Asakusa Sanja Festival: Check Out One of Tokyo's Biggest Traditional Festivals in 2024

Sanja Festival, also known as Sanja Matsuri (三社祭), or the "Festival of Three Shrines," is a yearly event centered around Asakusa. This part of Tokyo is known as perhaps the most traditional area of the city, and many of the major festival events revolve around Asakusa Shrine - a Shinto shrine within the precincts of the Buddhist Sensoji Temple. For just a few days each year, as spring turns to summer, festival-goers can participate in traditions that have been going on for hundreds of years, as Tokyo turns back to its Edo roots.

Asakusa Sanja Festival (三社祭)
Event Dates: May 17 ~ May 19, 2024
Location: Asakusa Shrine, 2-3-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo
Access: Asakusa Station
Official Website (jp)

Take a trip to see the Sanja Festival, and not only will you get to enjoy a one-of-a-kind cultural event, but you'll get a good sense of all the fun to be had at Japan's many summer festivals without the miserable heat and humidity. It's a perfect chance to see a beautiful mikoshi procession, like those still carried out all around Japan, but the event also has its own unique features, like the binzazara (traditional Japanese instrument) dance. So throw on a yukata and get out there - you won't find a more exciting way to spend a May weekend!

▶︎ Find much more to do in Asakusa, from fancy kitchen knife shopping to pretty parks.


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