By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Mukaebi, the welcome firesFriday 13 August 2027
- Okuribi, the send-offMonday 16 August 2027
- Where
- Tokyo and across Japan
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- August
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
Most of Japan keeps Obon from 13 to 16 August, which in 2027 runs from Friday to Monday. It is not a public holiday, but Mountain Day is, on Wednesday 11 August, and many workplaces close for several days around the two. In 2026 JR ran every Nozomi as reserved-only from 7 to 16 August for the holiday; check its page for the 2027 dates before booking.
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Obon is the Buddhist festival when families welcome back the spirits of their ancestors, kept in mid-August across most of Japan. No law makes it a day off, but so many workplaces close around it that it ranks with New Year and Golden Week as a peak travel period: long-distance trains, flights and resort hotels fill, and every seat on the fast Nozomi Shinkansen becomes reserved. Tokyo itself gets quieter as people leave for their home towns, and its neighbourhoods hold free bon odori dances that visitors are welcome to join.
What Obon actually is
Obon is a Buddhist observance for the dead. On its first evening families light small welcome fires, mukaebi, to guide their ancestors home, and on the last they light okuribi to send them back, which in Kyoto becomes the five great bonfires of the Gozan Okuribi on the hills around the city. In between, people visit family graves, make offerings at the household altar and gather with relatives.
Parts of Tokyo keep it a month earlier, in mid-July. When Japan moved to the Western calendar in the Meiji era, the capital kept Obon on the fifteenth of the seventh month, while most of the country, busy in the fields in July, moved it a month later. So a Tokyo temple may hold its Obon services weeks before the rest of Japan takes the holiday.
The holiday itself is the August one. Obon carries no day off of its own, though Mountain Day falls just before it, and many companies close for several days around the middle of the month. The result is the summer counterpart of Golden Week: people head for their home towns and the resorts as it starts, and come back together as it ends.
Where the holiday shows
- Neighbourhood bon odori. Temple grounds, shrine precincts and parks across Tokyo put up a raised stage hung with lanterns, and residents in yukata dance in a slow circle around it to drums and old songs. They run on summer evenings through July and August, they cost nothing, and anyone may join the ring and copy the steps. Ward notice boards and temple gates list the local ones.
- Tokyo Station, Shinagawa and the airports. Trains and flights out of the city are fullest as the holiday begins, and the trains back on its last days, when the return rush fills the Shinkansen and the expressways into Tokyo.
- The resorts and theme parks. With so much of the country off at once, the theme parks, the beaches, Hakone and the hot-spring towns are at their busiest, while ordinary residential Tokyo is calmer than usual.
Tickets and what it costs
Taking part costs nothing: the dances are free, and so are the temple services you might come across. Moving around is where the money goes, with Shinkansen and domestic flights at their summer peak and resort and hot-spring hotels at their highest rates of the season, so book early wherever you stay.
Most shops, department stores, museums and sights stay open. Some small family-run restaurants and shops close for a few days while their owners go home, and banks close only on Mountain Day.
Official information and booking: global.jr-central.co.jp/en/nozomi
Getting there
Book the Shinkansen the moment your dates are fixed. For the Obon peak the Nozomi, the fastest train on the Tokyo, Osaka and Hakata line, carries reserved seats only, and the slower Hikari and Kodama are the fallback for a ticket without a seat number.
Leave Tokyo after the first rush and come back before the last one, and expect the expressways to jam in both directions. In the city the heat is the bigger hazard: this is the hottest part of the year, and the government issues heatstroke alerts on the worst days.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Waiting to book the bullet train
Reserved seats on the busiest days sell out, and the Nozomi has no unreserved car in the holiday peak.
Joining the exodus
The trains and roads out are fullest as the holiday starts, and the trains back as it ends. Shift a day either side.
Watching the bon odori from the edge
The circle is open to anyone. Follow the dancer in front of you; nobody expects the steps to be right.
Underestimating the heat
Mid-August is the hottest stretch of the Tokyo year. Dance in the evening, carry water, and check the heatstroke alert before a day outdoors.
Other Tokyo events
Frequently asked questions
When is Obon?
In mid-August across most of Japan, from the welcome fires on the first evening to the send-off on the last; parts of Tokyo keep it in July. The dates card above shows this year’s.
Is Obon a public holiday in Japan?
No, but Mountain Day falls just before it and many companies close for several days, so for travel it works as a national holiday week.
Is Obon a good time to visit Tokyo?
For the bon odori, yes, and the city itself is quieter than usual. Travel out of Tokyo is the hard part: trains, flights and resorts are at their busiest, and it is the hottest time of year.
Can tourists join a bon odori?
Yes. The dances are free and open to anyone; join the circle and follow the person in front. A yukata is welcome but not expected.
Do I need to reserve Shinkansen seats during Obon?
Yes. In the Obon peak every Nozomi seat is reserved and the busiest trains sell out, so book as soon as your dates are fixed.
Sources
- JR Central, all-reserved Nozomi trains in the peak periods
- Cabinet Office, national holidays (Japanese)
- Ministry of the Environment, heat illness prevention and heatstroke alerts
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.