One of Japan’s Premier Summer Events: Your Guide to Experiencing the Sendai Tanabata Festival

Sendai—the historic hub of Miyagi Prefecture in Japan’s Tōhoku region—is just a 90-minute ride north of Tokyo on the Tōhoku Shinkansen. Each summer the city hosts the nationally renowned Sendai Tanabata Festival. Celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month in the old lunar calendar, Tanabata dates back centuries: Chinese legend says it is the one night when the star-crossed lovers Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair) can cross the Milky Way to meet.

During the festival, vibrant streamers and paper ornaments fill Sendai’s covered shopping arcades, while evenings sparkle with fireworks and a full slate of events that draw visitors from across Japan. Along with the signature celebrations, this guide highlights can’t-miss attractions such as the Night Festival at Sendai Castle and the illuminated Zuihōden mausoleum.

Sendai Tanabata Festival: Three Days of Vivid Streamers and Spectacular Fireworks

The Sendai Tanabata Festival, held every year from August 6 to 8, is one of Tōhoku’s signature summer celebrations and traces its roots to the early 1600s, when warlord Date Masamune ruled the region. In 2025 the festivities will again take over downtown Sendai—especially Chūō-dōri and Ichibanchō-dōri—where roughly 3,000 bamboo displays and a sea of brightly colored streamers will fill the arcades and practically beg to be photographed.

The party starts on the evening of August 5 with the Sendai Tanabata Fireworks Festival, during which 16,000 fireworks paint the night sky in dazzling hues. Festival-goers can refuel at Kōtōdai Park’s Citizens’ Square, sampling local specialties such as mābō-yakisoba (fried noodles topped with spicy mapo tofu) and plump rock oysters alongside classic street-fair snacks. To move between events, the Loople Sendai sightseeing bus makes an 80-minute circuit of the city’s main sights—an easy way to explore while you enjoy three days of brilliant streamers by day and spectacular fireworks by night.

Event period	Aug 6 (Wed) – Aug 8 (Fri), 2025
Address	Shopping streets in and around central Sendai (Chūō-dōri 1–4 Chome, Chūō, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi)
Access	・Sendai Washington Hotel: about a 5-min. walk to the Chuo-dori arcade entrance
URL	https://www.sendaitanabata.com/

Enjoy Sendai after dark on the historic grounds of Lord Date Masamune at the Sendai Tanabata Night Festival — Yoi Akari.

After sunset, Sendai Castle—once the residence of Date Masamune—hosts the Sendai Tanabata Night Festival: Yoi Akari. Brilliant illuminations and projection-mapping shows bathe the stone ramparts in vivid color, while nearby Aobayama Park offers tethered balloon rides and tuk-tuk trips, with more than 30 food trucks stationed throughout the grounds. Typical Japanese summer-festival stalls—rifle shooting, ring toss, crystal-ball scooping, and more—line the paths, and live concerts raise the energy. Couples can slip away to the limited-time Night View Lounge, set at the castle lookout and inside the park, to sip fermented drinks while taking in a panoramic sweep of Sendai’s glittering skyline. Convenient shuttle buses run from the city center.

Event period	Aug 6 (Wed) – Aug 10 (Sun), 2025 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Address	Aobayama Park & the Sendai Castle Ruins area Aobayama Park, Kawauchi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-0862
Access	・Sendai Washington Hotel: a 3-min. walk to Bus Stop 16 at Sendai Station’s West Exit → take the Loople Sendai sightseeing bus → get off at “Sendai Castle Ruins” → a 3-min. walk to Aobayama Park.
URL	https://www.yoiakari.site/nightfes/

Zuihōden Tanabata Night: Lighting Up Lord Date Masamune’s Mausoleum

From August 6 to 8, 2025, Zuihōden—the ornate mausoleum of Lord Date Masamune—will host Zuihōden Tanabata Night, bathing its sacred precincts in an ethereal glow. Traditional Tanabata ornaments will be on display at the Nehanmon gate, and opening hours will be extended to 8:30 p.m. (last entry 8:00 p.m.). Under the banner “Gensō Tōya: Zuihōden Tanabata Night,” bamboo lanterns and other lights will illuminate the main approach, the sanctuary, and the surrounding forest. Evening programs include shinobue (bamboo-flute) performances and Forest Concerts featuring guitar-and-vocal sets, bandoneon and arpa, percussion, taiko drums, and other traditional instruments. Nestled in Zuihōden’s tranquil woodland, the event is a perfect way to savor the best of Sendai’s summer.

Event period	Aug 6 (Wed) – Aug 8 (Fri), 2025 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM (last entry 8:00 PM)
Address	23-2 Otamayashita, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-0814
Access	・Sendai Washington Hotel: a 3-min. walk to Bus Stop 16 at Sendai Station’s West Exit, take the Loople Sendai sightseeing bus and get off at “Zuihōden-mae,” then walk about 5 min. to the Zuihōden entrance
URL	https://www.zuihoden.com/