Public holidays in Japan in 2025

If you’ve just moved to Japan, you’ll want to mark the country’s public holidays in your calendar. Not only are these days off perfect for exploring the nation’s diverse cities, but you can also use them to delve into the local cuisine and culture.

Here’s what you need to know:

An overview of public holidays in Japan

Japan has 16 public holidays in a year, though many Japanese regions celebrate additional festivals and dates. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, it automatically rolls over to the following Monday, ensuring that no national day of rest goes to waste.

One of the most anticipated stretches is Golden Week, a cluster of holidays including Showa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day. With multiple consecutive days off, millions take advantage of the break, making it one of the busiest travel periods in Japan.

While not an official holiday, Obon (mid-August) is widely observed as a time to honor ancestors. It’s another major travel period in Japan, as many return to their hometowns for family gatherings and traditional ceremonies.

When are Japan’s public holidays in 2025?

These holidays are celebrated nationwide in Japan:

Date	Weekday	Public holiday
1–3 January 2025	Mon–Wed	New Year’s Bank Holiday
13 January 2025	Mon	Coming of Age Day
11 February 2025	Mon	National Foundation Day
23 February 2025	Sat	The Emperor’s Birthday
20 March 2025	Thu	Spring Equinox
29 April 2025	Tue	Shōwa Day
3 May 2025	Sat	Constitution Memorial Day
4 May 2025 Observed on Monday, 6 May, day off	Sun	Greenery Day
5 May 2025	Mon	Children’s Day
21 July 2025	Mon	Sea Day
11 August 2025	Mon	Mountain Day
15 September 2025	Mon	Respect for the Aged Day
23 September 2025	Mon	Autumn Equinox
13 October 2025	Mon	Sports Day
3 November 2025	Mon	Culture Day
23 November 2025 Observed on Monday, 24 November, day off	Sun	Labor Thanksgiving Day
31 December 2025	Wed	New Year’s Eve bank holiday

Local holidays and festivals in 2025

Japan’s regions govern with a fair amount of autonomy. Because of this, many holidays and festivals are only observed in particular cities.

In some areas, businesses (such as grocery stores, attractions, museums, and banks) will close for the occasion. However, this is not always the case; check with your employer to see if you also have the day off. If it is a major public holiday in your local prefecture, remember to also stock up on food and plan some fun things to do.

While the list below includes some local holidays, it’s impossible to list them all. It’s recommended you check with your local municipality to find out any concrete dates.

Date(s)	Weekday(s)	Holiday	Where celebrated
4–11 February 2025	Tue–Tue	Sapporo Yuki Matsuri Snow Festival	Sapporo
14–15 April 2025	Mon–Tue	Takayama Spring Festival	Takayama
15 May 2025	Thu	Aori Matsuri	Kyoto
July 2025	Tue–Thu	Gion Matsuri	Kyoto
16–26 July 2025	Wed–Sat	Tenjin Matsuri	Osaka
2–7 August 2025	Sat–Thu	Nebuta Matsuri	Aomori
2 August 2025	Sat	Edogawa Fireworks Festival	Tokyo
2 August 2025	Sat	Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks Festival	Osaka
11–15 August 2025	Mon–Fri	Awa Odori	Shikoku
13–15 August 2025	Wed–Fri	Hokkai Bon Odori	Sapporo
16 August 2025	Sat	Kyoto Gozan Okuribi	Kyoto
9–10 October 2025	Thu–Fri	Takayama Fall Festival	Takayama
22 October 2025	Wed	Kurama Fire Festival + Jidai Matsuri	Kyoto
2-3 December 2025	Tue–Wed	Chichibu Yomatsuri	Saitama

Other important dates in 2025

Alongside national and local holidays, you’ll want to make note of these other prominent dates in Japan:

Date(s)	Weekday(s)	Occasion
2 February 2025	Sun	Setsubun (the eve of the first day of Spring)
3 March 2025	Mon	Hina Matsuri (Doll’s Festival)
17–23 March 2025	Mon–Sun	Ohigan (equinoctial week)
late March – early May 2025 (depending on your region)		Hanami (Cherry Blossom Festival)
8 April 2025	Tue	Kanbutsu-e (Buddha’s Birthday)
8 April 2025	Tue	Hanamatsuri (Flower Festival)
7 July 2025	Mon	Tanabata (Star Festival)
13–16 August 2025	Wed–Sat	Obon Festival
15 November 2025	Sat	Shichi-go-san (Seven-Five-Three)

When are Japan’s public holidays in 2026?

Date	Weekday	Public holiday
1–3 January 2026	Thu–Sat	New Year’s Bank Holiday
12 January 2026	Mon	Coming of Age Day
11 February 2026	Wed	National Foundation Day
23 February 2026	Mon	The Emperor’s Birthday
20 March 2026	Fri	Spring Equinox
29 April 2026	Wed	Shōwa Day
3 May 2026 Observed on Monday, 6 May, day off	Sun	Constitution Memorial Day
4 May 2026	Mon	Greenery Day
5 May 2026	Tue	Children’s Day
20 July 2026	Mon	Sea Day
11 August 2026	Tue	Mountain Day
21 September 2026	Mon	Respect for the Aged Day
22 September 2026	Tue	Bridge public holiday
23 September 2026	Wed	Autumn Equinox
12 October 2026	Mon	Sports Day
3 November 2026	Tue	Culture Day
23 November 2026	Sun	Labor Thanksgiving Day
31 December 2026	Wed	New Year’s Eve bank holiday

