Tokyo This Weekend: 26–27 September 2026, 5 Best Events

Dates and times verified September 2026

Five things worth leaving the hotel for in Tokyo this weekend, 26 and 27 September 2026: a shrine procession that only happens once every four years, fifteen portable shrines in Ikebukuro, Japan’s biggest Indian festival, 48 curry shops in Shinjuku, and a vinyl market in a corner of the city visitors rarely reach.

All five are free to enter, and the two biggest moments both land on Sunday. Here’s what’s on in Tokyo this weekend, when each one actually runs, and how to fit two into one day.

If you only do one thing, make it Nezu on Sunday. The shrine’s own mikoshi only goes out once every four years, so if you miss it in Tokyo this weekend, the next chance is 2030.

Tokyo this weekend: the short version

• Saturday 26: festival stalls and performances at Nezu Shrine, the opening day of Ikebukuro’s Fukuro Matsuri, Namaste India in Yoyogi Park, the Tokyo Curry Expo and Analog Market.
• Sunday 27: Nezu Shrine’s once-every-four-years mikoshi procession (9:00–16:00) and Ikebukuro’s 15-mikoshi evening parade (from 17:30), with the other three still running.
• Cost: free entry everywhere. You pay for food, drink and records.

Which to choose in Tokyo this weekend

• For tradition: Nezu Shrine, especially on Sunday, when a mikoshi the shogun gave the shrine in the 1700s goes out through the streets.
• For energy: Ikebukuro’s Fukuro Matsuri, fifteen mikoshi, drums and huge crowds.
• For food: Namaste India by day and the Tokyo Curry Expo by night.
• For music, or to escape the crowds: Analog Market, where the only queue is for the listening rooms.

At the festival stalls themselves, look for the classics: yakisoba, takoyaki, grilled corn and shaved ice.

1. Nezu Shrine Grand Festival: once every four years

Nezu Shrine’s grand festival was set down by the shogun Tokugawa Ienobu, who was born on the land where the shrine now stands. He died in 1712 before he could see it, but in 1714 it went ahead on a scale grand enough to be called a tenka matsuri, a festival for the whole city, with floats from across Edo and a procession that entered Edo Castle itself. This year is the special one. It’s the once-every-four-years Shinkosai, when one of the three mikoshi the shrine credits to Ienobu is carried through the streets of its parish, around Nezu and the neighbouring districts.

Around it, the shrine’s large grounds fill with festival stalls on both days, and there are traditional performances on the kagura stage. It’s one of the most atmospheric things to do in Tokyo this weekend, in one of the city’s best-preserved shrines.

• Where: Nezu Shrine, 1-28-9 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku. About 5 minutes on foot from Nezu or Sendagi stations (Chiyoda Line) or Todaimae (Namboku Line).
• When: Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September. The shrine mikoshi leaves at 9:00 on Sunday and returns at 16:00.
• Performances: Gongen taiko drumming on Saturday at 12:00 and 15:00, the Urayasu-mai dance on Saturday at 19:00, and the Sanza-no-mai sacred dance on Sunday at 14:00.
• The vibe: an old-Tokyo neighbourhood festival in a shrine whose main buildings date from 1706.
• Price: free
• Official link: Nezu Shrine festival page (in Japanese)

💡 Consiglio per i giocatori giapponesi: If you can’t make the 9:00 departure, be at the shrine for the mikoshi’s return at 16:00, which is the emotional high point. Arrive early either way and walk through the tunnel of small red torii gates on the hillside behind the main hall before the crowds build. The main buildings are nationally designated Important Cultural Properties.

2. Fukuro Matsuri: 15 mikoshi in Ikebukuro

Ikebukuro’s biggest festival is in its 59th year, and this weekend is its first half, the Mikoshi Festival. The climax is Sunday evening’s Yoi-mikoshi Grand Parade, when fifteen portable shrines are carried through the streets around the west exit, each by its own team of shouting, chanting bearers.

Saturday is the opening day, with dance, hula and bands in Ikebukuro West Gate Park from 13:00 to 19:20. On Sunday, festival music, taiko and dance start in the park at 11:00, a shrine mikoshi sets off from the station plaza at 12:30, and the grand parade begins at 17:30. An international team is among the bearers. It’s the loudest event in Tokyo this weekend, in the best possible way.

