If you’ve ever dreamed of wandering through a world made entirely of candy, Vanellope’s Sweet Pop World at Tokyo Disneylanda will give you an idea of what that’s really like. During the event period, the park is transformed into a sugary world, inspired by the racer protagonist from the Wreck-It Ralph franchise.

Guests will be treated to a brand-new parade called “It’s a Sweetsful Time!” involving favorite characters and, of course, a lot of candy. For the entire period, the park is decked out in candy-themed decorations and there are special food items available.

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 be provided with 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.

Fans of Hello Kitty, My Melody and Esther Bunny: rejoice! This year, the characters at Sanrio Puroland are committed to spreading that springtime spirit. The park will be lit up with twinkling lights and flowers throughout the festive period, and there will be special appearances, decorations and music.

Esther Bunny will perform exclusive greetings, and during the special Springtime Parade, all your favorite characters will be dressed as bunnies too, with watchers encouraged to put a hop, step and jump in their stride.

Every year, Okunitama Shrine in Fuchu hosts one of the most impressive mikoshi displays to be seen in the capital.

The festival lasts for one week, starting with a purification ritual on the first day. The festivities pick up on May 3, with a four-horse nighttime race around the streets of Fuchu. The following day sees a lantern competition, taiko drumming and a lively procession of 22 floats. May 5 is the main event, with fireworks, music and a mikoshi procession, before the mikoshi are returned to the shrine with great fanfare on May 6.

Now in its 62nd edition, the Hojo Godai Festival brings the Sengoku period to life with a grand parade of samurai warriors, ninja performances and traditional music.

Held annually on May 3, the Constitution Memorial Day holiday during Golden Week, the festival is a great draw for history buffs. Some 1,700 samurai warriors parade around the streets, and the town comes alive with food stalls and reenactments of historical stories.
On May 10, the all-day Shinkosai sees sacred palanquins and priests in Heian-style robes parading through Kanda, Nihonbashi, and Akihabara. From around 3 PM, the Tsuke-matsuri adds a festive touch with floats and costumed participants. The excitement continues May 11 as dozens of mikoshi return to the shrine in a powerful show of devotion and community pride.

Held each May in Tokyo’s historic Asakusa (May 15-17 in 2026), the Sanja Matsuri is a lively three-day event drawing over 1.8 million visitors to Senso-ji Temple and Asakusa Shrine. The entire district comes alive, making it one of the city’s most anticipated traditional festivals.

Nearly 100 mikoshi (portable shrines) are paraded through the streets by local groups, accompanied by rhythmic chants, music, and contagious energy. The sheer scale and atmosphere create an immersive, high-energy experience that leaves a lasting impression.

Nikko’s Toshogu Shrine is one of the prefecture’s most famous. It attracts huge crowds during its Reitaisai (Annual Grand Spring Festival) each year.

They come to celebrate the life and death of Tokugawa Ieyasu, a famous shogun, with spectacles including famed horseback archers yasubame and a mikoshi parade on the first day, and a procession of 1,200 people dressed as samurai for the second.

In May, sumo, one of Japan’s most famous exports, hosts its legendary May Tournament. There is no atmosphere quite like the sumo ring, where its fighters play out their games of the day.

The official sumo league holds several grand tournaments each year, to decide the overall sumo ranking for the year to come. In Tokyo, Grand Sumo tournaments are held in January, May and September each year, going on sale approximately 1.5 months in advance.

Tickets may have sold out, but you can still watch it on TV, or grab tickets to watch sumo training at their official training ground, which is open to visitors before the tournament period.

The first-ever edition of the First Asia Oceania Kendo Championships (1AOKC) is set to be held this May. Kendo, the wooden sword sport that comes from Japan, has never seen an Asia-specific championship, even though other regions — such as Latin America and Europe — have a history of holding their own.

Join in to see the exhilarating sport from some of the game’s top players. Check out established veterans and see the new wave of rising stars. It starts here!

One of Australia’s most famous contemporary art exports, Ron Mueck, sees 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 marks 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 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.

For anyone interested in art, the biannual Design Festa will have you full of inspiration. The biggest original art festival in Asia welcomes over 10,000 artists each time, who exhibit their goods in over 6,500 booths on site.

Design Festa often incorporates anything to do with “design” meaning that you’re just as likely to pick up a cute bracelet from a local artist as you are to pick up a painting. This year welcomes handicrafts galore, as well as fashion brands selling knitwear, performance artists, manga artists, pottery… Its long-running theme is “freedom of expression,” so anything goes.

Star Island is run by one of Japan’s biggest entertainment companies, Avex. No expense is spared with this day-long spectacle that introduces top-of-the-range Japanese fireworks and lighting technology to its punters.

With drones, lasers, projections and more, the skies are set alight for the event, designed to wow and amaze the whole family from afternoon to nighttime. Last year saw fireeaters and street performers who wowed crowds on the spot.