Festivals & Events

Local

Hotaru no Sato

In June, the area around the back of Jomo-kogen station is opened up for hotaru (firefly) viewing. If you are lucky you will see fireflies in the streams near the Villa

Numata festival

A 3-day festival held at the beginning of August where large Tengu masks and mikoshi are carried through the downtown area of Numata (10-15mins drive).

Numata fireworks

A large (10,000) local fireworks festival held nearby (10mins) from the Villa over the Tone river at the sports ground near Fressay in mid September. Unfortunately you cannot see the fireworks from the Villa but you can hear them.

Minakami municipality publishes more tourist events here

Numata municipality publishes events here

Further afield

Fuji rock festival

Japan’s biggest and most famous international music festival, held each year in late July at Naeba skifield. A taxi costs around 10,000 yen one way (45min journey)

Nagaoka fireworks

One of the three largest fireworks festivals in Japan, it is mammoth in scale and in terms of attendance. Held 2-3 August every year, you need tickets to access the spectator areas close to the river but you can see from afar if you don’t want to brave the crowds

Echigo Tsumari Triennale

The next triennale will be Jul - Nov 2024 and takes place in Niigata between the area between Yuzawa and Tokamachi

Read the Tokyo Time Out write up