• Where: around the west exit of Ikebukuro Station, centred on the station plaza and Ikebukuro West Gate Park, with smaller stages at the JR Otsuka and JR Sugamo station plazas.
• When: Saturday 26 (opening day) and Sunday 27 September, with the parade from 17:30 on Sunday.
• The vibe: loud, packed and full of energy. The festival’s two weekends draw more than a million visitors a year.
• Price: free
• Official link: Toshima City (in Japanese)

💡 Consiglio per i giocatori giapponesi: It goes ahead in the rain. If you miss it, the festival’s second half, the Tokyo Yosakoi dance festival, fills the same streets on 10 and 11 October.

3. Namaste India in Yoyogi Park

Japan’s biggest Indian festival has run since 1993, and this is its 31st year. The organisers expect around 200,000 people over the two days for food stalls, spices, saris, tea and yoga, and an outdoor stage with more than 800 performers, from Bollywood dance to classical Odissi performed by a troupe sent by the Indian government. If you have one free afternoon in Tokyo this weekend and a group with mixed tastes, this is the easiest crowd-pleaser.

• Where: Yoyogi Park Event Plaza and outdoor stage. The nearest station is Meiji-jingumae (Harajuku), and JR Harajuku is close by.
• When: Saturday 26, 10:00–20:00, and Sunday 27, 10:00–19:30
• The vibe: a vast outdoor food festival with a soundtrack.
• Price: free entry
• Official link: Namaste India

💡 Consiglio per i giocatori giapponesi: It goes ahead in the rain, and Yoyogi Park has a second festival the same weekend, the Colombia Latin America Festival, so you can eat your way across two continents in one afternoon. Come hungry, and bring cash for the smaller stalls.

4. Tokyo Curry Expo: 48 shops in Shinjuku

Okubo Park, on the north side of Kabukicho, has turned into a month-long curry festival. Forty-eight shops from around Japan rotate through nine stalls: Japanese curry, European-style, spice curry, South and West Indian curry, biryani, dosa, and curry made by ramen shops and Italian restaurants. Last year’s first edition ran for 13 days; this year’s has more than doubled, to 27.

You pay with ¥200 tickets, which makes it easy to try small portions from several stalls or put two different curries on one plate. It’s the easiest good dinner in Tokyo this weekend, and it runs late.

• Where: Okubo Park, 2-43 Kabukicho, Shinjuku. A short walk from Seibu-Shinjuku Station, or about 10 minutes from JR Shinjuku.
• When: daily until 7 October, 11:00–21:00
• The vibe: an outdoor food court that takes its curry seriously.
• Price: free entry; food with ¥200 tickets
• Official link: event page (in Japanese)

💡 Consiglio per i giocatori giapponesi: The line-up changes daily, so check which shops are on before you go if you’re after a particular one. It’s outdoors, and it shut for a whole day when a typhoon passed on 20 September, so check ahead in bad weather.

5. Analog Market: vinyl in Kameari

A month-long analogue project from Audio-Technica with Vinyl Delivery Service and SKWAT, with two listening rooms where you can compare headphones and cartridges properly rather than through a shop demo unit. This weekend brings the second NOMINOICHI flea market, for antiques and crafts, and a two-day field-recording programme in the listening room. The big record market with 20-plus stores was on 12–13 September, but VDS’s own record shop is on site. Of everything in Tokyo this weekend, it’s the one with almost no tourists.

• Where: SKAC (SKWAT Kameari Art Centre), 3-26-4 Nishi-Kameari, Katsushika-ku. A 12-minute walk from Kameari Station on the JR Joban Line.
• When: until 4 October, 11:00–19:00, closed Mondays and Tuesdays
• The vibe: an industrial space, crates of vinyl, and almost no tourists.
• Price: free entry; some live events are ticketed
• Official link: Audio-Technica (in Japanese)

💡 Consiglio per i giocatori giapponesi: This weekend and next are the last two chances to go. Kameari is the setting of the long-running manga Kochikame, and statues from it stand around the station, so the trip out is a small outing in itself.

Sunday: a full festival day

The best single day in Tokyo this weekend is Sunday, and it strings two festivals together neatly:

• 8:45: arrive at Nezu Shrine for the mikoshi setting out at 9:00.
• 10:00: walk up to Yanaka for coffee and the old shopping streets, about 10 minutes away.
• 14:00: back at the shrine for the Sanza-no-mai sacred dance, then browse the festival stalls.
• 16:00: watch the mikoshi return, the emotional high point of the day.
• 16:30: Chiyoda Line from Sendagi to Nishi-Nippori, then the JR Yamanote Line to Ikebukuro.
• 17:30: the Fukuro Matsuri parade, fifteen mikoshi through the streets around the west exit.

