[2026] Guide to Music Festivals and Outdoor Events in Hokkaido and the Tohoku Region

This event was launched to reinvigorate Fukushima after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear accident led to a sharp decline due to harmful rumors. Held in a hot spring resort town, it’s an event you can fully enjoy—not only music, but also hot springs, food, and sightseeing. And since it takes place in a hot spring area, accommodation plans are available as well, so why not enjoy all that Iizaka Onsen has to offer?

Pay attention to the star-studded lineup at one of Fukushima Prefecture’s largest festivals, created by local Fukushima TV, Creativeman Productions (the organizer of Summer Sonic), and Flying Beko, a creative team formed by Fukushima natives. The spacious stadium venue—also used during the Olympics—offers more than just live performances by artists; it also features a rich array of free areas, including a market showcasing local Tohoku ingredients and art. It’s the perfect season for outdoor concerts, and well worth the trip to join!

This event takes a novel approach by combining hot springs and music. It involves renting out a hot spring inn in Fukushima and holding a live concert for 150 people in the grand banquet hall. The audience can enjoy being close to the artists as well as the hot spring ryokan itself—what a wonderful event. After the earthquake, a third of the establishments in the host area, Tsuchiyu Onsen Town, closed down. This event was launched to help bring vibrancy back to the hot spring town.

This is a circuit event organized by Shikachan, an event promoter active in Fukushima Prefecture. Shikachan is reportedly a staff member of TONEFOLK, a music information site based in the Tohoku region. Although it’s a small-scale circuit event held across two venues, the lineup mainly features up-and-coming bands on the verge of breaking through, making it an event you won’t want to miss.

College of Rock is a music event held twice a year—in summer and winter—in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture. As the name suggests, it’s a festival planned and run mainly by college students and other young people. In summer, it takes place on an outdoor stage set up at the Ishigami-no-Oka Museum, and in winter, it’s hosted across multiple live houses in central Morioka, featuring many young bands. There also appears to be an open application process, so if you’re in a band in the Tohoku region, why not give it a try and enter?