tenshiba, the open plaza of Tennoji Park in Osaka. The event provides German-style craft beers, casual street food, and a cheerful park atmosphere with music, pop-up stalls, and picnic-style seating.

Takatsuki Jazz Street Festival

Date: Early May
Location: JK’s BIRD
Website: https://www.0726.info

Takatsuki Jazz Street Festival is two-day event held in Takatsuki City, and one of the biggest music events is Japan. Over 3,000 artists perform in 72 different locations, including restaurants, bars, and cafes, in the central district in Takatsuki City.

JOsaka Comic Con

Date: Early May
Location: Intex Osaka
Website: https://osakacomiccon.jp/en/

Osaka Comic Con is a large pop-culture festival and international event held in Osaka Intex in Suminoe-ku, focused on comics, movies, celebrities, cosplay, and entertainment culture. Approximately 60,000 participants join this event during three days.

Nipponbashi Street Festa

Date: Mid May
Location: Denden Town
Website: https://www.nippombashi.jp/festa/

Nipponbashi Street Festa is a big cosplay event and a pop-culture street festival where thousands of people gather to walk, parade, and take photos along the streets of Nipponbashi. The event also includes live performances, booths, and themed activities.

Nishi Umeda Candle Days

Date: Early June and early December
Location: Nishi Umeda Park
Website: https://nishiumeda-candledays.com

Nishi Umeda Candle Days takes place in June and December in Nishi Umeda area of Osaka. Participants display thousands of candles in this candlelight event, lighting up the park. There are live music and workshops activities as well.

Otaue Rice Planting Festival

Date: Mid June
Location: Sumiyoshi Taisha
Website: https://www.sumiyoshitaisha.net/en/

The Otaue Rice Planting Festival (御田植神事) is held at Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine in Osaka. The annual festival is a traditional Shinto rice-planting festival where visitors celebrate and pray for a bountiful rice harvest. Shrine priests, assistants, rice-planting people, and approximately 2,000 visitors come each year to participate and view this event.

Japan Sake and Shochu Fair

Date: Mid June
Location: ATC Hall (Asia-Pacific Trade Center)
Website: https://japansake.or.jp/sake/en/

Japan Sake and Shochu Fair is an event to introduce Japan’s traditional alcoholic beverages especially sake (nihonshu), honkaku shochu, and awamori. It’s organized by the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, and showcases products, culture, and brewing traditions from breweries and distilleries across Japan.

Senshu Beach Lantern Festival

Date: Early July
Location: Sennnan Long Park
Website: https://www.senshu-beachlantern.com

Senshu Beach Lantern Festival is a summer seaside lantern festival held at Sennan Long Park and Tarui Southern Beach in Sennan. It’s a nighttime event where over a thousand lanterns light up the beach and sky, creating a magical and illuminated summer atmosphere. It is recommended to but lantern tickets online in advance.

Summer Sonic Osaka

Date: Mid August
Location: Expo ’70 Commemorative Park
Website: https://www.summersonic.com

Summer Sonic Osaka at Expo ’70 Park is one of Japan’s largest annual summer music festivals, part of the nationwide Summer Sonic series held in Osaka and Tokyo. It’s a massive rock, pop, and electronic music festival that attracts both international and Japanese artists, and tens of thousands of music fans each year.

Craft Beer Holiday

Date: Mid October
Location: Osaka Castle Park
Website: https://www.yte.co.jp/beerholiday/

Craft Beer Holiday is a craft beer festival where breweries from across Japan gather to showcase their beers, including limited releases, and seasonal brews you might not easily find elsewhere. You can enjoy a wide variety of beer styles, food, and fun activities at Osaka Castle Park.

Kinoshita Group Japan Open

Date: Mid October
Location: Utsubo Tennis Center
Website: https://www.japanopentennis.com/atp/en/

Kinoshita Group Japan Open refers to a major professional tennis tournament in Japan (sponsored by Kinoshita Group) where top international women players compete each year in October. The event is for Women’s Professional Tennis in Osaka. The tournament takes place on outdoor hard courts at the Utsubo Tennis Center at Utsubo Park.

Local recommendation: Visitors to the Japan Open Tennis Tournament should visit local bakery Utsubo Bakery Panena (located on the south side of Utsubo Park), which makes amazing local baked goods.

Ramen Expo

Date: Late November to Late December
Location: Expo ’70 Commemorative Park
Website: https://ramen-expo.com

Ramen Expo is one of the largest ramen festivals in Kansai area, held at Expo ’70 Commemorative Park in Suita City. Top ramen shops from all over the country gather in one place so visitors can sample a wide variety of styles in one visit. There is also a voting system where visitors can help choose their favorite ramen for the prize.

Osaka Mobility Show

Date: Early December
Location: Intex Osaka
Website: https://www.tv-osaka.co.jp/event/osaka-motorshow/

Osaka Mobility Show is a major automotive and mobility exhibition held in Osaka that focuses on current and future mobility technology, including cars, bikes, EVs, concept vehicles, and related industry innovations. Approximately 200,000 participants join this event for three days.

List of Annual Events in Osaka

List of Events in Osaka City by Month

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