One of Saitama’s largest and most beloved autumn festivals is set to return this October. After last year’s special two-day edition, the Tokorozawa Festival will return to just one day in 2026, taking place on Sunday, 11th October as a one-day celebration of local culture and community spirit. The streets around Tokorozawa Station will once again come alive with magnificent festival floats, traditional music, mikoshi parades, dancing, food stalls and family-friendly events, drawing thousands of visitors to the heart of the city.
Tokorozawa Festival
The Tokorozawa festival became an one day festival in 2018. Since 2018 the main parade, music and street performances all happen on the one and only day of the festival. On that day, volunteers carry the mikoshi portable shrine up and down the main thoroughfare. Starting from the West exit of Tokorozawa Station to Kanayama area. You can usually see a lot of the activities around the Motomachi community wide space 元町コミュニティ広場 from 1 to 7 pm. There are also usually festivities around the station area from early morning until about 8 pm. On the day of the festival, you can not drive up the main thoroughfare until after 9 pm at night. Among the many things you can enjoy, apart from the mikoshi, are Taiko drums and yosakoi traditional dance performances, and traditional music. In addition, there is a bazaar with booths and stalls. You can see the full line up and schedule on the here (Japanese language).
Event Details
Event: Tokorozawa Festival 2026 ところざわまつり
Date: Sunday October 11th 2026
Time: from 10 am to 8 pm, all things equal
Cost: there is no admission fee
Venue: Various. Most are around the west exit of Seibu’s Tokorozawa Station, 1 Hiyoshicho, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-1123. View on Google Maps.
Access Tokorozawa Festival
There are two official parking lots (see official website for locations), but they get full very quickly. Moreover, they are hard to access after 10 am as the roads are closed off. It is recommended that you come by public transport. The festival is held close to the Tokorozawa station which is on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.
Other things to do in Tokorozawa:
If you are a Ghibli fan you will not want to miss the chance to hike the Totoro Forests and visit Kurosuke’s House in Sayama Hills. However, please note that since Kurosuke’s House reopened in 2022, they no longer allow people share photos of the location on social media. If you want to visit, you have to sign an affidavit to that effect. Furthermore, it is no longer free and you must book in advance. But don’t worry there is lots of other things to do in Tokorozawa at the new Tokorozawa Sakura Town. Tokorozawa is also home to the very excellent Aviation Memorial Park and Aviation Museum.
20171005. The festival was cancelled between 2019 and 2021 due to Hagibis and the pandemic. Until 2017 it was a 2 day festival and in 2025 for the 75th anniversary of Tokorozawa it was also two days. Last update October 2026..