Hokkaido's Best Summertime Events
Summer 2025 is in full swing and there’s already been a stack of epic events popping up all over Niseko, Furano and the wider Hokkaido prefecture. But more often than not, unless you’re really in the know, you don’t find out about them until a couple of days after, when you’re then told, “The Shakotan Bikuni fire festival was sooooooo good this year.”
Don’t miss out. So if you want to keep an eye on all the epic events happening over Furano this summertime, here’s everything you need to know:
But first things first, here’s a couple of terms you may want to be familiar with:
Matsuri:
A traditional Japanese festival, often held at Shinto shrines, temples or small townships. Matsuri festivals often celebrate the seasons, local produce and historical events, with local food vendors, fireworks, music performances and community celebrations.
Maranic:
Even we were confused about this one at first, but a ‘Maranic’ is a combination between a marathon and a picnic… because everyone knows you should always run a marathon on a full stomach. Maranic’s aren’t deemed as competitive, with times and positions not be ranked. Instead, it offers an epic chance to explore the local area, meet other locals and dine on some epic local delicacies.
A Rhythm Event:
A good time, always.
Alright, now we’re all brushed up on the event terms, when’s the next one on?
Hokkaido's best events this JULY
Summer's really starting to heat up now. Here's what's on for the remainder of the month!
Otaru Ushio Market
25 - 27th July, 2025
With over 50 years of history, the annual Otaru Ushio market is an awesome way to immerse yourself in local culture, with its famous Ushio Nerikomi dance parade being a favourite amongst many each and every year.
Considering Otaru is Hokkaido’s seafood capital, and is perfectly positioned as the middle-point only an hour away from both Sapporo and Niseko, with both routes offering heaps of options of public transport, the Ushio Market is definitely one that us here at Rhythm recommend checking out.
Rankoshi Seseragi Matsuri
26 - 27th July, 2025
The Rankoshi Seseragi Matsuri truly does stand out as a point of difference for the Hokkaido summer events schedule, offering an outdoor music festival, traditional kagura and taiko drumming performances and numerous food trucks, all along the banks of the Shirebetsu River. Meaning you can also spend your day SUPing and kayaking, while also enjoying all the expected matsuri favourites. 
Kutchan Shrine Grand Festival Matsuri
27th - 29th July, 2025
Don’t bother making detours to check out all the local shrines, at the Kutchan Shrine Matsuri, you can come across portable shrines, which are introduced through processions and cultural parades by the Akaska-yakko and Kodomo-yakko.
Furano Belly Button Matsuri
28th - 29th July, 2025
Found all the comfort food and knock-offs Strong Zero’s weren’t the best for your winter beer belly? Fear not! At the Furano belly button festival, your beer belly won’t just be accepted, it’ll be celebrated!
First beginning in 1969, the Heso Odori aims to unify and energize Furano’s local community. At first, it wasn’t a hit, with only 11 dancers painting their belly and entering the dance procession. Now, over 5,000 people participate in the 2-day dance event, painting their tummies in an array of funny designs to help provide a little bit of humour and celebration over the summer season! A must see!
Hokkaido's Best Events This August
Now it's really festival season, August has heaps of offer!
Kutchan Jaga Matsuri
August 2 - 3, 2025
If you didn’t know, Kutchan, the town at the foot of the Niseko United Resorts, has a town mascot called jagata-kun. Not only is jagata-kun a steezy looking potato, he’s a skiing potato (who probably shreds harder than most of us here in town). The Jaga Matsuri is all about celebrating him! Food trucks, massive street parades and an “all you can grab potato” event, the Jaga Matsuri will forever stand out as one of the most unique festivals you’ll ever attend.
The best part? The Kutchan Jaga Matsuri (potato festival) is located on the street that connects to the Kutchan train station, making it super easy to access if you’re coming from out of town.
Iwani Matsuri
August 2nd - 3rd, 2025
Only half an hour from Niseko, Iwanai’s annual matsuri holds one of the region’s biggest firework displays alongside a handful of live performances, traditional dances and a special collection of shops located within Iwani’s Tarafuki Village.
