Written by TC Team
Although it’s not one of the major festivals, the Akasaka Hikawa Matsuri is an easily accessible community festival with lots of activities and events.
What happens?
The festival features restored dashi, which are traditional wheeled floats. That’s not a very enlightening description, so if you want a better idea of what we’re talking about, check this video on YouTube. One of the floats features a not very traditional but quite impressive hydraulic lift which raises it up to about 5 metres in height.
Schedule 2025
On all days there will be a Bon Odori dance from 6:30 to 9 p.m. as well as food stalls from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Hikawa Shrine.
See the other highlights:
Friday (Sep. 19)
From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., a traditional Hikawa float, entitled “two old men standing” (you can imagine how that looks), and the town council’s mikoshi (portable shrine) will parade between Akasaka-Mitsuke and Akasaka stations, and along Akasaka-dōri from Akasaka Station along to the 5-chōme police box.
Saturday (Sep. 20)
A children’s mikoshi parade will take place from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Ark Hills area and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Akasaka area. From 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., stalls showcasing some of Akasaka’s famous stores will be set up.
Sunday (Sep. 21)
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Hikawa Shrine’s mikoshi followed by two traditional floats and many neighborhood portable shrines will be paraded around Akasaka. The procession map can be found on the official site. It will head towards Tokyo Midtown in the afternoon (from 1 p.m.), passing through Akasaka Street and Nogizaka.
- 440 m from Roppongi-itchōme Station Namboku Line (N5)
- 449 m from Akasaka Station Chiyoda Line (C6)
- 0.6 km from Roppongi Station Hibiya Line (H4)Oedo Line (E23)
