EDM Festivals Across Japan [2026]: A Roundup of Dance Music Events

SBI MUSIC CIRCUS HOKKAIDO is a new chapter for the urban music festival that began in Kobe in 2014 and expanded to Osaka and Fukuoka, making its Hokkaido debut in 2026. The venue is Daiwa House Premist Dome Sapporo. PART 1, starting in the evening, will feature live performances by artists across a wide range of genres centered on pop, and PART 2 will transform the dome into a one-night-only mega nightclub late into the night. Scheduled for September 2026.

STAR ISLAND is a next-generation fireworks entertainment project launched by Avex in 2017 to pass on Japan’s traditional fireworks culture to future generations. It has staged performances around the world, including in Singapore and Saudi Arabia, drawing a cumulative audience of over 15 million people. At the Odaiba Seaside Park venue, 12,000 fireworks, 800 drones, lasers, and a live ensemble are synchronized to a 90-minute script, transforming Tokyo Bay into a massive stage. Scheduled for May 2026.

“Body & SOUL Live in Japan” is the Japanese edition of the deep house party that was born in 1996 at the New York club VINYL. Centered on back-to-back sets by François K., Danny Krivit, and Joe Claussell, it has been beloved along the Tokyo waterfront—such as Odaiba and Harumi Passenger Ship Terminal—since its Japan debut in 2002. In June 2026, it will be held at KIRANAH GARDEN in Toyosu.

The tequila brand “Cuervo” is curating a Margarita Fiesta. In 2026, it will be held in collaboration with the outdoor music party from LA, “The Do-Over TOKYO,” bringing together guest DJs from overseas and Japan at Taiyo no Hiroba in Odaiba’s Shiokaze Park. Known for its secret, unannounced mystery guests, the event heralds the start of summer with a wide spectrum of sounds—from hip-hop and funk to disco and house—set against the open, breezy waterfront. Scheduled for June 2026.

NU Festival is a new urban festival where music, art, and technology intersect, set in Takanawa Gateway City, Tokyo. Welcoming the international festival Sónar from Barcelona as a collaborator, it embraces the concept of NEXT × NEW × UNITY. Five programs—NU LIVE, NU ART, NU STATION, NU CONNECT, and NU PARK—will interlink across the city, with the inaugural edition taking place in June 2026.

World DJ Festival Japan is a major EDM festival with one of the strongest track records in East Asia, making its Japanese debut in 2025. In 2026, it will take place at the Sea Forest Waterway in Koto City, Tokyo—an open-air venue surrounded by the ocean—bringing together a lineup of world-class DJs and producers. The concept is “Universe & Fantasy.” Harnessing cutting-edge technologies in sound, lighting, visuals, and lasers, the festival will create an immersive space where the cosmos and fantasy converge.