What's on in Tokyo
20 events in January 2027: 7 illuminations, 4 exhibitions, 3 festivals, 2 markets, 2 performances, 1 garden and 1 food event, from headline festivals to neighbourhood fairs. 7 of them are annual events whose 2027 dates are still to be confirmed, listed with their usual window.
Cold, dry, and mostly clear. The first three days bring hatsumode crowds to the big shrines, then the city settles into its emptiest and cheapest stretch of the year, with the best Mount Fuji visibility from the observation decks. More on the season in Tokyo in winter.
Yomiuriland, Inagi
22 Oct - 4 Apr (dates to be confirmed)
Amusement park illumination of over 6 million jewel-toned LEDs designed by lighting designer Motoko Ishii, with a fountain show set to music. Runs deep into spring, and the gondola ride up from Keio Yomiuriland Station passes over the lights.
National Art Center, Tokyo, Roppongi
28 Oct - 8 Feb
Major exhibition celebrating pioneering female manga artists and their influence on shojo (girls') manga genre. Comprehensive retrospective featuring original works, manuscripts, and cultural impact of these influential creators.
National Art Center Tokyo, Roppongi
28 Oct - 8 Feb
Major retrospective celebrating three giants of shojo manga: Moto Hagio, Ryoko Yamagishi, and Waki Yamato. First comprehensive exhibition of their pivotal contributions to manga art.
The National Art Center, Tokyo, Roppongi
28 Oct - 8 Feb
Special exhibition dedicated to pioneering female manga artists who revolutionized the shojo manga genre. Explores the creative legacies of three influential artists through original manuscripts, artwork, and cultural impact.
Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi
1 Nov - 23 Feb
Holiday illumination event featuring the Midtown Garden with illuminated walkway of light and 3-minute light-and-music show. Paid ice rink runs through February 23, 2026.
Marunouchi area, Marunouchi
1 Nov - 28 Feb
Over 1.2 million champagne-gold LEDs lining 200 zelkova trees along the boulevard. One of Tokyo's most popular seasonal illuminations featuring elegant European-avenue styling.
Yebisu Garden Place, Ebisu
7 Nov - 11 Jan (dates to be confirmed)
A five-metre Baccarat crystal chandelier with 250 lights and 8,472 crystal parts glows in the open plaza at Yebisu Garden Place, alongside tree illuminations and a small Christmas market. Lit daily from 11am to 11pm.
Marunouchi Street, Marunouchi
13 Nov - 15 Feb
Over a million lights illuminate Nakadori Avenue from November 13 through February 15. Street park with market and musical performances featuring December midnight extension, 1.2-kilometer stretch from Tokyo Station area.
Nakadori Avenue and Gyōkō-dōri Avenue, Marunouchi
13 Nov - 15 Feb
Over 800,000 fairy lights strung along 1.2 kilometers of trees in Tokyo's financial district. The 24-year-old illumination runs nightly with lights until 11 p.m. in January, extending to midnight in December, creating an enchanting winter atmosphere through mid-February.
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Ueno
18 Nov - 8 Jan
Exhibition exploring modern and contemporary thread, needle, and fabric creations from the Tokyo Metropolitan Collection. Features works ranging from traditional embroidery techniques to contemporary fiber art installations.
Meguro River, Gotanda Fureai Waterside Square, Gotanda
4 Dec - 31 Jan (dates to be confirmed)
The cherry trees along a 2.2km stretch of the Meguro River near Gotanda and Osaki are lit with around 390,000 pink LEDs, a winter version of the famous spring blossoms. The whole display runs on biodiesel made from cooking oil collected from local homes and restaurants.
Zojo-ji Temple, Shibakoen
31 Dec - 1 Jan
Zojo-ji's great bell is struck 108 times around midnight on New Year's Eve, once for each earthly desire in Buddhist belief, with Tokyo Tower lit directly behind the main hall. Watching is free; a limited number of tickets to strike the bell are sold in advance.
Meiji Shrine, Harajuku
1 Jan - 3
Japan's busiest first shrine visit of the year, drawing around three million people over the first three days of January to pray, buy omamori charms, and draw fortunes. The approach through the forest stays open through the night of December 31 into January 1.
Ueno Toshogu Shrine Peony Garden, Ueno
1 Jan - 23 Feb (dates to be confirmed)
Around 160 winter peonies of some 40 varieties bloom under individual straw shelters in the garden beside the gilded Ueno Toshogu shrine, the largest winter peony display in the Kanto region. A quiet counterpoint to the crowds elsewhere in Ueno Park.
Haijima Daishi Temple, Akishima
2 Jan - 3
New Year daruma fair held on January 2 and 3 at a Tendai temple in western Tokyo, with close to 400 stalls selling daruma dolls, lucky charms, and plants. Visitors bring last year's daruma to be burned and buy a new one for the year ahead.
Tokyo Big Sight, Ariake
6 Jan (dates to be confirmed)
The Tokyo Fire Department's annual New Year review, with thousands of firefighters, fire engines, helicopters, and rescue boats in coordinated drills. The highlight is hashigo-nori, Edo-period firemen's acrobatics performed on top of bamboo ladders.
Tokyo Dome, Suidobashi
10 Jan - 19 (dates to be confirmed)
Regional food and festival fair filling Tokyo Dome for about ten days each January, with local dishes and craft sake from every prefecture plus full performances of festivals like the Aomori Nebuta and Akita Kanto pole balancing. A practical way to eat across Japan without leaving Tokyo.
