Festivals in Japan in January
Japan has 11 local festival variants to explore in January, with date signals, places, traditions, foods, symbols, and a 3D map entry.
Open Japan January festivals on the 3D map- Sapporo Snow Festival · Hokkaido · Ice and Snow Festival
- Yunishigawa Kamakura Festival · Tochigi · Ice and Snow Festival
- Takasaki Daruma Market · Gunma · Local Food Festivals
- Kamakura Festival · Kanagawa · Ice and Snow Festival
- Tokamachi Snow Festival · Niigata · Ice and Snow Festival
- Toka Ebisu · Osaka · Shrine and Temple Festivals
- Kobe Luminarie · Hyogo · Lantern Festival
- Wakakusa Yamayaki · Nara · Fire Festivals
- Dazaifu Onisube Festival · Fukuoka · Shrine and Temple Festivals
- Takachiho Yokagura · Miyazaki · Masked Performance Festivals
- Aoshima Hadaka Mairi · Miyazaki · Shrine and Temple Festivals
Festival search guide
This page answers searches for festivals in Japan in January, including traditions, foods, and local variants.
- Festival cores in Japan in January
- Local variants in Japan in January
- Japan festival map entry
What you can explore
Use this guide to compare Japan festivals in January by tradition, food, local custom, and festival core.
- Festival cores
- Local variants
- Country festival map
Top festivals in Japan in January: Dates and places
Use this 2026 guide to quickly scan the main festivals, places, date confidence, and map entry for Japan in January.
| Festival | Place | Date confidence | Source | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow Festival | Sapporo · Hokkaido | Usually from December to February | Needs verification | Open |
| Yunishigawa Kamakura Festival | Nikko · Tochigi | Usually from December to February | Needs verification | Open |
| Daruma Market | Takasaki · Gunma | Varies by local produce season | Needs verification | Open |
| Festival | Kamakura · Kanagawa | Usually from December to February | Needs verification | Open |
| Snow Festival | Tokamachi · Niigata | Usually from December to February | Needs verification | Open |
| Toka Ebisu | Osaka | Varies by local shrine, temple, and community calendar | Needs verification | Open |
| Luminarie | Kobe · Hyogo | Fifteenth day of the first lunar month | Needs verification | Open |
| Wakakusa Yamayaki | Nara | Varies by local fire-rite calendar | Needs verification | Open |
| Onisube Festival | Dazaifu · Fukuoka | Varies by local shrine, temple, and community calendar | Needs verification | Open |
| Yokagura | Takachiho · Miyazaki | Varies by local masked-performance calendar | Needs verification | Open |
| Aoshima Hadaka Mairi | Miyazaki | Varies by local shrine, temple, and community calendar | Needs verification | Open |
Traditions, food and symbols
- snow lantern displays
- ice-and-snow park visits
- winter market
- hot soup
- grilled foods
- local snacks
- produce market
- local food tasting
- community feasts
- local produce
- rice foods
- tea
How to explore these festivals on MapDepth
Open the 3D map, start from Japan, then filter by January, festival theme, and regional variant to compare these traditions.
Related months
Related countries or regional routes
Similar festival themes
Regional highlights
- Sapporo · Hokkaido: Sapporo Snow Festival; Ice and Snow Festival; Usually from December to February
- Nikko · Tochigi: Yunishigawa Kamakura Festival; Ice and Snow Festival; Usually from December to February
- Takasaki · Gunma: Takasaki Daruma Market; Local Food Festivals; Varies by local produce season
- Kamakura · Kanagawa: Kamakura Festival; Ice and Snow Festival; Usually from December to February
- Tokamachi · Niigata: Tokamachi Snow Festival; Ice and Snow Festival; Usually from December to February
- Osaka: Toka Ebisu; Shrine and Temple Festivals; Varies by local shrine, temple, and community calendar
- Kobe · Hyogo: Kobe Luminarie; Lantern Festival; Fifteenth day of the first lunar month
- Nara: Wakakusa Yamayaki; Fire Festivals; Varies by local fire-rite calendar
FAQ
What festivals happen in Japan in January 2026?
Japan in January features Ice and Snow Festival, Shrine and Temple Festivals, Local Food Festivals, Lantern Festival, with date confidence, places, customs, foods, and map routes on MapDepth.
What events and celebrations happen in Japan in January?
This guide covers January festivals, events and celebrations in Japan, including snow lantern displays, ice-and-snow park visits, winter market, hot soup.
Which regions have January festivals in Japan?
Regional highlights include Sapporo · Hokkaido, Nikko · Tochigi, Takasaki · Gunma, Kamakura · Kanagawa, each connected to festival cores and local variants.
Seasonal context
In January, Japan has 6 festival cores and 11 regional variants in season, led by Ice and Snow Festival, Shrine and Temple Festivals, Local Food Festivals, Lantern Festival and grounded in customs and foods such as snow lantern displays, ice-and-snow park visits, winter market, hot soup.
Representative festival cores
Customs and foods
- snow lantern displays
- ice-and-snow park visits
- winter market
- hot soup
- grilled foods
- local snacks
- produce market
- local food tasting
- community feasts
- local produce
- rice foods
- tea