1 A spectacular parade of floats at the 40th Yakumo Float Parade (Yakumo Town)

Image source: Yakumo Town

The theme of this year's Yakumo Float Parade, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, is "Fire, Scrum, Shining Sweat - Now, Infinite Youth". Numerous floats will parade through Yakumo town over the two-day event. Not only do the floats have different shapes and designs depending on the group, but each group also has their own unique drums, ohayashi, and dances, so you won't want to miss any of the groups.

Image source: Yakumo Float Procession Village Executive Committee

In conjunction with the "Yakumo Float Parade," the "Yakumo Float Parade Camp Village" will be open for a limited time from June 29 to July 7. In addition to a camping space, there will also be food trucks and food stalls, a market, experience booths, stage events, and exhibition booths.

2 Collaboration of music and fireworks "Shokunin Kobo Presents Takino Fireworks 2024" (Sapporo City)

Image source: Craftsman Studio Presents Takino Fireworks 2024

This fireworks festival is held at Takino Suzuran Hillside Park in Sapporo. In a venue surrounded by nature, large fireworks are synchronized with music and light up the night sky. If you use the "Auto Resort Takino" adjacent to the park, you can enjoy camping while still enjoying the afterglow of the fireworks.

Image source: Craftsman Studio Presents Takino Fireworks 2024

This year, the event will be even more exciting than usual, with plenty of time to enjoy the fireworks. There will be a dance contest, DJ experience, a big raffle, and other interactive content, as well as the "Hokkaido Meat Festival" where you can enjoy meat dishes and the "HOKKAIDO CRAFT BEER FESTA" where you can taste rare craft beer.

3 An event gathering the delicious delicacies of Esashi Town: "The 1st Okhotsk Esashi Umaimono Festival" (Esashi Town)

Image source: Esashi Town Tourism Association

The popular event "Esashi Crab Festival" in Esashi Town, located in the north of Hokkaido, will be held as the new "Okhotsk Esashi Umaimono Festival." This festival brings together all the delicious foods that Esashi Town is proud of.

Image source: Esashi Town Tourism Association

The event will feature a crab eating contest, a Yosakoi Soran Musou Sazanami Esashi performance, stage shows, a big raffle, and more. At the end of the first day, a large fireworks display will be set off into the night sky.

4 Mori Jam 2024: Markets and stage shows to enjoy in the forest (Shimokawa Town)

Image source: Mori Jam 2024

A summer festival held in the forests of Shimokawa Town with the concept of "everyone enjoying the blessings of the forest." A wide variety of events are planned, including 40 markets, art exhibitions in the forest, interacting with Dosanko horses, live music, and fashion shows.

Image source: Mori Jam 2024

The chainsaw art competition "EZOCUP" will also be held on the same day, and the chainsaw art performances that unfold before your eyes are very impressive. Tent sites are also available, so it is recommended for those who want to enjoy the event at a leisurely pace.

5 Neputa and music heat up Shiretoko "Shiretoko Shari Neputa" (Shari Town)

Image source: Shiretoko Shari Town Tourism Association

The "Shiretoko Shari Neputa" is a parade of large and small fan-shaped neputas along the main street of Shari town for about 2.5 km. It is the largest festival in Shiretoko, which began as part of a cultural exchange with Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture. An 8m-high neputa also appears, and these impressive neputas make summer nights even more exciting.

Image source: Shiretoko Shari Town Tourism Association

Another highlight is the large ensemble of music. The sight of the group of fan neputa moving along with the shouts of "Yayado" is a spectacular sight. On the final day, the "Neputa Festival" is held, where all the music musicians come together.

6 The 78th Muroran Port Festival, a festival filled with history and tradition created by local citizens (Muroran City)

Image source: Muroran Tourism Association

Muroran City's biggest summer event. This festival is full of history and tradition, including the "Citizen Dance" where dancers dance to the tune of Muroran Bayashi and Hokkai Bon Uta, and the "Muroran Nerikomi" where people carry mikoshi and floats through the streets.

Image source: Muroran Tourism Association

The main event is the "Summer Fireworks Festival," which will beautifully color the summer night sky and further enhance the beautiful night view of Muroran. Other events include stage events and a large open-air market.

7 Yubari Yumeniwa Marche vol.4: A relaxing event with the flavors of Yubari (Yubari City)

Image source: Yubari Yumeniwa Marche

There will be a variety of booths with a healing theme. There will be booths selling handmade accessories and miscellaneous goods, fortune telling, snacks using local Hokkaido ingredients, and more, all of which will heal your mind and body. You can enjoy a relaxing space with delicious food and healing treatments.

