Events around Roopt Shiogama Kaigan-dori

This is an autumn evening festival where the 202 steps of the main approach to Shiogama Shrine and its grounds are illuminated with bamboo lights and LED candles. You can spend a relaxing time surrounded by the moon, light, and sound, with gagaku music playing.

Since the lights and sounds can be enjoyed even without understanding the language, it is highly recommended for international guests. In the Monzen-machi area before sunset (from 15:00), there will also be stalls and workshops. From your accommodation in Shiogama, this is a perfect evening destination.

This is Sendai's autumn music festival where you can casually enjoy classical music in the city. Each performance is short, 45-60 minutes, and some performances allow entry from age 0, so you can drop by easily.

2026 marks the 20th anniversary, with 77 performances over three days. With three venues along the subway line, you can immerse yourself in music day and night during your stay in Sendai. Please secure tickets early for popular performances.

This is a festival in Higashi-Matsushima city that brightens the eve of the Matsushima Air Base Air Festival (the following day, October 4). What was long held as a "Summer Festival" in August has been changed to an "Autumn Festival" in October from 2026 to avoid the intense heat.

This year's format allows you to enjoy both the Air Festival and the Autumn Festival for two consecutive days. In the city of Blue Impulse, you can savor the afterglow of the flight and local stalls and stages. The venue, time, and content will be finalized on Higashi-Matsushima City's official page as the event approaches, so please check before visiting.

This is the one day a year when the home base of Blue Impulse is open to the public. Admission is free and no application is required.

In addition to demonstration flights, equipment displays are also held. You can see the sky from outside the base, but the loudness of the sound when viewed directly underneath cannot be understood without entering.

Note that in 2026, the event has been moved from late August toearly October(as a measure against intense heat). On October 3, the day before, the renamed "Higashi-Matsushima Autumn Festival" will be held. Flights are highly dependent on weather, so please check the day's announcement before heading out.

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

Viewing is free, and there are no fixed times, so you can drop by during a stroll. No language is needed.

This is a famous night illumination at Entsuin in Matsushima, featuring the reflection of autumn leaves in the Shinji Pond. The entire garden is lit up, and the sight of the water and autumn leaves overlapping in a double reflection is a classic autumn scene in Matsushima.

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

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

You can just walk through; no admission fee or reservation is required. It's cold, so wear a thick coat.

The period and lighting times vary each 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 in Miyagi Prefecture, attracting about 100,000 visitors.

The highlight is theHadaka Mairi (Naked Pilgrimage). Worshippers wrapped in loincloths walk towards the fire, exhaling white breaths. Nights in Sendai in January can drop below freezing.

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

This is Matsushima's winter tradition, an oyster festival. You can compare steamed, grilled, and fried oysters, enjoy free tastings, and even warm up your feet in a footbath.

Since you can taste the bounty of the Sanriku sea right there, 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 it gets closer.

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

The highlight is the sight of the portable shrine descending the stairs, whether viewed from above or below. It is said to have begun 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 (Hote Matsuri, Hana Matsuri, Minato Matsuri).

It's 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's called "Hana Matsuri" (Flower Festival) because it's held to coincide with the cherry blossoms.

The cherry blossoms within the grounds of Shiogama Shrine are famous in themselves, and the late-blooming Shiogama cherry blossoms are a national natural monument. Even if you don't make it for the festival, the shrine grounds are worth a walk during this season.

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

The Suzume Odori involves dancing with fans in a hopping motion. There are also times when you can join in spontaneously. 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's surface.

The 2026 event finished 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 Matsuri, approximately 16,000 fireworks are launched from the Hirose River riverbed.

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

If you stay for both this and the Tanabata Matsuri 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 from August 6 to 8 for three days, 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.

It's enjoyable even if you don't understand the language, but it gets incredibly crowded. It's hard 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 farewell fires. It is customary to watch them quietly.

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

One of the summer highlights for accommodations in Higashimatsushima. It's a fixed-date event held on August 16 during Obon. Details of the event will be announced on the official Higashimatsushima City page as it approaches.