Ryogoku Kokugikan, Ryogoku
10 Jan - 24
The first of the year's six grand sumo tournaments, 15 days of top-division bouts at the national sumo arena in Ryogoku. Top wrestlers fight from mid-afternoon; general ticket sales open in early December and weekends go fast.
Teppozu Inari Shrine, Hatchobori
10 Jan (dates to be confirmed)
On the second Sunday of January, around 100 white-clad participants bathe in a pool of ice water in the courtyard of this small shrine near Hatchobori, a purification rite held here since 1955. Chanting and warm-up runs start around 11am and spectators stand close to the action.
Boroichi-dori, near Setagaya Daikan Yashiki, Setagaya
15 Jan - 16
The January round of the 440-year-old Boroichi street market, with around 700 stalls of antiques, secondhand kimono, tools, and street food along Boroichi-dori. Look for daikan-mochi rice cakes, sold only at this market.
Tokyo International Forum, Yurakucho
1st and 3rd Sundays of the month (dates occasionally shift, no August edition)
Japan's largest outdoor antique market, held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month with 250 or so dealers selling old kimono, ceramics, woodblock prints, and retro homeware. Dates occasionally shift and there is usually no August edition, so check the official schedule before going.
Hanazono Shrine, Shinjuku
Almost every Sunday, roughly 6:30am to 3pm, except festival days and rain
Small, atmospheric antique market held almost every Sunday from early morning in the grounds of Shinjuku's Hanazono Shrine, with 25 to 40 stalls of old ceramics, kimono, coins, and curios. Skipped on festival weekends and in bad weather, so go early and have a backup plan.
Yasukuni Shrine outer approach, Kudanshita
Sundays, sunrise to sunset, weather permitting
A modest Sunday antique market along the tree-lined outer approach to Yasukuni Shrine, with 10 to 20 dealers selling pottery, old tools, and militaria from sunrise to sunset. Small enough to browse in half an hour on the way to the shrine or nearby Chidorigafuchi.
Koganji Temple and Jizo-dori Shopping Street, Sugamo
4th, 14th, and 24th of every month
Temple fair days at Koganji, home of the healing Togenuki Jizo, held on the 4th, 14th, and 24th of every month when food and trinket stalls line Jizo-dori shopping street. Nicknamed the Harajuku for grandmas, it is one of Tokyo's most charming old-school street scenes.
Kishimojin Temple, Zoshigaya
3rd Sunday of the month, 10am to 4pm (check the schedule, some months move or skip)
Craft market held on the third Sunday of most months in the cedar-shaded grounds of Kishimojin Temple, where up to 200 makers may only sell things they made themselves. One of the best places in Tokyo to buy ceramics, leather goods, and prints directly from the artists.
Takahata Fudoson Kongoji Temple, Hino
3rd Sunday of the month, 8am to 4pm
Around 120 dealers fill the grounds of this major Kanto temple on the third Sunday of every month, selling old kimono, clocks, toys, and farmhouse finds. The name Gozare roughly means anything goes as long as it is old, and prices run cheaper than central Tokyo markets.
United Nations University plaza, Aoyama
Every Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm
Tokyo's best-known farmers market runs every Saturday and Sunday on the plaza in front of the United Nations University, with around 50 stalls of produce, honey, coffee, and baked goods from farms across Japan. An easy, food-truck-fuelled stop between Shibuya and Omotesando.
Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine, Fukagawa
Antique market on 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th Sundays; flea market on the 15th and 28th of every month
This Edo-era shrine in old-town Fukagawa runs an antique market on most Sundays plus a bigger flea market on the 15th and 28th of each month, with dealers in Imari porcelain, old kimono, and vintage toys. Markets pause in January and are cancelled in rain.
Oi Racecourse, Shinagawa
Most Saturdays and Sundays (skips race days, check the calendar)
Tokyo's biggest regular flea market takes over the Oi Racecourse parking area most Saturdays and Sundays, with 300 to 600 stalls of secondhand clothes, household goods, toys, and the occasional genuine antique. Pure local bargain-hunting rather than a curated antiques fair.
Ark Hills, Ark Karajan Place, Akasaka
Every Saturday, 10am to 2pm
One of Tokyo's longest-running weekly marches, held every Saturday morning at Ark Hills since 2009 with farmers and small producers selling vegetables, bread, and prepared food. A relaxed local scene ten minutes from Roppongi.
Ark Hills, Ark Karajan Place, Akasaka
4th Sunday of the month (2nd Sunday in December), 11am to 5pm
Around 70 vendors of antiques, vintage jewellery, art, and old kimono fill the plaza at Ark Hills on the fourth Sunday of each month, moving to the second Sunday in December. More polished and design-minded than the shrine markets, with food stalls alongside.
Tokyo Ryutsu Center, Heiwajima
About five times a year over three days, typically March, May, July or September, and December (Sep 13-15 and Dec 6-8 in 2026)
Japan's biggest indoor antiques fair, held about five times a year over three days with nearly 300 dealers from across the country under one roof. Because it is indoors it runs rain or shine, making it the safest bet of Tokyo's big antique events.
20 events are listed for January 2027: 7 illuminations, 4 exhibitions, 3 festivals, 2 markets, 2 performances, 1 garden and 1 food event. 13 have confirmed dates and 7 are annual events whose exact 2027 dates are still to be announced, shown with their usual window. Every listing links to the interactive map.
Cold, dry, and mostly clear. The first three days bring hatsumode crowds to the big shrines, then the city settles into its emptiest and cheapest stretch of the year, with the best Mount Fuji visibility from the observation decks.
Near-term events are refreshed every week as organisers announce dates, and finished events drop off automatically. Annual events further out carry their typical dates until the official ones are published.