8 The 56th Hokkai Belly Button Festival (Furano City), a unique festival where people dance with faces painted on their bellies

Image source: Furano Tourism Association

This festival is named after Furano, located in the center of Hokkaido, which is known as the "navel of Hokkaido." People paint faces called zuhara on their bellies and dance through the town. There are also food stalls selling delicious Furano foods, as well as dance and music performances. Walk-ins are welcome, and the festival is popular with tourists, and is crowded with many people from both Japan and overseas every year.

9 "Little Doto @ Sapporo: Learn about the charm of the primary industry in the Okhotsk area" - Living with nature in the naturally rich Okhotsk - (Sapporo City)

Image source: Dot Doto General Incorporated Association

"Little Doto" is an event where you can meet new friends and learn about the current state of Eastern Hokkaido through communication and information about work and life in Eastern Hokkaido. This year's theme is "Learn about the charm of the primary industries in the Okhotsk area." The first part will introduce the primary industries, agriculture, and forestry of the Okhotsk area. The second part will be a networking event with the speakers and people with ties to eastern Hokkaido. This is a valuable event where you can hear directly from people who are active in eastern Hokkaido and the Okhotsk area.

10 Muroran Family Disco: A disco experience for parents and children to enjoy together (Muroran City)

Image source: Muroran Family Disco

The event will be themed "Family Disco" and will feature disco music that has been popular for many years, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages, both men and women. There will also be a step-by-step workshop for disco beginners and elementary and junior high school students. You can enjoy dancing and taking photos in the disco space with its excellent lighting effects, and enjoy a fresh disco experience that is a little different from the usual.

11 "Kita no Bonsai Market" (Sapporo City): Recommended for those who want to start bonsai

Image source: Kita no Bonsai Market

The Bonsai Festival, which brings together bonsai societies, bonsai gardens and bonsai enthusiasts from across Hokkaido, will be held for the first time in Sapporo. This is the perfect event for bonsai lovers, as well as those who want to get started with bonsai or those who want to discuss bonsai. Small bonsai, wild plants and bonsai pots will be sold so that people can easily get their hands on bonsai. There will also be tools for displaying bonsai and currently popular tuberous plants.

12 Lavender fields lit up at night "Lavender Festa Kamifurano 2024" (Kamifurano Town)

Image source: Furano Tourism Association

The lavender at Hinode Park in Kamifurano Town is lit up and looks fantastic. During the event, the lavender garden will be lit up every night, allowing you to enjoy the lavender at night in a different atmosphere than usual.

Image source: Furano Tourism Association

Additionally, a light-up ceremony will be held on Saturday, July 13th, which will include a lighting ceremony and brass band performance, and stage events such as performance shows and special events are scheduled for Sunday, July 21st.

13 A great gathering of goldfish scooping experts at the "11th Hokkaido Goldfish Scooping Championship" (Asahikawa City)

Image source: Hokkaido Goldfish Scooping Championship

This year, the Hokkaido Goldfish Scooping Championship will be held in Asahikawa City to decide the best goldfish scooper in Hokkaido. It is a heated battle between goldfish scooping enthusiasts, who compete to see how many fish they can scoop in three minutes using one poi.

Image source: Hokkaido Goldfish Scooping Championship

The tournament is divided into individual and team competitions, and winners of the individual competition will be given priority entry to the National Goldfish Scooping Championship in Nara Prefecture. If you're proud of your goldfish scooping skills or would like to test your abilities, why not take on the challenge?

14 A water attraction to cool off in the summer: "Chitose City Heated Pool Summer Festival!!" (Chitose City)

Image source: Chitose City Heated Pool

A summer festival held at Chitose City Heated Pool. Pool admission is half price, and you can enjoy water attractions such as Water Roll and Aqua Island as much as you like. There are also food trucks and stalls selling snacks such as fried rice cakes, crepes, shaved ice, zangi and potatoes, perfect for when you get hungry after playing a lot.

15 "Fuzuki Exhibition" (Sapporo City) exhibiting the practical works of students studying arts and crafts and art education

Image source: Hokkaido University of Education Arts & Sports Cultural Complex HUG

This is an exhibition of works created by third and fourth year students of the Hokkaido University of Education Sapporo Campus in the field of art and crafts and art education. The exhibition room will feature practical works by students studying painting, design, and sculpture. The exhibition is open to the public, so please come and see the students' works for yourself.