Sendai Tanabata Festival 2026
Japan's grandest star festival drapes Sendai's arcades with thousands of giant handmade paper streamers in a riot of color.
When · Where
- When
- 2026/08/06 01:00 – 2026/08/08
- Where
- Central Sendai shopping arcades（Chuo, Aoba Ward, Sendai, Miyagi 980-0021）
- City
- Across Japan
- Getting there
- Directly from Sendai Station (JR/Tohoku Shinkansen), arcades begin at the West Exit
- Price
- Free
- Organizer
- Sendai Tanabata Festival Support Association
Good to know for visitors
- Getting there
- Directly from Sendai Station (JR/Tohoku Shinkansen), arcades begin at the West Exit Open directions in Google Maps ↗
- Booking & entry
- Free to attend — details on the official page (button above).
- Language
- Mostly in Japanese — a translation app on your phone helps.
- Good for
- culture seekers, families, date night
Highlights
- Over 3,000 handmade fukinagashi streamers
- Eve-of-festival fireworks over the Hirose River
- One of Tohoku's three great summer festivals
Background & story
Celebrated since the Edo era and championed by warlord Date Masamune, Sendai's Tanabata moved to August and grew into the country's most lavish star festival.
Good to know
The fireworks are the night before (Aug 5) — plan an extra day to catch both.