🏮 Sendai Tanabata Matsuri

仙台七夕まつり

Sendai, Miyagi (仙台市中心部および周辺の地域商店街) · Every year on 6 August

Summer festival

326 days to go
Rooms around Sendai, Miyagi fill up while the festival is on.

The Sendai Tanabata Festival is held every year from August 6 to 8 in central Sendai and the surrounding shopping streets. Organized by the Sendai Tanabata Festival Sponsorship Association (secretariat: Sendai Chamber of Commerce and Industry), it is known as the world's finest elegant festival of paper and bamboo. Its history dates back to the time of the domain founder Date Masamune, and it is a traditional event passed down since ancient times. Tanabata is originally a celebration of the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar, but in Sendai it is held in August, using a middle calendar that adds one month to the solar calendar to match the feeling of the season. During the festival, the city center and surrounding shopping streets are filled with colorful tanabata decorations, creating a scene where the elegance of Japan's ancient star festival and the gorgeous, splendid decorations are in harmony. Every year, more than 2 million visitors come to see these vibrant streets.

Getting there

The nearest stations are JR Sendai Station and Subway Sendai Station. About 15 minutes from Miyagi IC on the Tohoku Expressway. From Sendai Airport, about 25 minutes to JR Sendai Station by access railway (17 minutes by rapid train).