List of Rock Festivals in Tohoku [2026]

The Horseback Warrior Rock Festival is held every year in Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture. It began with the hope of creating a new festival so that people who left the city due to the earthquake disaster and the nuclear accident—those who evacuated—could return home at least once a year. I’ve heard there’s also a fireworks display on the day, making it feel just like a summer festival.

It’s a live circuit event hosted by radio station FM Sendai, organized in collaboration with the city of Sendai and local live music venues.

This is a music festival presented by “Kaze to Rock,” the radio program and free paper by Fukushima-born creator Michihiko Yanai, together with the Fukushima Minpo newspaper. Billed as a village-festival-style rock event, it features activities like imoni stew, campfires, and test-of-courage night walks, with a hallmark of close interaction between performers and attendees. The now-traditional imoni gathering looks set to energize Fukushima.

It is an outdoor music festival held in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture. The event aims to revitalize the local community and offers free admission to all venues. In 2015, funds were raised through crowdfunding, making it an event created together with music-loving fans.

Ohara☆Break is a culture-mix festival held on the shores of Lake Inawashiro. With “slow life” as its motto, it aims to be a culture festival for adults. At Ohara Break, you can enjoy live music, visual arts such as photography and painting, literature, fashion, and even theater—expressions from artists across a wide range of genres await. It promises to be an event where you can feel both the nature of Lake Inawashiro and a variety of cultures and arts.