Japan in October 2026
inoue-hiro / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Last updated: August 27, 2026
October fireworks are a quieter, cooler affair, held in the clear evening air of early autumn. There are fewer displays, but they come without the summer heat and crowds — and the season begins to hand over to Japan's autumn foliage.
Highlights this month
- Oyama Fireworks Festival
Oyama, Tochigi · October 3, 2026 (Sat) · about 20,000 fireworks - Konosu Fireworks Festival
Konosu, Saitama · October 10, 2026 (Sat) · about 20,000 fireworks - 39th Yatsushiro All-Japan Fireworks Competition
Yatsushiro, Kumamoto · October 17, 2026 (Sat) · about 14,000 fireworks - Atsugi Ayu Festival Grand Fireworks Display
Atsugi, Kanagawa · October 10, 2026 (Sat) · about 10,000 fireworks
Visiting Japan in October: what to know
- Evenings are cool; bring a proper jacket, especially for lakeside or riverside venues.
- Far fewer events than summer, so each one draws a regional crowd rather than a national one — same-week booking is often still possible.
- Skies are typically clearer and the air drier than in summer, which makes for crisp long-exposure photos.
All 9 fireworks in October 2026
Dates marked Confirmed come from official festival or city websites; Expected dates are estimates updated as organizers announce them.
October 3
- 03 Sat — Oyama Fireworks Festival (Oyama, Tochigi) Confirmed
October 10
- 10 Sat — Atsugi Ayu Festival Grand Fireworks Display (Atsugi, Kanagawa) Confirmed
- 10 Sat — Konosu Fireworks Festival (Konosu, Saitama) Confirmed
- 10 Sat — Tone River Bando Ohashi Bridge Fireworks Festival (Isesaki-Honjo Joint Event) (Isesaki, Gunma) Confirmed
- 10 Sat — 74th Kyushu Fireworks Festival (Karatsu, Saga) Confirmed
October 17
- 17 Sat — Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks Festival (Osaka, Osaka) Confirmed
- 17 Sat — Itsukushima Underwater Fireworks Festival (Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima) Cancelled
- 17 Sat — 39th Yatsushiro All-Japan Fireworks Competition (Yatsushiro, Kumamoto) Confirmed
October 19
- 19 Mon — Minato HANABI 2026 - Five Nights Coloring Kobe - (Kobe, Hyogo) Confirmed
Fireworks by prefecture
Gunma · Hiroshima · Hyogo · Kanagawa · Kumamoto · Osaka · Saga · Saitama · Tochigi
Autumn leaves at their peak in October
October is when the colour front reaches the mountains of Tohoku, Nikko and the Japan Alps, while the lowland cities are still green.
- Hachimantai Aspite Line
Hachimantai / Kazuno (Iwate-Akita border), Iwate · peak Late September to mid-October - Mt. Zao & Zao Onsen
Yamagata, Yamagata · peak Late September (summit) to mid-October (peak), coloring the onsen town into early November - Kamikochi
Matsumoto, Nagano · peak Mid-to-late October (alpine; colour begins late September in the high Karasawa cirque) - Mt. Koya (Koyasan)
Koya, Wakayama · peak Late October to early November (one of the earliest peaks in Wakayama) - Nara Park
Nara, Nara · peak Late October to early December - Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji
Nikko, Tochigi · peak Mid-October to early November - Nikko Irohazaka
Nikko, Tochigi · peak Mid-October to early November - Naruko Gorge
Osaki, Miyagi · peak Mid-October to mid-November - Oirase Gorge & Lake Towada
Towada, Aomori · peak Mid to late October
See every spot on the Japan Autumn Leaves Guide 2026.
Looking beyond October? See the Japan Fireworks Calendar 2026 and the Japan Autumn Leaves Guide 2026.