Niseko Town Fireworks
August 2nd, 2025
Think you’ve seen firework displays before? Think again. Japanese firework displays are next level, showcasing displays that you only thought were possible in the Harry Potter series. If you get the chance, make sure you check them out.
Niseko Hanazono Hill Climb
August 3rd, 2025
Come along and watch as cyclists sprint race from the local CBD Watch or join this cycling sprint from the local CBD in Kutchan to the mountain-top Goshiki onsen.
Hirafu Hillbomb
August 9th, 2025
An elimination style race where contestants skate through a series of obstacles at fast-speeds down a hill? A fun event to compete in, sure, but an even funner one to spectate. Let the chaos ensue!
Niseko Greenpark Cinema Caravan
9 - 17th August, 2025
Over the course of a week, visitors can experience an open-air cinema experience at the Niseko Hirafu Green Park, where they’ll also find live music performances, outdoor ghengis khan dining, a skate ramp and much more. While the full schedule is yet to be released early announcements show that films like Stand By Me and Italian-comedy classic Cinema Paradiso are both on the cards for the 2025 lineup.
Kyowa Kakashi Matsuri
August 24th, 2025
If Halloween is your favourite annual holiday, the Kyowa Kakashi (Scarecrow) Matsuri is the one for you! The main event? A scarecrow competition, where anyone can make their own costume and enter! On top of that, Kyowa Kakashi Matsuri is one of the best spots to pick up local produce like watermelons and melons, which, if you’ve ever seen or heard about Japanese watermelons, you’ll know is quite the selling point.
August 23 - 24, 2025
If you haven’t visited Niseko before, you may not have heard of Lake Toya. If you have, you’ll know that it’s one of the area's best kept secrets. Taking up a whopping 70.7 km² of land mass, Toya isn’t just your standard lake, which is exactly why it needs to be celebrated! As one of the initial landing points many Ainu settlers migrated to Toya has a rich history, which is celebrated at their weekend long camping festival! Trust us, there’s nowhere better to camp than Toya.
Hokkaido's Best Events This September
It may be encroaching on Autumn territory, but there's still a few epic events to attend in September. (Yes, there's more to be announced).
Niki Maranic
Dates: September 20th, 2025
A marathon picnic hybrid in Niki, Hokkaido’s home of apples and wine? A weird combination but one that you can count us in for.
Other Epic Summertime Adventures
Travel dates don't line up with any of the local events? Here's some other activities to enjoy while in town!
Golf
Summertime breeze, luscious greens and Mt Yotei in the distance – name a better place to play golf than Niseko?
Camping
If you aren’t keen on camping around Hokkaido, it’s because you haven’t looked into how good camping in Hokkaido actually is. From the serene landscape of Lake Toya, to getting pitted in the surf breaks of Shiraoi, Hokkaido offers a range of different camping destinations each with their own unique attractions on offer.
Mountain Biking
Outside of hosting the best powder in the world in the winter season, Niseko also offers world-class mountain biking trails suitable for riders of all skillsets, giving riders the option to explore the region in exciting new ways, regardless of if they want to fang downhill trails or go for scenic cruises.
For those wanting to explore the mountain on two wheels, visit Rhythm Hirafu for different rental options to find out more about different rental options.
Skating
If you’re craving a shred during the summer months but can’t get out on the snowboard, why not swap your board out for one with four wheels? And don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you need to hill-bomb Hirafu – you can also shred the pop-up skatepark, pump track and mini-ramp at Rhythm Hirafu’s Activity Hub.
Rhythm Activity Hub
It’s not just pop-up skateparks that Rhythm’s Activity Hub hosts, with the Hub offering up a range of activities for visitors, including indoor bouldering complete with kilter board, outdoor trampolines, slacklines, communal workspaces and more.
BBQ
Really, is there anything better?
Note: This is a rolling blog, more events will be updated as they are announced so make sure to keep an eye out for updates!
Never miss an event! Keep up to date with all Rhythm events here!