Tokyo’s Samurai Festival: Wear the Armor, Swing the Swords, Feast Like a Warrior, and Become a Samurai in Japan
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What Is Tokyo’s Samurai Festival?
Images Courtesy of the Samurai Festival
Samurai warriors ruled Japan for hundreds of years, leaving a lasting mark on the culture, and leaving people around the world in awe of the legends left behind. If you’ve ever dreamed of suiting up with the armor and the sword to be a samurai for a day, then we recommend a visit to the Samurai Festival in Tokyo, also known as the Sengoku Busho Expo (戦国武将EXPO).
This yearly samurai-themed festival in Tokyo is committed to sparking the city’s samurai spirit, while simultaneously sharing an important portion of Japanese history and culture with a broader audience. The four-day event held in Ueno Park has a schedule packed with samurai-themed performances and other spectacles, activity booths offering visitors a taste of the samurai experience, and stalls selling all kinds of samurai-themed goods and tasty Japanese eats. (Plus some ninjas, too!) If you’re planning a trip to Tokyo in February 2025, we think you won’t want to miss this uniquely Japanese event, offering a full day of samurai fun. Check out the highlights below.
Samurai Festival 2025 (戦国武将EXPO2025)
Ueno Park Fountain Square, Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo
Dates: February 21 ~ 24, 2025
Hours: 10:00 – 18:00 (event starts at 12:00 on Feb. 21)
Admission: free (individual activities may vary)
Official Website (jp)
Try Tokyo Samurai Experiences
Images Courtesy of the Samurai Festival
Feel the samurai spirit and try the samurai lifestyle on for size – literally. Visitors young and old can enjoy the festival’s selection of immersive samurai experiences, including a samurai armory booth where you can try on the armor and helmets worn by Japan’s historic warriors. Once you’re feeling like a real samurai, you can check out the swordplay area, too. Katana experts can teach you Japanese sword etiquette and basic techniques, before you get a chance to take a swing at a straw post, to see how smooth your skills have become! (If you’re really more of a ninja person, you’ll also want to visit the shuriken throwing booth, where you can test your accuracy by aiming the ninja stars at a big bullseye.)
Marvel at the Sengoku Stage
Images Courtesy of the Samurai Festival
Prepare to be wowed watching the Sengoku Stage, a name inspired by Japan’s warring states period from the 14th to the 16th century, when many of Japan’s most iconic samurai battles took place. The performance lineup is heavy with swordplay demonstrations, mock duels, historical reenactments, and even samurai-inspired music and dance numbers, which you can catch spread across the four days of the event. Demonstrations from calligraphy experts, traditional Japanese dances, and even pop idol performances have found their way onto the stage in previous years, as well. Check the Samurai Festival schedule on the website (or at the park) to see exactly what’s planned for 2025!
Eat, Drink, & Shop – Samurai Style
Images Courtesy of the Samurai Festival
The Samurai Festival is an opportunity for samurai lovers to gather from all over Japan (and the world), and that includes all kinds of sellers and food trucks. If you’re looking for souvenirs, you’ll find goods inspired by samurai, castles, ninjas, and other icons of Japanese history, perfect for Japanese culture lovers back home. In past years, booths have offered everything from t-shirts and Japanese hair pins to ninja stars and even pet goods, just in case you’re looking for a Halloween costume for your miniature poodle with the heart of a warrior.
Images Courtesy of the Samurai Festival
When you’re getting hungry you can head to the rows of food stalls, where the selection includes classic festival fare like takoyaki and grilled squid, along with some more lavish treats like wagyu beef skewers. Dine like the daimyo, and treat yourself!
Adults can also indulge in a variety of alcoholic beverages, like Japanese craft beer, regional sake, and samurai-themed cocktails. Just make sure you do all your sword-wielding before you drink, so you don’t go accidentally chopping off any heads.
Samurai Festival 2025: Coming to Ueno Park Next February!
Images Courtesy of the Samurai Festival
Whether spending a day as a samurai is a life-long dream, or you’re just excited to learn more about Japanese history and culture during your trip to Tokyo, the Samurai Festival is the perfect way to immerse yourself in the samurai experience next February. The convenient location just outside Ueno Station makes it easy to stop in and take a look, but the wealth of samurai-themed activities, performances, shopping, food, and drinks at the Samurai Festival will keep you living the samurai dream all day!
For more info and updates from Japan, check Japankuru for new articles, and don’t forget to follow us on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook!
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Hokkaido (北海道) is the northernmost of the four main islands that make up Japan. The area is famous for Sapporo Beer, plus brewing and distilling in general, along with fantastic snow festivals and breathtaking national parks. Foodies should look for Hokkaido's famous potatoes, cantaloupe, dairy products, soup curry, and miso ramen!
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Niseko is about two hours from New Chitose Airport, in the western part of Hokkaido. It's one of Japan's most noted winter resort areas, and a frequent destination for international visitors. That's all because of the super high-quality powder snow, which wins the hearts of beginners and experts alike, bringing them back for repeat visits. That's not all, though, it's also a great place to enjoy Hokkaido's culinary scene and some beautiful onsen (hot springs).
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Niigata is a prefecture on Japan's main island of Honshu, situated right on the coast of the Sea of Japan, and abundant with the gifts of nature. It's known for popular ski resorts such as Echigo-Yuzawa, Japanese national parks, and natural hot spring baths, plus local products like fresh seafood, rice, and sake. Visitors often spend time in the prefectural capital, Niigata City, or venture across the water to Sado Island.
