Fukushima Events & Festivals

📍 Minamisoma, Fukushima ★ 4.7

Soma Nomaoi Wild Horse Festival

The Soma Nomaoi, held over three days in late July since the 10th century, is one of Japan's grandest and most ancient festivals, in which hundreds of riders in full samurai armor gallop across a vast field in mock cavalry battles, shrine flag processions, and the dramatic nomaoi — a scramble to catch wild horses released on the plain. Designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, this festival preserves living warrior culture in remarkable spectacle. The sight of armored horsemen charging across the plain under smoke and banners is unforgettable.

Horses Samurai Traditional

📍 Miharu, Fukushima ★ 4.6

Miharu Takizakura — 1,000-Year Weeping Cherry

The Miharu Takizakura is widely considered Japan's most magnificent cherry tree — a 1,000-year-old weeping cherry whose cascading branches spread 25 metres wide, creating a waterfall of pale pink blossoms in mid-April. Designated a National Natural Monument, it stands alone in a hillside field, illuminated at night during the brief flowering season. Crowds come from across Japan and overseas to witness what many call an unmissable once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Cherry Blossom Weeping Cherry 1000 Years Old National Monument

📍 Miharu, Fukushima ★ 4.5

Miharu Takizakura Sakura Festival (April)

The annual Miharu Takizakura Sakura Festival transforms a quiet farming village into one of Japan's most extraordinary seasonal pilgrimages — a two-week celebration in mid-to-late April when the 1,000-year-old weeping cherry reaches full bloom. Evening illuminations cast the vast drooping canopy in warm light against the mountain backdrop, creating photographs of almost surreal beauty. Shuttle buses run from Miharu Station during the festival period; arrival on weekday mornings avoids the largest crowds.

Cherry Blossom Weeping Cherry April Festival National Monument

📍 Fukushima City, Fukushima ★ 4.4

Fukushima Waraji Matsuri (Giant Sandal Festival)

Each August in Fukushima City, the Waraji Matsuri celebrates a giant straw sandal (waraji) measuring 12 meters in length and weighing 2 tons — one of Japan's largest — which is carried by hundreds of participants through the city streets in an energetic procession. The sandal is presented as a sacred offering to Hachimangu Shrine, continuing a 400-year tradition of praying for good health and safe travels. The festival also features traditional bon-odori dancing, food stalls, and a spectacular fireworks finale.

Giant Sandal Summer Parade

📍 Kitakata, Fukushima ★ 4.3

Kitakata Ramen Festival (Spring)

Kitakata's annual Ramen Festival brings together the town's most celebrated shops under one roof in a spring celebration of the dish that made this small city famous across Japan. Visitors queue for tasting-size bowls from different shops — comparing each kitchen's interpretation of the flat-noodle soy broth style — while local sake brewers pour cold cups alongside. The festival typically draws visitors from across Tohoku and Tokyo, making Kitakata's usually sleepy streets briefly electric with food tourism.

Ramen Festival Kitakata Street Food Spring Food Event

📍 Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima ★ 4.2

Aizu Autumn Festival (September)

The Aizu Autumn Festival, held each September, is one of Tohoku's grandest historical processions — a parade of over 500 participants in full period dress representing the great figures of Aizu history marching through the streets of Aizu-Wakamatsu. The centrepiece is a solemn reenactment involving young actors dressed as the Byakkotai — the teenage samurai corps whose story defines the city's identity. The evening programme includes traditional performing arts at Tsurugajo Castle grounds.

Festival Historical Procession Byakkotai Autumn Aizu

📍 Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima ★ 4.2

Aizu-Wakamatsu Lantern Festival (Obon)

The Aizu-Wakamatsu Lantern Festival unfolds across the Obon period in mid-August — paper lanterns are floated on the rivers and moats around the city to guide ancestral spirits, while the streets fill with bon-odori dancing circles in front of the illuminated walls of Tsurugajo Castle. The warm August nights, sake brewery street stalls, and the glow of hundreds of lanterns on the water create a quintessentially Japanese summer atmosphere. The festival is centred around Tsurugajo and the Higashiyama Onsen district.

Lantern Festival Obon Summer Aizu Traditional

🎆 Fukushima Events

Soma Nomaoi Wild Horse Festival

Miharu Takizakura — 1,000-Year Weeping Cherry

Miharu Takizakura Sakura Festival (April)

Fukushima Waraji Matsuri (Giant Sandal Festival)

Kitakata Ramen Festival (Spring)

Aizu Autumn Festival (September)

Aizu-Wakamatsu Lantern Festival (Obon)