OCTOBER: Festivals + Events

Click on Tell me more to read about the event, then use the search term below to find out the exact dates and times for the year you’ll be there.

Bakeneko Festival (Ghost Cat Parade)

The costumed participants in the Cat Ghost Parade (Bakeneko) never fail to delight and entertain. Truly an only-in-Japan experience

Tell me more!

Search terms: Bakeneko Parade

Festival of 10,000 Lanterns (Oeshiki Ikegami)

This nighttime parade of golden pagoda lanterns festooned with streamers of white flowers is well worth the outing and the crowds. The revelers parade though the Ikegami neighborhood to the magnificnet Ikegami Honga-ji temple, which is lit up at night for the occasion

Tell me more!

Search term: Oeshiki Ikegami

Tokyo Cake Show

This three-day event took place around the middle of October when I went to see it, and it included not only the most spectacular wedding cakes I’ve ever seen, there were also amazing sugar sculptures and strange things carved out of chocolate

Tell me more!

Search terms: Japan Cake Show Tokyo 20XX (the year you’re searching for)

Yokohama Smart Illumination

Every year, nearby Yokohama puts on an outdoor nighttime event featuring art that lights up the night. It’s a whole week of cutting edge exhibitions you’ll see nowhere else in the world

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Search term: Yokohama Smart Illumination

Cosmos Fields

Waves of blooming cosmos fields brighten Tokyo from late September to early October. Here are the best places to see them:

Tell me more!

Other events in the month of October that might be worth checking out:

Yasukuni Shrine Fall Festival

Log Rolling Exhibition

Halloween 

You can search for information on these by Googling the names in bold or searching for them on Tokyo Cheapo or TimeOut Tokyo, which I think have the most reliable info for events that change dates from year to year.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
The Last Tea Bowl Thief was chosen as an Editor’s Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense on Amazon

 For three hundred years, a missing tea bowl passes from one fortune-seeker to the next, changing the lives of all who possess it…read more

“A fascinating mix of history and mystery.” —Booklist

Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had

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