Tanabata Festivities in Kyoto 2024

Making a Wish

There is much written about Kyoto’s Gion Festival and Bon activities in travel sites and event guides. Lesser known to visitors are the Tanabata festivities in the summer months.  Tanabata, or the Festival of the Stars, is based on the legend of 2 fallen lovers who get to meet on the Milky Way only once a year, on July 7 of the Lunar calendar (Aug 10 in 2024). While it is celebrated throughout Japan, it is taken so seriously in Kyoto that they call it Kyo-no-Tanabata, meaning festivities Kyoto-style, or unique to Kyoto.

As July in the Lunar calendar is mostly August, both months are celebrated with decorations and festivities.  One of the customary activities is simply making a wish! This is done by writing one’s wish on a dedicated strip of paper known as "Tanzaku" and hanging it on a bamboo stalk. And that is why you will find colorful papers fluttering in the wind in many temples and shrines.

Here are some of the 2024 Tanabata activities in Kyoto that we recommend, if you would like to see how locals celebrate and enjoy the atmosphere. 

Kamogawa Summer Festival

Right on Kamogawa river, between Sanjō and Shijō bridges, there will be festivities from 17:00 - 21:00 on August 3, and 17:00 - 20:00 on August 4.  The river bank will be decorated with Tanzaku wish strips and wind chimes, and there will be stalls, exhibitions and stage events that evoke the atmosphere of a bygone era.

Photo courtesy of https://kyonotanabata.kyoto.travel

Tanabata on Kamogawa in 2011. Photo by David Calhoun.

Scene of Tanabata festivities in 2019 before the pandemic. Photo from Kamogawa Nouryou Executive Committee.

A scene from 1970. Photo from Kamogawa Nouryou Executive Committee.

Kifune Shrine Light-up

Kifune Shrine in the Kibune area up north, with its mountain paths and clear streams, is a cool spot deep in the forest for escaping the summer heat.  There are restaurants where you can enjoy platform dining on the river. From July 1 to August 15 (until 20:00), Kifune Shrine has evening light-ups that add to the atmosphere.

*To go to Kifune Shrine, take the Keihan train to Demachiyanagi Station, change to the Eizan Train for Kibuneguchi Station.  Walk 2 km or take Bus 33 right outside the train station to reach the shrine.

Heian Jingu's Tanabata Wind Chimes Festival

Heian Jingu, with its splendid architecture and 4 stroll gardens, started a Tanabata Wind Chimes Festival on its premises in 2022 during the pandemic, in a bid to ward off illnesses.  This year, the event will last from June 24 to August 31. The vermillion-painted corridor as well as the walkway along the East Garden will be decorated with 1,000 wind chime bells.  Visitors can write on Tanzaku wish strips and tie them to the wind bells.  It's quite a spectacle to see and hear the glass and ceramic bells swaying in the wind.

Kōdai-ji Light-up

Kōdai-ji temple has a Tanabata light-up with Tanzaku wish strips on July 6 and 7.

Naked Summer Festival

Nijō Castle has a multi-media illumination event called NAKED Summer Festival between July 26 and August 25.  Produced by creative agency NAKED Inc, this art performance is a fusion of traditional Japanese motifs and cutting edge projection art.  With surreal lights and shadows projected on stone walls and wind bells illuminating a Milky Way, it is a spectacle unique to world heritage site Nijō Castle.   In addition to the light show, there will be music, food stalls and attractions that should appeal to all ages.  Advanced booking is required. https://event.naked.works/nijojo/summer/en/

Kamishichiken Kaburenjō Beer Garden

A very special place for the summer is the Kamishichiken Kaburenjō Beer Garden.  Normally a complex where Geiko (geisha) and Maiko give performances of music and dance, it opens up to the public as a beer garden until September 7 (closed Sundays except August 11 and 18, also closed August 13-16).  You can have beer and snacks in a Japanese setting and meet and chat with friendly Geiko (geisha)and Maiko, who will visit you at your table.

Uji Light-up

In Uji, famous for Matcha and as a setting for the Tale of Genji, there will be fantastic light-ups for the evenings of August 3 and 4 between 19:30 and 21:00.