Saturday: one subway line, three events

Saturday in Tokyo this weekend works best along a single line. The Chiyoda Line runs through Meiji-jingumae, for Yoyogi Park, and Nezu, and many of its trains continue onto the JR Joban Line to Kameari.

• 10:30: Namaste India in Yoyogi Park for lunch.
• 14:00: Chiyoda Line out to Kameari for Analog Market, open until 19:00. If your train terminates at Ayase, change there for Kameari.
• 18:00: back along the same line to Nezu for the evening festival stalls and the Urayasu-mai dance at 19:00.

If you’d rather finish with dinner, swap the last stop for the Curry Expo in Shinjuku, which stays open until 21:00.

Getting around Tokyo this weekend

• Use an IC card. A Suica or PASMO card works on every line in the plans above, JR and subway alike, so you never need to buy separate tickets.
• Know what a subway pass covers. A Tokyo Subway Ticket covers the Chiyoda Line but not JR. On Saturday’s plan, the stretch from Ayase to Kameari is JR, so you’ll pay a small extra fare for it.
• Quick connections: Nezu to Ikebukuro takes about 20 minutes via Nishi-Nippori, and Harajuku to Shinjuku is a few minutes on the JR Yamanote Line.
• After the parade: trains from Ikebukuro are packed once the mikoshi finish. Wait it out with a drink, or walk a few minutes to a quieter station on another line.

Tokyo this weekend at a glance

Tokyo this weekend	Days	Key times	Cost	Nearest station
Nezu Shrine Grand Festival	Sat 26 – Sun 27	Shrine mikoshi Sun 9:00–16:00	Free	Nezu / Sendagi.
Fukuro Matsuri	Sat 26 – Sun 27	Mikoshi parade Sun from 17:30	Free	Ikebukuro (west exit).
Namaste India	Sat 26 – Sun 27	Sat 10:00–20:00, Sun 10:00–19:30	Free entry	Meiji-jingumae / Harajuku.
Tokyo Curry Expo	Daily until 7 Oct	11:00–21:00	Free entry, ¥200 food tickets	Seibu-Shinjuku / Shinjuku.
Analog Market	Until 4 Oct, closed Mon/Tue	11:00–19:00	Free entry	Kameari (JR Joban Line).

If it rains

Fukuro Matsuri and Namaste India both go ahead in the rain. Analog Market is indoors, so it’s the one sure bet for a wet day in Tokyo this weekend. Nezu Shrine’s stalls and procession are outdoors, and the Curry Expo is an open-air venue that has already closed once for a typhoon, so check both before travelling in bad weather, and keep an eye on the forecast for Tokyo this weekend.

Festival tips for first-timers

A few habits make festival-going in Tokyo this weekend easier:

• Carry cash. Many festival stalls only take cash, and queues move faster when you have coins ready.
• Carry your rubbish. Tokyo has very few public bins. Festivals set up their own rubbish points, but it’s worth keeping a small bag with you.
• Give the mikoshi room. When a portable shrine comes through, step aside, don’t cut through the procession, and follow the marshals. The bearers stop, regroup and chant at close quarters, and that’s the part worth watching.
• Watch from a side street. The main road usually just gives you the back of a crowd. The narrower lanes are where you see the bearers up close.
• Dress for warmth. Late September in Tokyo can still be hot in the afternoon. Bring water and a hat for the outdoor events.

Still on next week

Not everything here ends on Sunday. The Tokyo Curry Expo runs until 7 October, Analog Market until 4 October, and the Tokyo Yosakoi half of Fukuro Matsuri takes over Ikebukuro on 10 and 11 October.

Beyond Tokyo this weekend, MAPPA EXPO is open in Yurakucho until 7 December, and from 3 October the JR Autumn Unlimited Pass makes a cheap three-day escape from the city.

We update this page

This page is refreshed ahead of each weekend with events checked against the organisers themselves, so it’s worth bookmarking if you want to know what’s on in Tokyo this weekend, every weekend.

FAQ

Plan the rest of the weekend

Nezu sits on the edge of Yanaka, one of Tokyo’s best old neighbourhoods, so pair the festival with a walk down Yanaka Ginza. Yoyogi Park is between Harajuku and Shibuya, and our Shibuya guide covers the streets around it. For a longer day on foot, our Tokyo bucket list routes link the rest of the city together, whatever else you end up doing in Tokyo this weekend.

Last verified: 23 September 2026, against each organiser’s own announcement.