With the weather perfect for spending time outdoors, outdoor music events and film festivals are sure to create wonderful memories. Here, we introduce popular annual festivals and Golden Week events you can enjoy with your children.
The 15th Zushi Beach Film Festival
A long-standing event held at Zushi Beach during Golden Week. It features screenings of films set against the beautiful ocean backdrop, as well as niche titles rarely seen elsewhere. The event features a variety of daytime attractions, including a food court with rotating menus, a bustling bazaar with stalls run by local vendors, educational workshops where you can learn while feeling the sea breeze, a reservation-only restaurant, and a seaside carousel.
SEASIDE CINEMA 2026
Japan’s largest urban outdoor cinema festival, which transforms the entire Yokohama waterfront into a cinematic space, is returning this year. Last year, the festival screened a total of 15 films, including the “Transformers” series, the hit “Robot Dreams,” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which is perfect for families. Details on the films and other programming at each venue will be announced at a later date.
Japan Jam 2026
An outdoor music festival organized by Rockin’ On Japan, the company behind “Rock in Japan Festival” and “Countdown Japan.” Creepy Nuts, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, My Hair is Bad, and Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra will headline each day, with a total of 104 acts performing.
La Folle Journée TOKYO 2026
La Folle Journée is a classical music festival that originated in 1995 in the port city of Nantes in western France. It arrived in Tokyo in 2005 and has attracted a total of 9.04 million visitors as of 2024. The festival features approximately 90 performances designed to be enjoyed by everyone from children to classical music enthusiasts.
VIVA LA ROCK
Now in its 13th year, this rock festival is being held outdoors for the first time. Due to renovation work at its usual venue, Saitama Super Arena, this year’s event will take place across the vast open spaces and parking lots surrounding Saitama Stadium 2002, featuring multiple temporary stages. Performers include Aimyon, Koji Miyamoto, WANIMA, ELLEGARDEN, and Suchmos.
