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Tokyo Events This Week: Asakusa Bon Dance, Kitazawa Hachiman Festival, Tokyo University of the Arts Festival

What's a Cheapo to do this week?

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Tokyo Cheapo
August 31, 2025

Tokyo events for Monday, September 1, to Sunday, September 7, 2025.

This week, Too Hot to Be Cool presents a fresh lineup of local rock bands for a good cause, while Yokohama and Enoshima fireworks events welcome September. Traditional festivals are in no short supply at Asakusa, Kitazawa, and Ōtori Shrine. Meanwhile, China Festival, Tokyo Streets, and Tokyo University of the Arts offer an extra touch of culture.

Sep 6th

Too Hot to Be Cool is a regular series of gigs raising money for important climate change charities worldwide. Bringing together rock and indie bands from around Tokyo, their previous sold-out events have raised money for such charities as WWF Japan, For the Future Philippines, and Green Youth Thailand.

Sep 6th

This event has evolved over the years and is now a seasonal fireworks festival that spans from summer to winter. Fireworks are set off from Osanbashi Pier and/or Shinko Pier, depending on the date, and the display lasts for around five minutes. A great viewing spot is Yamashita Park.

Sep 6th

Why not join in an outdoor dance party while you’re visiting Sensōji Temple? There will be a large yagura (festival tower float) for visitors to dance around just in front of the iconic Kaminarimon Gate that leads up to Sensōji Temple.

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Sep 6th

Sep 6th - 7th

This family-oriented festival in Shimokitazawa is on the small side, but that doesn’t stop the revelers from joining in. Unlike other mikoshi (portable shrine) festivals, you can get up close and personal with the shrines, and onlookers will join in the clapping and chanting.

Sep 6th - 7th

Celebrate the cultural exchange between Japan and China with food, music, and tradition. Taking place in Yoyogi Park Events Square, the China Festival is one not to miss.

Sep 2nd - 7th

Tokyo Streets will hold their first exhibition in Hibiya Okuroji, near Ginza in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The event showcases the work of local and international photographers and their different takes on street- and documentary-style photography with the metropolis as its core focus.

Sep 6th - 7th

Not to be confused with the better-known shrine of the same name in Iriya, Taito Ward, the festival that takes place at this shrine near Meguro Station. Ōtori Shrine has a history that goes back more than 300 years — to the first year of the Edo period.

Sep 5th - 7th

The Tokyo University of the Arts in Ueno (commonly known as Geidai) is one of the most prestigious arts universities in Japan — and a hotbed for creative talent. The festival traditionally ends with a huge, raucous samba performance with both water and clothing being thrown freely.