October means Halloween, and Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is pulling out all the stops for the 15th anniversary of its Halloween event. It has 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 attractions.

HARRY POTTER and all related characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © J.K. Rowling. | MINIONS TM & © 2026 Universal Studios. | © Nintendo | TM & © Universal Studios & Amblin Entertainment | JAWS TM & © 2026 Universal Studios | ©Sony Music Labels Inc. | ©rhythm zone | ©2026 Universal Music LLC | ©CAPCOM | ©藤本タツキ／集英社・ＭＡＰＰＡ | © 2025 MAPPA／チェンソーマンプロジェクト ©藤本タツキ／集英社 | ©2025 KENSHI YONEZU　© 2025 M/CSMP ©TF/S ©KADOKAWA KATE. Universal elements and all related indicia TM & © 2026 Universal Studios. All rights reserved.

Godzilla and Monster Hunter unite to create a brand-new series of quests and goodies for visitors to Nijigen No Mori’s Godzilla Intercept Operation and Monster Hunter: The Field.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of legendary Japanese character, Godzilla, guests at the Nijigen no Mori theme park are invited to take part in new quests, and purchase a variety of exclusive collaboration goods. There is also a limited-edition menu at the site, and the on-site lodgings have been transformed especially for the occasion. If Demon Slayer is more your thing, the Kimetsu no Yaiba attraction is hosting a nighttime walk, inviting attendees to become demon slayers themselves for the evening.

Uzumasa Kyoto Village this fall, with its yokai (Japanese folklore creatures) festival.
For spooky season, the park is transformed, with yokai appearing all around. Activities include “The Night Parade of One Hundred Yokai,” a parade of yokai through the theme park's streets, inviting audiences to join the fun. There is a brand-new dance show and bus tours that take participants off the theme park grounds and into Kyoto. The tours aim to educate punters about key Japanese ghost incidents that happened in Kyoto itself — live the scare!

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

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.

Kyoto’s Jidai Matsuri is known as one of Kyoto’s “great three” traditional festivals. The event attracts people from Japan and beyond to witness its impressive procession and soak up the festive atmosphere of a parade that is steeped in history.

The festival began at Heian Jingu, a Kyoto-based shrine, in 1895, to celebrate the anniversary of Kyoto being made a capital city. It’s held on October 22 every year. A particular highlight of the festival is a huge procession of around 2,000 Kyotoites, dressed in period clothes. The order of the costumes goes from the Meiji Restoration (1868) to the Heian period (794 AD–1185). The parade stretches for 2 kilometers, and is an excellent opportunity to experience various eras of Kyoto dress, each of the pieces worn (said to be 12,000) of the finest local quality.

Hasedera, one of Nara’s most famous, picturesque temples, hosts an autumn leaf viewing event to show off its fabulous fiery foliage in the cooler months.

Built in 686 AD, the temple serves as the headquarters for the Buzan school of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. It’s so large that it takes around 40 minutes to walk around its buildings, which comprise over 30. The temple is renowned for its five-storey pagoda, surrounded by leaves and flowers that reflect the seasons. The temple is often referred to as the “temple of flowers” — and fall is no different, if leaves count as flowers, that is. The temple invites visitors inside the great hall to pay respects directly to the Kannon herself, normally a privilege reserved for temple staff only.
The temple is often referred to it as the “temple of flowers” — and fall is no different. The temple hosts an autumn leaf viewing event to show off its fabulous fiery foliage in the cooler months, and invites visitors inside the great hall to pay respects directly to the Kannon herself, normally a privilege reserved for temple staff only.

In a great October event finale, catch the final home game of the season at Hanshin Koshien Stadium: hometown Hanshin Tigers versus Tokyo’s Yomiuri Giants. Fans of the game — or even those just curious — will enjoy the energetic spectacle, which includes a Lucky Seven Jet Balloon Performance.

Held in Kansai, an area that is known for the warmth and humor of its residents, the matches are well worth attending to experience warm, rowdy Japanese spirits. As it’s the last match of the season, the atmosphere will be electric.

The season finale of this year’s All Japan Road Race Championship Series is set to be a big one. The series is one of the biggest races in the nation’s motorsports calendar, and this year it marks the final race for living legend Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who will be hanging up his helmet for the last time.

The 7th round at Suzuka follows Okayama’s penultimate leg, bringing a nail-biting season to a close. The race attracts top-class riders from all over Japan, with 19 superbikes currently registered at the time of writing.

Kobe’s annual open-air contemporary art festival allows visitors to enjoy modern art installations while meandering through the Rokko Mountain.

Dozens of artists contribute installations scattered across the mountain's botanical gardens, alpine museum, and cable car stations. Notable names include the late Yayoi Kusama and Yoshimoto Nara, alongside a range of up-and-coming contemporary artists from Japan and beyond. Works from the festival also appear at sites close by, such as the Chapel of Light designed by famed architect, Tadao Ando.

Kyoto Experiment is one of East Asia’s premier performing arts festivals, comprising theater, dance and music performances through its three-week duration. This year, the ‘key phrase’ (a phrase to keep in mind while watching the performances) for the festival is ‘Carrying a pebble in my pocket,’ which looks at the way humans may move and traverse our conflict-stricken world.

Artists such as Kaori Endo and playwright/ director Tiago Rodrigues will participate in one of three sections, ‘Kansai Studies,’ ‘Shows’ and Super Knowledge for the Future.’ The festival is a great way to get to know the contemporary creativity coming out of the former Japanese capital.

One of Kansai’s most eagerly anticipated fireworks shows is here. An hour-long extravaganza broken up into five individual “scenes,” the event attracts over 500,000 visitors each year, who come to revel in the festive atmosphere created by local volunteers.

The theme for 2026 is “Let’s Enjoy and have FUN!!” Each of the five acts, split into scenes including “Enjoy,” “Happiness” and “Heart,” is accompanied by music, such as Mrs Green Apple and One OK Rock. Even a Queen song makes an appearance.

For a completely different perspective, Harukas 300 will offer nine special viewing plans for the fireworks, including heliport, seated, standing, and dining options. From around 300 meters above Osaka, guests can watch the bursts spread across the night skyline while the actual launch sounds are broadcast live through the observatory’s speakers, adding some of the rumble and impact of being down by the river. See details on the official website.

How about seeing a beautiful art experience event this Halloween? Creative company Naked Inc lights up one of Kyoto’s largest Buddhist temples, Higashi Hongan-ji, this fall and winter season. Visitors can experience the temple gardens in a whole new light (quite literally), lit with illuminations and projection mapping in different seasonal themes.

In addition to installations lighting up the temple gardens, visitors will have the rare opportunity to see inside Founders Hall. Naked will be lighting up its ceiling with swirling projections, bringing each incredible scene to life. There will also be matcha and Japanese sweets on hand.

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. Until 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. Make the most of the cooler autumnal nights in the final stretch of the event series, which finishes on October 15th.