Events around Roopt Shiogama Kaigan-dori

For two days, dancers with naruko clappers fill autumn Sendai. Venues are scattered throughout the city, and you'll find dancing everywhere you walk.

Viewing is free, and there's no set schedule, so you can drop by during a stroll. No language is needed.

This is an autumn market where wholesalers in Sendai's wholesale district, Oroshimachi, open their stores and sell food and daily necessities at special prices. It's an event with a local feel, where residents come to shop.

This is a night illumination event at Entsuin Temple in Matsushima, famous for the reflection of autumn leaves in the Shinji Pond. The entire garden is lit up, and the scenery of the water and autumn leaves overlapping is a classic of Matsushima's autumn.

The beauty requires no language, so it is highly recommended for international visitors. It's also a great evening excursion for those staying in Matsushima, Shiogama, or Higashi-Matsushima. Please check the official website for lighting times before visiting.

This is an annual market festival where Shiogama's fish market, known for its tuna landings, is opened to the public. There will be tuna filleting demonstrations and tekka-don (tuna rice bowls) unique to the market.

On the same weekend, there's also a food event, "Shiogama no Daigo-mi," at Marine Gate Shiogama, allowing you to enjoy food stalls in the port town. It's an event from morning until early afternoon, so go early.

This is an autumn chrysanthemum exhibition where carefully cultivated chrysanthemum pots fill the grounds of Shiogama Shrine. You can take your time looking around while visiting the shrine.

There is also a venue at Marine Gate Shiogama in the port (the exhibition period is shorter).

This is a special autumn night visit to the National Treasure Zuiganji Temple, associated with Date Masamune, where the creative team NAKED illuminates the temple with light. You can walk through the temple grounds, which have a completely different appearance at night.

The adjacent Entsuin Temple also illuminates its autumn leaves during the same period, so you can visit both in one evening. It's an experience that requires no language, making it easy to recommend to international visitors.

This is an autumn festival at Jomon Village, located near the National Historic Site, Satohama Shell Mounds. There are Jomon experiences like fire-starting, and events related to Okumatsushima's oysters.

For families with children. Please check the city's announcement for dates.

This is Sendai's Christmas market, with wooden stalls imported from Germany. You can enjoy a relaxed winter evening with hot wine and sausages.

The "SENDAI Pageant of Starlight" on Jozenji-dori also takes place during the same period, so you can enjoy the winter nights in the city center. The venue is Nishikicho Park (it has moved from the previous Kotodai Park).

This is a winter tradition in Sendai. Hundreds of thousands of lights illuminate the zelkova trees along Jozenji-dori, turning the entire street into a tunnel of light throughout December.

No admission fee or reservation is required, just walk through. It's cold, so dress warmly.

The period and lighting times vary by year. Please check the official website before heading out.

This is an event where New Year's decorations are burned to pray for good health throughout the year. It is the largest of its kind in Miyagi Prefecture, attracting about 100,000 visitors.

The highlight isHadaka Mairi (Naked Pilgrimage). Pilgrims wrapped in loincloths walk towards the fire, exhaling white breaths. Nights in Sendai in January can be below freezing.

Since it is a shrine with a National Treasure main hall, it is worth visiting even during the day.

A winter tradition in Matsushima, this is an oyster-themed festival. You can compare steamed, grilled, and fried oysters, enjoy free tastings, and even warm up in a foot bath.

Since you can taste the bounty of the Sanriku sea on the spot, it's a prime target if you're staying in Matsushima in winter. The date is usually the first Sunday of February, but please check the Matsushima Tourism Association's announcement for the confirmed date as the event approaches.

This is a festival where a 1-ton portable shrine is carried downthe 202 steps of the main approachof Shiogama Shrine. There are 16 bearers.

The sight of the portable shrine descending the stairs is a highlight, whether viewed from above or below. It is said to have started in the Edo period as a prayer for fire prevention and is counted as one of the three major festivals of the Shiogama Shrine parishioners (Hotematsuri, Hanamatsuri, Minato Matsuri).