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Shizuoka Prefecture is sandwiched between eastern and western Japan, giving the prefecture easy access to both Tokyo and Osaka. Not only is it known for beautiful natural attractions, with everything from Mount Fuji to Suruga Bay, Lake Hamanako, and Sumata Pass―Shizuoka's Izu Peninsula is known as a go-to spot for hot springs lovers, with famous onsen like Atami, Ito, Shimoda, Shuzenji, and Dogashima. Shizuoka attracts all kinds of travelers thanks to historic connections with the Tokugawa clan, the Oigawa Railway, fresh eel cuisine, Hamamatsu gyoza, and famously high-quality green tea.
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Kansai (関西) is a region that includes Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, and Shiga Prefectures. Kansai contained Japan's ancient capital for hundreds of years, and it's making a comeback as one of the most popular parts of Japan. Kyoto's temples and shrines, Osaka Castle, and the deer of Nara are all considered must-sees. Plus, the people of Kansai are especially friendly, making it a fun place to hang out.
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Kyoto flourished as the capital of Japan between the years 794 and 1100, becoming a center for poilitics and culture, and to this day it's a great place for close encounters with Japanese history. The cobbled streets of Gion, the atmospheric road to Kiyomizudera Temple, Kinkakuji's golden walls and countless historic attractions, even Arashiyama's Togetsukyo Bridge―Kyoto is a place of many attractions. With new charms to experience throughout the seasons, travelers can't stop themselves from returning again and again.
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Nara Prefecture's important history reaches back to 710, a time now called the Nara era, when it was once capital of Japan. Called "Heijo-kyo" during its time as a capital, it's said that nara was once the end of the silk road, leading it to flourish as a uniquely international region and produce important cultural properties of all kinds. To make the most of each season, travelers head to Nara Park, where the Nara deer who wander freely, or climb Mount Yoshino, a famous cherry blossom spot.
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Osaka is known for friendly (and funny) people, but its history is nothing to laugh at, playing a major part in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 16th century unification of Japan. Thanks to long years of economic activity, it's one of Japan's biggest cities, and Osaka's popular food culture earned it the nickname "The Kitchen of the Nation." To this day Osaka is the model of western Japan, and alongside historic structures like Osaka Castle, it also has major shopping malls like Umeda's Grand Front Osaka and Tennoji's Abeno Harukas. Osaka is a place to eat, eat, eat, with local specialties like takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and kushi-katsu, and for extra fun, it's home to Universal Studios Japan.
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CHUGOKU
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The Chugoku Region (中国地方) consists of five prefectures: Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In Chugoku you’ll find the sand dunes of Tottori, and Hiroshima’s atomic bomb site, plus centers of ancient history like Grand Shrine of Izumo.
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Hiroshima Prefecture has everything, from world heritage sites to beautiful nature and delicious local cuisine, and it's either an hour and a half from Tokyo by plane, or four hours by train. Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island and the Atomic Bomb Dome, two Hiroshima UNESCO sites, are famous around the world, but in Japan it's also famous for food. Seafood from the Seto Inland Sea, especially oysters, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, and Setouchi lemons are all popular, and the natural scenery alone is worth seeing.
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SHIKOKU
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On the other side of the Seto Inland Sea opposite Japan’s main island, Shikoku (四国) is a region made up of four prefectures: Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi, and Tokushima. The area is famous for its udon (in Kagawa), and the beautiful Dogo Onsen hot springs (in Ehime).
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KAGAWA
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Kagawa Prefecture is on the northern part of the island of Shikoku, facing Japan's main island and the Seto Inland Sea. It's known for being the smallest prefecture in Japan, by area, but at the same time Kagawa is called the "Udon Prefecture" thanks to its famous sanuki udon. Aside from Kotohiragu Shrine and Ritsurin Garden, the prefecture's small islands are popular, and Kagawa is full of unique destinations, like Angel Road. They say that if you lay eyes on Zenigata Sunae, a huge Kagawa sand painting, you'll never have money troubles ever again.
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KYUSHU
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Located in the most southwestern part of Japan, Kyushu (九州) is an island of 7 prefectures: Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima. The island's unique culture has been influenced by Chinese and Dutch trade, along with missionaries coming in through Nagasaki's port. Modern-day travelers love the lush natural scenery and fresh food, plus the natural hot springs found all throughout the area (thanks to volcanic activity)!
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FUKUOKA
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Fukuoka Prefecture has the highest population on the southern island of Kyushu, with two major cities: Fukuoka and Kitakyushu. Thanks to growing transportation networks, Fukuoka is more accessible than ever, and so are the many local attractions. On top of historical spots like Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, travelers shouldn't miss Fukuoka's food scene, with motsu nabe (offal hotpot), mentaiko (spicy cod roe), and famous Hakata ramen―best eaten from a food stall in the Nakasu area of Hakata. Plus, it's full of all sorts of destinations for travelers, like trendy shopping centers, and the beautiful nature of Itoshima and Yanagawa.
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KAGOSHIMA
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Kagoshima Prefecture played a major role in Japan's modernization as a backdrop for famous historical figures like samurais Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, who pushed Japan out of the Edo era and into the Meiji. Because of that, Sengan-en Garden is just one of many historical destinations, and when it comes to attractions Kagoshima has plenty: the active volcano of Sakurajima, popular hot springs Ibusuki Onsen and Kirishima Onsen, World Heritage Site Yakushima Island, even what Japan calls the "island closest to heaven," Amami Oshima. Kagoshima might be found on the very southernmost tip of the southern island of Kyushu, but there's plenty to see.
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OKINAWA
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The island chain of Okinawa (沖縄) makes up the southernmost tip of Japan, which is why it's also the most tropical area in the country. Thanks to a history of independence and totally distinct political and cultural events, Okinawa has a unique culture, and remnants of the Ryukyu Kingdom are still visible all over the islands. Food, language, traditional dress, it's all a little different! It's also said to be the birthplace of karate.
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