Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is pulling out all the stops for the 15th anniversary of its Halloween event, with both nighttime horrors and a daytime Halloween party.

The daytime event features staff on hand to offer goodies to trick-or-treaters (excluding Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ and Super Nintendo World™), as well as a special Minion Greeting Party, where everyone is invited.

Fast-forward to nighttime — Halloween Horror Nights — for an altogether scarier experience, where zombies roam the streets, and various rides pull out all the stops, like Resident Evil™, with an immersive horror show and new Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japanese) attractions.

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Until September 28, visitors to Nijigen No Mori’s Dragon Quest attraction are treated to a variety of ways to beat the heat, from casting spells to making slime chimes.

It’s no secret that Japan in the summer is hot and muggy, and with summer reaching through September these past few years, any reprieve from the heat is more than welcome. Dragon Quest Island, a Dragon Quest-inspired attraction from Square Enix, the makers of the game, invites questers to dispel the heat through activities like casting the Hyado spell to receive an instant refresh.

Former <@Toei Kyoto Studio Park|a=article:lj0009937@>, Uzumasa Kyoto Village, brings Japanese folklore to punters this fall, with its yokai (Japanese folklore creatures) festival.
The park will be transformed, with yokai appearing all around. Activities include “The Night Parade of One Hundred Yokai,” a parade of yokai through the streets of the theme park, inviting audiences into the fun. There will be a brand new dance show and bus tours that take participants off the theme park into Kyoto. The tours aim to educate punters about key Japanese ghost incidents that happened in Kyoto itself.

Mie’s sunny Shima Spain Village brings the energy and fervor of a classic Spanish carnival to the Ise-Shima coastline.

Summer continues through September, as visitors can enjoy the Spanish riviera vibe from day through night, with attractions including a night parade, España Carnival ‘Buen Viaje,’ followed by sparkling fireworks. Also on offer are seasonal menus including giant paella, and a new, immersive VR attraction ‘The Sunset of Mars,’ which lets guests tour the surface of the red planet.

Japan’s most infamous danjiri (float) festival sees 500,000 visitors watch over 100 local participants rush the danjiri floats around the streets near Kishiwada Castle. The festival incorporates over 300 years of tradition into four days in September and three the following month.

During the festivities, residents carry 34 ornately-carved four-tonne floats along the streets, ridden by daikugata (carpenters). The racing has two aims: to celebrate the impressive danjiri woodwork, and to pray for a good harvest. The danjiri can be dangerous for its riders, who’ve been known to fall off in the excitement, but for onlookers, it's an eyeful of adrenaline, pumped full of traditional Japanese festival foods like yakisoba and okonomiyaki.

The Suito Kurawanka Fireworks carries on the Japanese tradition of fireworks to commemorate and celebrate. When the first fireworks festival was held in Tokyo back in the Edo period, it was to light people’s spirits during the time of the plague. The Suito Kurawanka fires one firework for every birth across three of its towns — Hirataka, Takatsuki, Takano — the previous year. It restarted in 2021, after it was stopped in 2003.

This year sees 4,877 shots fired — 4,777 for those born, plus 100 in memoriam — across 50 minutes, making for a sky painted with the spirit of the new residents below.

The chance to enjoy a unique tradition that includes both crows and sumo — what more could you want? Every year on September 9th (9 being the strongest yang number), the Kamigamo Shrine holds the Choyo Ritual, praying for longevity and protection from misfortune.

The event begins with the Chrysanthemum Ceremony (aka Choyo Ritual), followed by children’s Karasuzumo (crow sumo wrestling) in front of the shrine tatesuna sand cones. Before the matches, two priests dressed in traditional attire mimic the calling and flying of crows. After the Karasuzumo, chrysanthemum sake is served to all the spectators of drinking age.

Watch two of the most famous teams in Japanese baseball face off at the legendary Hanshin Koshien Stadium: hometown Hanshin Tigers versus the Hiroshima Carp. Fans of the game — or even those just curious — will enjoy the energetic spectacle, which includes a Lucky Seven Jet Balloon Performance.

Held at the legendary Koshien Stadium, in Kansai which is known for the warmth and humor of its residents, the matches are well worth attending to experience warm, rowdy Japanese spirits.

To give it its full name, the “2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge Round 4 50th Suzuka 1000Km” is one of the most eagerly anticipated endurance races in the nation’s motorsports calendar. The Japan leg sees 30 cars from the local and international community join the race, which lasts for 6.5 hours.

Teams, mainly from areas in Asia, aim to cover 1000km across three days, with their manufacturers’ cars. In total, 10 different sports car manufacturers will be represented, by teams including reigning champion, Origine Motorsport, and former champion Absolute Racing that both use Porsche. Other makers include BMW, Audi and Mercedes-AMG.

Last chance for fans of Finnish design house Marimekko to catch its exhibition in Kyoto. The designer, an enduringly popular brand in Japan, is shown through the lens of ‘The Art of Printmaking,’ leading on to ‘The Power of Moyo,’ or patterns.

Design enthusiasts and fashion lovers can stroll through an expansive showcase featuring a stunning collection of dresses spanning multiple eras, original artworks, and iconic printed textiles. It is an immersive look at how their signature art of printmaking has brought color and joy into everyday life for three generations.

Step into the Ghibli world at this Osaka exhibition. Enjoy sneak peeks behind-the-scenes into the seminal Japanese animation studio. Exhibits cover architectural design, prop creation and the philosophy used to bring studio head, Miyazaki's, ideas to life.

As an anniversary exhibition for the opening of Kansai’s Ghibli Park, the Osaka show focuses on a ‘hands on’ approach, encouraging visitors to look, touch and enjoy. An exhibition for the whole family, with photo spots, interactive exhibits and even a comprehensive exhibition shop.

Himeji Minato Festival culminates in Hyogo Prefecture's largest marine fireworks display. Held along the waterfront of Himeji, the event launches over 10,000 shells to be reflected on the water below. The display is renowned for its impressive pyrotechnics, which launch from barges situated just 300 meters nearby.

Highlights include 10-inch shakudama shells, underwater star mines, and special choreography by master pyrotechnicians from Akita’s famous Omagari Fireworks team. There are food stalls and music, proving a festive finish to a day viewing Himeji Castle.

Kyoto International Manga and Anime Fair (Kyomaf) is western Japan’s largest anime and manga fair. Last year saw over 40,000 visitors, who learnt about anime and manga in the context of Kyoto as a city that is important to Japanese culture.

This year marks the event’s 15th anniversary, with special collaboration artworks already released. As in previous iterations, it hosts a cosplay corner, voice actors performing live on stage, character panels and booths from big players such as Kadokawa and Cospa (Bocchi the Rock!). There is also a cafe where guests can enjoy collaboration menus from voice actors Nobuhiko Okamoto (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Blue Exorcist) and Aya Yamane (Fruits Basket, Oshi no Ko).

Japanese summer only gets hotter every year, which makes going out during the daytime hours swelteringly sweaty, requiring several outfit changes at least. This makes nighttime even more attractive. From May through October, dozens of restaurants along the Kamo River build temporary elevated wooden platforms out over the water, for guests to dine upon in the evening.

Restaurants galore, from kaiseki through Italian, take part, opening up their riverside space for all diners for a summer evening as cool — or as romantic — as they get.