Summer Music Festival Held in Eastern Japan [2026]

Asahikawa Music Week is a music event that turns the entire city into a stage under the banner “A week overflowing with music in Asahikawa,” transforming the early-summer streets. From the North Station Plaza and the Shopping Park to the Asahikawa Civic Culture Hall, inside JR Asahikawa Station, and AEON Mall Asahikawa Nishi, a wide range of genres—brass band, orchestra, choral, jazz, rock, pop, DJ, and traditional Japanese music—resonate together to color “Asahikawa, the Music City of the North.” Featuring performers selected through a public call, the 2026 edition will be held from June 7 to 14.

HOKKAI Donuts FES is a new outdoor music festival championing “MADE IN Hokkaido,” set at Dalwhinnie Entertainment Village Sapporo in Minami Ward, Sapporo, heralding the early summer of Hokkaido. In the vast lawn area, alongside a live stage featuring bands and singer-songwriters from around Hokkaido, there will be kitchen cars (food trucks) and a handmade goods market. With a dog run and camping area also on site, the 5th edition will be held in June 2026.

This is an anison (anime song) festival to be held for the first time at Noboribetsu Civic Hall on June 13, 2026. The executive committee is promoting it as “an anison festival you can only experience in Noboribetsu,” aiming for an event integrated with the local community, including food trucks from the area. Three acts—Hironobu Kageyama, Masaaki Endoh, and Hiroshi Kitadani—have been confirmed to perform, promising a day to fully enjoy the voices of anison in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido.

The "Sapporo Festival" is the annual grand festival of Hokkaido Shrine. Since June 15 was designated as the festival day in 1872, it has continued as a seasonal tradition heralding the arrival of summer in Sapporo. During the festival, food stalls and dedication stages line the shrine grounds and Nakajima Park. On the procession of the 16th, led by lantern-lit festival music, more than 1,000 participants dressed in period costumes—such as Sarutahiko and the Ishin Kinno-tai—parade through the city together with nine festival floats. In 2026, the festival will be held from June 14 to 16.