What's on in Tokyo
11 events in March 2027: 6 festivals, 2 illuminations, 2 gardens and 1 performance, from headline festivals to neighbourhood fairs. 10 of them are annual events whose 2027 dates are still to be confirmed, listed with their usual window.
Plum blossoms and early-blooming cherry varieties carry the first half; the main sakura usually open in the last week of the month, so late-March dates are a bet on the forecast. More on the season in Tokyo in spring.
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.
Yushima Tenmangu Shrine, Yushima
8 Feb - 8 Mar (dates to be confirmed)
About 300 plum trees, most of them white late-blooming varieties, flower in the grounds of this shrine to the god of scholarship, with weekend outdoor tea ceremonies and performances. Students praying for exam success crowd the shrine at the same time, so the atmosphere is part festival, part study hall.
Sumida Park (Sumida-ku side), Sumida
16 Mar - 7 Apr (dates to be confirmed)
Cherry blossom festival on the east bank of the Sumida River, a hanami spot planted by shogun Yoshimune in the 1700s. A kilometre of trees is lit nightly from 6:30pm to 9pm, with Tokyo Skytree rising directly behind the blossoms.
Ueno Park, Ueno
17 Mar - 6 Apr (dates to be confirmed)
Hanami festival along Ueno Park's central avenue of roughly 1,000 cherry trees, with around 800 lanterns lit from 5pm to 8pm. Side events include an antique market by Shinobazu Pond and a flower market at Kiyomizu Kannon-do.
Tokyo Tower, Shibakoen
17 Mar - 6 May (dates to be confirmed)
333 carp streamers, one for each metre of the tower's height, fly at the main entrance from mid-March until Children's Day. Look for the single 6-metre pacific saury streamer flown for the Iwate town of Ofunato since 2011.
Rikugien Gardens, Komagome
18 Mar - 24 (dates to be confirmed)
The Edo-period landscape garden opens after dark for about a week so visitors can see its huge weeping cherry tree lit up, with last entry at 8pm. Dates shift with the bloom and are confirmed only about a week ahead; advance online tickets are slightly cheaper.
Sensoji Temple, Asakusa
18 Mar
An 18-metre, 88-kilogram golden dragon is carried dancing through Sensoji's grounds and Nakamise street by eight bearers, marking the day Kannon is said to have appeared in 628. Performances at 11:30am, 2pm, and 3:30pm on March 18 every year.
Chidorigafuchi Green Way, Chiyoda
25 Mar - 6 Apr (dates to be confirmed)
The moat path northwest of the Imperial Palace is lined with about 260 cherry trees, illuminated nightly until 9pm during peak bloom. Rowboats on the moat give the classic view of petals drifting on the water; book ahead, the queue gets long.
Meguro River, Nakameguro, Nakameguro
27 Mar - 28 (dates to be confirmed)
Festival weekend on the Meguro River, where roughly 800 cherry trees arch over the canal between Ikejiri-Ohashi and Meguro. Pink bonbori lanterns glow along both banks in the evenings through the bloom period, with food stalls near Nakameguro Station.
Koganei Park, Koganei
27 Mar - 28 (dates to be confirmed)
Local festival among Koganei Park's 1,400 cherry trees of some 50 varieties, held around the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. Around 30 food stalls, taiko performances, and far thinner crowds than any central Tokyo hanami spot.
Harimazaka Sakura Namiki, Koishikawa
27 Mar - 28 (dates to be confirmed)
About 120 cherry trees line the broad Harimazaka slope near Myogadani, one of the Bunkyo ward flower festivals. The festival weekend brings food trucks, stage performances, and guided walks to a street most visitors never find.
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.
11 events are listed for March 2027: 6 festivals, 2 illuminations, 2 gardens and 1 performance. 1 have confirmed dates and 10 are annual events whose exact 2027 dates are still to be announced, shown with their usual window. Every listing links to the interactive map.
Plum blossoms and early-blooming cherry varieties carry the first half; the main sakura usually open in the last week of the month, so late-March dates are a bet on the forecast.
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.