This year’s festival puts yokai and dance firmly in the spotlight. The choreography and direction come from TERUPOP, a well-known Japanese choreographer who has worked with artists including YOASOBI, M!LK, and members of the AKB48 Group.

From around noon, yokai begin popping up throughout UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE, and you never quite know where the next one will appear.

Rather than running away, this is your chance to get surprisingly close for photos. During our visit, we managed to track down five very different yokai, each with impressively detailed costumes, makeup, and personalities.

There are plenty more wandering around the village, so keep your eyes open as you explore. You could even turn it into a challenge and see how many different yokai you can find and photograph before the day is over.

Held three times a day at Otemon Plaza, Yokai☆Dance Live is a cheerful audience-participation show featuring the festival’s yokai performers alongside UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE mascot Kachinta.

There’s a seated area near the front of the stage, while visitors who want to stand, move around, or dance along can watch from farther back. If you’re unsure where to stand, just ask one of the staff nearby.

The choreography is deliberately simple, with plenty of clapping, arm movements, and easy-to-copy gestures. After watching it a couple of times, there’s a good chance the routine will already be stuck in your head.

Best of all, audience members are invited onto the stage partway through the show to dance alongside the yokai. If you’re tempted to join in, watch closely from the crowd first and practice a few moves before making your stage debut.

This large-scale yokai procession makes its way through UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE before finishing at the stage in Otemon Plaza.

Watching from along the parade route is a great way to see the yokai pass just a few steps away, but for the full performance, try to secure a spot near the stage ahead of time.

The second half of the show brings together music, choreography, and dramatic Japanese sword-fighting sequences, turning the parade finale into a surprisingly theatrical spectacle. The area in front of the stage also offers some of the best angles for photos and video.

The finale invites the entire crowd to join the yokai for the Hyakki Yagyo Dance, turning the plaza into one big supernatural dance party.

Don’t leave as soon as the performance finishes, either. A special greeting session follows, giving visitors another chance to meet the yokai up close and snap plenty of photos.

Tip: Visitors who want to dress up and actually take part in the Hyakki Yagyo parade must register in advance.

The festival’s big nighttime finale, Uzumasa Hyakki Yagyo, follows a similar format to the daytime parade, but once darkness falls, the mood changes completely.

Special lighting transforms the recreated Edo-period streets into an eerie after-dark setting, while music, dance, and dramatic sword-fighting scenes become even more atmospheric against the shadowy surroundings.

If you watched the daytime parade from in front of the stage, consider viewing the nighttime procession from somewhere along the parade route instead.

Seeing the yokai emerge from the darkness and pass just a few feet away makes the whole experience feel much more immersive.

The evening once again ends with the audience joining the performers for the Hyakki Yagyo Dance, bringing the festival to a suitably lively close.

A yokai festival wouldn’t be complete without suitably strange things to eat.

Restaurants and cafes around UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE are serving a range of limited-edition yokai-themed dishes, drinks, and desserts. Many are designed to be just as fun to photograph as they are to eat.

Here’s one of the sweets that particularly caught our attention.

This playful dorayaki from long-established wagashi shop SASAYAIORI+ is transformed into an adorable Three-Eyed Boy, making it one of the festival’s most photogenic snacks.

Inside are three generously sized pieces of chewy shiratama mochi paired with a rich matcha filling. The sweetness is nicely balanced, so it doesn’t feel overly heavy even with the generous filling.

Not a matcha fan? A kinako, or roasted soybean flour, filling is also available.

With its traditional Japanese flavors and quirky yokai design, it feels especially at home among the recreated streets of old Kyoto.

SASAYAIORI+ has several other wonderfully odd creations too, including the bright-red Akashita Float, complete with a long tongue, and the deliberately muddy-looking Dorotabo Float.

Other restaurants and cafes throughout UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE are joining in with their own festival-exclusive dishes and drinks.

There are plenty of creative options to discover, so it’s worth leaving a little room between shows to explore the menus and see which yokai-inspired creation catches your eye.

Before leaving UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE, make some time for the gift shops.

Alongside merchandise featuring the official 2026 KAIKAI YOKAI Festival artwork, you’ll find a wide selection of quirky yokai-themed items ranging from cute to wonderfully strange.

Whether you’re looking for a souvenir of the festival or an unusual gift for someone back home, browsing the yokai merchandise is a fun final stop before leaving.

Before heading out on your yokai hunt, here are the key details to know when planning your visit.

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