Local holidays and festivals in 2026

Date(s)	Weekday(s)	Holiday	Where celebrated
4–11 February 2026	Wed–Wed	Sapporo Yuki Matsuri Snow Festival	Sapporo
14–15 April 2026	Tue–Wed	Takayama Spring Festival	Takayama
15 May 2026	Fri	Aoi Matsuri	Kyoto
July 2026	Mon–Tue	Gion Matsuri	Kyoto
16–26 July 2026	Thu–Sun	Tenjin Matsuri	Osaka
2–7 August 2026	Sun–Fri	Nebuta Matsuri	Aomori
2 August 2026	Sun	Edogawa Fireworks Festival	Tokyo
2 August 2026	Sun	Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks Festival	Osaka
12–15 August 2026	Wed–Sat	Awa Odori	Shikoku
13–15 August 2026	Thu–Sat	Hokkai Bon Odori	Sapporo
16 August 2026	Sun	Kyoto Gozan Okuribi	Kyoto
9–10 October 2026	Fri–Sat	Takayama Fall Festival	Takayama
22 October 2026	Thu	Kurama Fire Festival + Jidai Matsuri	Kyoto
2-3 December 2026	Wed–Thu	Chichibu Yomatsuri	Saitama

Other important dates in 2026

Date(s)	Weekday(s)	Occasion
3 February 2026	Tue	Setsubun (the eve of the first day of Spring)
3 March 2026	Tue	Hina Matsuri (Doll’s Festival)
17–23 March 2026	Tue–Mon	Ohigan (equinoctial week)
late March – early May 2026 (depending on your region)		Hanami (Cherry Blossom Festival)
8 April 2026	Wed	Kanbutsu-e (Buddha’s Birthday)
8 April 2026	Wed	Hanamatsuri (Flower Festival)
7 July 2026	Tue	Tanabata (Star Festival)
13–15 August 2026	Thu–Sat	Obon Festival
15 November 2026	Sun	Shichi-go-san (Seven-Five-Three)

When were Japan’s public holidays in 2024?

Date	Weekday	Public holiday
1–3 January 2024	Mon–Wed	New Year’s Bank Holiday
8 January 2024	Mon	Coming of Age Day
11 February 2024 Observed on Monday, 12 February, day off	Sun	National Foundation Day
23 February 2024	Fri	The Emperor’s Birthday
20 March 2024	Wed	Spring Equinox
29 April 2024	Mon	Shōwa Day
3 May 2024	Fr	Constitution Memorial Day
4 May 2024	Sat	Greenery Day
5 May 2024 Observed on Monday, 6 May, day off	Sun	Children’s Day
15 July 2024	Mon	Sea Day
11 August 2024 Observed on Monday, 12 August, day off	Sun	Mountain Day
16 September 2024	Mon	Respect for the Aged Day
22 September 2024 Observed on Monday, 23 September, day off	Sun	Autumn Equinox
14 October 2024	Mon	Sports Day
3 November 2024 Observed on Monday, 4 November, day off	Sun	Culture Day
23 November 2024	Sat	Labor Thanksgiving Day
31 December 2024	Tue	New Year’s Eve bank holiday

Local holidays and festivals in 2024

Date(s)	Weekday(s)	Holiday	Where celebrated
4–11 February 2024	Sun–Sun	Sapporo Yuki Matsuri Snow Festival	Sapporo
14–15 April 2024	Sun–Mon	Takayama Spring Festival	Takayama
15 May 2024	Wed	Aoi Matsuri	Kyoto
7–17 June 2024	Fri–Mon	Sannō Matsuri	Tokyo
July 2024	Mon–Wed	Gion Matsuri	Kyoto
16–26 July 2024	Tue–Fri	Tenjin Matsuri	Osaka
2–7 August 2024	Fri–Wed	Nebuta Matsuri	Aomori
3 August 2024	Sat	Edogawa Fireworks Festival	Tokyo
3 August 2024	Sat	Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks Festival	Osaka
12–15 August 2024	Mon–Thu	Awa Odori	Shikoku
13–15 August 2024	Tue–Thu	Hokkai Bon Odori	Sapporo
16 August 2024	Fri	Kyoto Gozan Okuribi	Kyoto
9–10 October 2024	Wed–Thu	Takayama Fall Festival	Takayama
22 October 2024	Tue	Kurama Fire Festival + Jidai Matsuri	Kyoto
2-3 December 2024	Mon–Tue	Chichibu Yomatsuri	Saitama

Other important dates in 2024

Date(s)	Weekday(s)	Occasion
3 February 2024	Sat	Setsubun (the eve of the first day of Spring)
3 March 2024	Sun	Hina Matsuri (Doll’s Festival)
19–25 March 2024	Thu–Wed	Ohigan (equinoctial week)
late March – early May 2024 (depending on your region)	Wed–Sun	Hanami (Cherry Blossom Festival)
8 April 2024	Mon	Kanbutsu-e (Buddha’s Birthday)
8 April 2024	Mon	Hanamatsuri (Flower Festival)
7 July 2024	Sun	Tanabata (Star Festival)
16–18 August 2024	Fri–Sun	Obon Festival
15 November 2024	Fri	Shichi-go-san (Seven-Five-Three)

When are the school holidays in Japan?

Planning a family holiday? Don’t forget to mark the school holidays in Japan (学校休暇) in your calendar. Local schools typically begin the academic year in April and end in March, operating on a trimester system. In between, there are two vacations – the summer and winter holidays – plus semester breaks and public holidays.

Of course, some regional variations may be across schools in different cities and prefectures. What’s more, international schools may have breaks or days off. To ensure you have the correct dates – and to organize any necessary childcare – check with your children’s school.