In late July, the Tokyo suburb of Kagurazaka hosts the annual Kagurazaka Matsuri. Famous for Kagurazaka Dori, the area's chic and pedestrian-friendly street slope, the suburb is also known for the historical Akagi Shrine, Edo period geisha houses, and French schools.
For 2025
July 23 (Wed) & July 24 (Thu) / 5pm – 9pm
Part 1: Hozuki (Ground Cherry) Market
July 25 (Fri) & July 26 (Sat) / 7pm – 9pm
Part 2: Awa Odori Dance Festival
July 26 (Sat) / 6pm – 7pm
Children’s Awa Odori Dance Festival
Held over four days, the first two days of the festival center around the Houzuki Market. Houzuki are ground cherries used during the obon festival in summer and were once thought to prevent chronic illness. The final two days feature the Awa Odori Festival with crowds of evening dancers performing traditional Japanese dances that originated from far-off Tokushima Prefecture.
Kagurazaka features a lively local eatery scene and along with the four days of festival street food stalls, the area will be full of happy revelers enjoying a traditional Japanese summer party atmosphere.
Getting there
Take the JR Chuo Line to Iidabashi Station. The bottom of Kagurazaka Dori is only a short stroll from the station. To start from the top of Kagurazaka Dori, take the Oedo Subway Line to Ushigome-Kagurazaka Station.
Sleiman Azizi @sleiman.azizi
I'm a Japanese Permanent Resident with over 650 published articles on Japan as well as 5 English language books inspired by traditional Japanese literature.I'm also a Japan Travel expert for Tokyo, so if you've anything to say about Japan's never ending capital - or just Japan in general - don't ...