It is within walking distance from the accommodation on Shiogama Kaigan-dori.

During cherry blossom season, the portable shrine of Shiogama Shrine parades through the city. It is called "Hanamatsuri" (Flower Festival) because it is held in conjunction with the cherry blossoms.

The cherry blossoms within the grounds of Shiogama Shrine are a famous spot themselves, and the late-blooming Shiogama cherry blossoms are a national natural monument. Even if you don't coincide with the festival, the shrine grounds are worth walking through during this season.

This is a festival in early summer in Sendai. The eve festival on Saturday featuresSuzume Odori (Sparrow Dance), and the main festival on Sunday features a historical procession of Date Masamune and a parade of floats.

The Suzume Odori is a dance where performers leap and jump with fans. There are also times when you can join in. It's lively enough just to watch.

This is one of Japan's three great boat festivals. Two portable shrines from Shiwa Hiko Shrine and Shiogama Shrine board royal boats and tour Matsushima Bay, accompanied by about 100 escort boats.

Fireworks for the eve festivalare launched from Shiogama Port. Since the fireworks open over the sea, they are reflected on the water surface.

The 2026 event ended in July. The next one will be around Marine Day in 2027. Once the dates are announced, we will update them on theNearby Eventspage.

As the eve festival for the Sendai Tanabata Festival, approximately 16,000 fireworks are launched from the Hirose Riverbed.

The launch site is right next to the city center, so you might unexpectedly see them while walking around town. It's a high-density fireworks display, with everything launched in about an hour.

If you stay for the Tanabata Festival starting the next day, you can see two different sides of Sendai on consecutive days.

This is one of Japan's three great Tanabata festivals and is counted among the three great festivals of Tohoku. It is held annually for three days from August 6 to 8, and the dates do not change.

The highlight is thefukinagashi (streamers)that fill the shopping streets. Several-meter-long decorations made of washi paper and kusudama (ornamental balls) hang throughout the arcades. It's a festival where you walk with the flow of people, looking up; it's not a festival where you watch stages.

You can enjoy it even if you don't understand the language, but it gets extremely crowded. It's difficult to move around after evening, so the morning is the best time to go.

This is an Obon event where lanterns are floated on Matsushima Bay to send off ancestors. Lights and fireworks overlap on the sea of one of Japan's Three Scenic Views.

The 15th is the eve festival, with fair stalls, Bon Odori, and taiko drums. The 16th is the main event of the Daiseigakie, where lanterns are floated after sutra chanting. On both nights, memorial fireworks are launched for about 15 minutes.

These are not fireworks for tourism, but rather send-off fires. It is customary to watch them quietly.

This fireworks festival on the Naruse River, commemorating the deceased and celebrating reconstruction, has continued since the Taisho era. The highlight is the summer night scene where lanterns floating on the river surface overlap with approximately 1,000 fireworks.

One of the summer highlights for accommodations in Higashimatsushima. It's a fixed-date event held on August 16th during the Obon period. Details of the event will be announced on the official Higashimatsushima City website closer to the date.

This is a music festival where the entire city becomes a stage. Performances begin simultaneously at dozens of locations throughout the city, from under the zelkova trees of Jozenji-dori to parks and building eaves.

Not only professionals perform. Student bands and amateur bands also stand on the same street corners. No tickets are required. Just walk around and stop where you like the sound.

Although it's called jazz, it actually includes a mix of rock, gospel, and wind instrument music.

This is an autumn night festival where the 202-step main approach and precincts of Shiogama Shrine are illuminated with bamboo lights and LED candles. You can relax and enjoy the moon, light, and sound while gagaku music plays.

It's enjoyable with just the lights and sounds even if you don't understand the language, so it's recommended for international guests. Before sunset (from 3 PM), there are stalls and workshops in the temple town. From your accommodation in Shiogama, it's a great evening destination.