Kyoto is a city that hums with memory and July is when it sings the loudest. Beneath the heat is a festival beat that celebrates the present, venerates the past and offers a prayer for the future.
For those wondering what to do in Kyoto in summer, look no further than this curated list of annual events.
Whether you engage in ancient practices, gain a newfound appreciation for pottery or purify yourself in the waters of a Unesco shrine, Kyoto’s midsummer magic is as profound as it is poetic.
Ukai in Arashiyama: Cormorant Fishing by Firelight
When: July 1 - September 23, 2025 (July 1 – August 31: Sessions at 7pm and 8pm. September 1 – 23: 6.30pm and 7.30pm. Same-day ticket sales start at 6pm.)
Where: Hozugawa, Arashiyama
As night falls in the mountains of west Kyoto, the river nearby – the Hozugawa – flickers to life.
Figures in traditional clothing maneuver boats lit by lamps of burning wood as dark shadows swim beside them. This is ukai, or cormorant fishing – a practice that goes back at least 1,300 years in Japan and is revived every summer in Arashiyama.
Master fishermen, their faces weathered by years on the river, guide sleek birds on leashes to dive and catch fish.
Each boat carries three men: two to punt and one to handle about five cormorants. He calls out to the birds – they gather themselves up and plunge below the surface.
When they bob up, he can tell which has caught a fish. He pulls the bird back, gets it to spit out its catch then lowers it back into the river. He has to do this over and over again without tangling the other leashes up.
The binding he tied earlier around the birds’ necks requires as much skill. It has to be tight enough to stop the cormorants gulping down the big fish but loose enough to let them swallow the smaller ones.
Another man thumps his pole in a steady rhythm against the boat. The drumming is meant to lure fish but the beat, together with the firelight, the splash of wings and the call of the boatmen, all conjure up a vision of an old-world Japan.
It’s possible to enjoy the spectacle from the banks of the river but it’s worth paying for a spot in a viewing boat to experience this rare treat up close.
Ceramics Market and Memorial Service at Senbon Shakado
When: 10am – 4pm, July 9-12 (Memorial service: 2pm, July 10)
Where: Senbon Shakado (official name: Daihoon-ji)
On a quiet street in Kyoto’s northern reaches is a temple where potters from all over Japan gather every July.
Over four days, they display their work at a market held on the grounds of the temple, which dates back to the 13th century. Visitors will find a dazzling array of ceramics. From rustic wares to delicately painted pieces, from the elegant to the whimsical, there’s bound to be something that catches your eye.
The market offers not only unusual souvenirs but also a chance to meet contemporary potters carrying centuries-old techniques into the present. There's even a booth where visitors can create their own ceramics on a potter's wheel.
A ceremony is held on the second day of the event: the doors to the main hall, usually closed to the public, are opened and a ritual conducted to give thanks for pottery and the service it renders in our daily life. With an eye to the future, prayers for the continued development of the ceramics field are also offered.
Those seeking a lesser-known side of Kyoto may well find it in this ceremony, which reflects Japan’s high regard for craftsmanship as well as an appreciation for everyday objects that looks into the inanimate and sees the life within.
Mitarashi Festival at Shimogamo Shrine: The Waters of Purification
When: 9am – 8pm, July 18-27, 2025
Where: Shimogamo Shrine (Unesco World Heritage Site)
Kyoto has no shortage of summer festivals but the Mitarashi Matsuri at Shimogamo-jinja may well be one of the more cinematic.
Most people visiting the shrine will approach it through the ancient forest known as Tadasu no Mori – the Forest Where Lies Are Corrected. At the end of a tunnel of towering trees is the shrine, its vermilion buildings all the more striking because set in a world of green.
The origins of this Unesco World Heritage Site can be traced back to the 6th century – the shrine existed even before the capital that would become Kyoto was established in 794.
In the period of courtly culture that followed, aristocrats would take part in rituals to purify themselves when the seasons changed. It was believed that you could do this by dipping your feet in the sacred pond at the shrine on Doyo no Ushi – the Day of the Ox (ushi) falling within Doyo, or the 18 days before the start of spring, summer, autumn and winter.
This custom spread to the rest of society and became the basis for the Mitarashi Festival, which is timed to coincide with the summer Doyo no Ushi, generally the hottest part of the year in Kyoto.
Every summer, spring waters mysteriously bubble up and fill the sacred pond at this time. It is said that wading in them will ward off illness, especially foot ailments. Lighting a votive candle, saying a prayer and downing a cup of spring water will complete the ritual.
Go at a quieter time on a weekday if you would like a more contemplative experience. But joining the yukata-clad crowds on the weekend evenings may well inspire a sense of being part of a lively community ritual that has lasted for centuries.
Gion Matsuri: Kyoto’s Crown Jewel of Summer Festivals
When: July 1-31. Main events: July 14-17, July 21-24
Where: Locations throughout downtown Kyoto
To speak of Kyoto without mentioning Gion Matsuri would be to ignore the heart of the city.
Residents of central Kyoto spend months preparing for the festival – their year is divided into two: pre- and post-Gion Matsuri.
For centuries, Kyoto’s most well-known event has transformed the downtown grid into a realm of lanterns, music and towering wooden floats.
Gion Matsuri is a universe of its own, deserving nothing less than its own dedicated exploration of the rituals that last for a month. But, for most people, what comes to mind when they think of the festival are the Saki Matsuri (July 17) and Ato Matsuri (July 24) processions, when elaborate floats pulled by hand through the city.
The floats are regarded as moving museums, adorned with antique textiles and woodwork. To give the public a closer look at the wooden structures when they are parked downtown, they are lit up on the three evenings leading up to each parade.
These Yoiyama evenings are filled with the sounds of flutes and cymbals as crowds dressed in brightly colored yukata cluster around the illuminated floats and the stalls nearby.
Even if you can’t make it to the parades, don’t miss Yoiyama, easily one of the most atmospheric street festivals in the world.
A season that stays with you
Kyoto in July is not just a destination; it is an unfolding procession of sacred rituals and sensory delights.
Let summer in the city carry you – lantern-lit and river-borne – into a season of remembrance and revival. Then let it stay with you, long after the lights are dimmed and put away for another year.
Written by Janice Tay