Tokyo Disneyland knows how to attract summer-weary punters, with its Summer Cool Off event. Enjoying rides, meeting your favorite characters and watching parades is made that bit cooler with areas to get soaked with water and escape the summer heat.

In addition to ‘soaking spots’ in collaboration with Baymax from the Big Hero Six franchise, guests are treated to an exclusive collaboration song from popular Japanese band, Mrs. Green Apple, called “Carrying Happiness (Tokyo Disney Resort Version).”

Celebrate in style as Tokyo DisneySea reaches its 25th year of operation. The entire park will be dressed in blue for the occasion, with everything from special blue-themed food menus to glittering blue illuminations and character costumes.

Visitors will receive exclusive leaflets for each area, revealing a special adventure. Cast members will carry exclusive flags, and buying a special bottle in the Ponte Vecchio will grant access to a secret installation.

For summer this year, the characters at Sanrio Puroland are committed to spreading that cool summer spirit. This year’s theme is ‘Future Cool Breeze,’ which brings the park into the future, with cooling attractions themed around Y3K. Special events and happenings include cyber visuals, a futuristic photo booth and new, futuristic costumes for characters including Kuromi and Hello Kitty.

There will also be an ice-related VR game to cool customers off in the summer heat, along with merchandise and limited edition menu items.

The Asakusa Hozuki Market has been around for hundreds of years, transforming Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple with over 100 colorful stalls. Vendors gather to sell hozuki (lantern plants), whose papery orange husks symbolize health and luck.

Visitors to the temple on July 10 will be extra-lucky — an old Buddhist legend promises that praying on this day grants a staggering 46,000 days (roughly 126 years) of spiritual merit. Expect lively paths filled with people wearing beautiful summer yukata and the soothing sounds of wind chimes.

The Tanabata Festival, held each year on July 7, celebrates the legend of two star-crossed lovers.

In Kanagawa, the shopping streets of Hiratsuka come alive with more than 500 colored streamer decorations hanging from giant ornamental balls, some towering up to 10 meters high. Visitors can write personal wishes on small paper strips (tanzaku) to hang on bamboo branches. Elsewhere, grab classic festival street food like chocolate bananas to eat while enjoying the Tanabata Odori Parade or some of the performances on the stage.

Stretching along Kappabashi-dori Tokyo's iconic kitchenware shopping district — this rebel-raising neighborhood festival honors Star Festival with its downtown charm.
During the period, the entire road is festooned with hand-crafted paper decorations and colorful bamboo. While the decorations stay up for days, the weekend bursts into a massive block party, with Awa-Odori dancing, sidewalk stalls, Edo-period street acts, and musical acts.

While most of the exciting Tanabata events focus on the wishes and fun happenings, Zojoji Temple, the temple close to Tokyo Tower, winds things down.

In addition to tying wishes upon the branches of trees, the temple recreates the star-filled pathway where the lovers of the legend meet. The path is made of around 3,500 paper lanterns that lead to blue and pink pillars representing the two lovers. Visit in the evening for a wonderfully calming experience.

Experience the peak of Japanese sports fandom with the country's fiercest baseball rivalry live in its capital city: Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants against Osaka's Hanshin Tigers. Japanese baseball is world-famous — not just for the game, but for its incredibly coordinated fan culture.

Step inside for the evening to experience rhythmic chanting, player songs, and synchronized bat movements that keep the indoor stadium shaking from the first pitch to the final out. Did we mention that you can bring your own food in?

Celebrate 60 years of an iconic Japanese hero by stepping directly into the action. Walk through dynamic sets featuring spectacular video, sound, and theatrical performances that bring the sci-fi world of Ultraman to life.

Make decisions alongside the cast that will guide the interactive story to one of four unique endings. With video appearances by legendary heroes from the original Ultraman all the way to the newest generation, the exhibition will thrill Ultraman fans of all ages.

One of Australia’s most famous contemporary art exports, Ron Mueck, is hosting his second-ever show in Japan, co-organized with the Mori Art Museum. The sculptor is known for his large-scale works that distort the viewers’ sense of perspective.

This show is Mueck’s first in Japan since 2008, and focuses on his large-scale art, much of which is being shown in Japan for the first time. Enjoy the surreal and mundane through Mueck’s eyes.

The hugely popular French studio, Atelier des Lumières, makes its debut in Japan with Rêve des Lumières. Visitors will enjoy classic paintings such as Van Gogh and Guadi coming to life in an explosion of light and sound.

According to the press release, the space is designed to stimulate all five senses, so look out for exciting smells and tastes, too. Imagery will be beamed through 106 projectors and 63 synchronized speakers across an expansive 1,500 meters.

The ever-popular Warner Bros. Studio Tour celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone movie in style.

Visitors are treated to a Sorting Hat activity in the Great Hall, as well as extra displays including exclusive BTS demonstrations at how the invisibility cloak was made. There will also be special menus in the restaurant and limited edition merchandise. During summer, there will be a collaboration with Tom & Jerry characters, on until August 31.

The Sumida River Fireworks Festival is where Japan’s obsession with summertime fireworks began, and it remains the biggest and most famous to this day. The festival began in the Edo Period (1733), as a way to cheer up workers who were suffering bad health due to the plague.
Held from not one, but two sites along the Sumida River, each fires off an incredible 20,000 rounds. The city turns into a sea of yukata-clad spectators vying for a view against the backdrop of the illuminated Tokyo Skytree.

If you want a fireworks experience with a bit more breathing room than the intense crowds of central Tokyo, Tachikawa's firework festival is a viable alternative.
Held in the expansive Showa Kinen Park, this event launches around 5,000 colorful fireworks into the sky, including huge shakudama rockets that explode into breathtaking rings of color. Families and friends lay out picnic mats early across the park's wide-open fields, making for a chilled summer evening under a painted sky.

The Tokyo Night Market committee takes the reins for the start of July, to present a market that is cool in more ways than one: weather and vibes. Inspired by the night markets popular in other parts of Asia, Yoyogi Park’s version presents food from different cuisines along with independent vendors selling a variety of products, from handmade accessories to crafts.

Free arts and music are about to accompany any snacking with streetside entertainment and music acts on the outdoor stage.