Jidai Matsuri
Kyoto · Float procession
A costume procession running backwards through Japanese history, from the Meiji era to the eighth century, every 22 October.
Dates
22 October 2026
Held every year on 22 October.
Jidai Matsuri is the youngest of Kyoto's three great festivals, invented in 1895 for the city's eleven hundredth anniversary, and it is essentially a history lesson that walks. Two thousand people in period costume move from the Imperial Palace to Heian shrine in reverse chronological order: Meiji riflemen first, then Edo, Azuchi-Momoyama, and back through the centuries until the Heian court closes the line. The costumes are the point. They are researched and reproduced rather than approximated, down to the dyes and the weaving, and the same families have made some of them for generations. It takes about two hours to pass.
Getting a good spot
Oike-dori has paid seating and the widest view. The free stretches near Heian shrine fill later in the day because the procession reaches them last, which makes them the easier choice if you arrive after lunch.
Where it happens
Access
Common questions
When is Jidai Matsuri?
On 22 October every year, the date Kyoto became the capital in 794. The procession takes about two hours to pass any given point.
Is anything else happening that night?
Yes. The Kurama Fire Festival runs the same evening in the mountains north of the city, so some visitors watch the procession by day and take the train up to Kurama afterwards.