Skip to content
KWKyoto WayfinderAn independent Kyoto travel guide

weather_seasonal

Tokyo's Water-Splashing Festival

More than 50 mikoshi, purifying water, and the full energy of an Edo summer festival.

Kyoto Wayfinder Editorial5 min read
TokyoFukagawa MatsuriWater FestivalSummerLocal Culture

Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri is one of Edo's Three Great Festivals, and its famous water-splashing procession turns the streets of eastern Tokyo into a moving wall of spray, drums, and shouted “Wasshoi.”

Residents splash purifying water over the mikoshi and their bearers as more than 50 portable shrines move through Fukagawa. It is joyful, physical, and unmistakably local.

## 2026 schedule

The full festival runs from August 12 to 16. The combined neighborhood mikoshi procession takes place on Sunday, August 16, with the first shrines leaving Tomioka Hachimangu from around 7:30 AM. Activity continues through the afternoon. Admission is free; check the official tracker and notices for the final route and finish time.

## Before you go

Tomioka Hachimangu is about a three-minute walk from Monzen-nakacho Station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line.

Wear quick-drying clothes. Waterproof your phone and camera, and bring water, sunscreen, and a small towel. Stay outside the procession route and only splash water where local organizers permit it.

Travel notes

Planning Kyoto?

Get a quiet 3-day route in your inbox.