Yokai Bon Odori GuideUnofficial

Event Guide

What to Expect at Yokai Bon Odori 2026

A practical walkthrough of the dress code, the layout of ticketed versus free areas, and what's actually programmed across the three nights.

The Dress Code (Ticketed Area Only)

To enter the paid Yagura Stage area, the event asks visitors to meet one of three options:

A
Become a yokai. Anything from a full costume to a single mask counts — the event's own material is explicit that partial transformation is fine. On-site face-painting and yokai makeup booths (in the free Yokai Food Village area) can help if you arrive without a costume.
B
Wear a yukata or jinbei. Traditional summer dress is always an accepted option, in keeping with bon odori's roots.
C
Wear official festival merchandise. Sold on-site and, in past years, through pop-up collaborations with different illustrators each edition.

A paid "changing area," including a cloakroom, is typically available on-site if you'd rather arrive in normal clothes and change once there.

Free Areas vs. the Ticketed Yagura Stage

The festival grounds are split in two. The Yokai Food Village — food stalls, a merchandise corner, and makeup booths — is free to enter. The Yagura Stage, where the dancing and live programming happens, requires a ticket and the dress code above.

What's Programmed

  • Yokai Bon Odori dancing around the central yagura tower — the core of the event.
  • Artist live performances and ohayashi, the traditional festival music that normally accompanies bon odori.
  • Yokai Disco — DJ sets that take the night in a club-adjacent direction after the traditional dancing.
  • Costume contest and, in past editions, "Yokai Sage" discussion sessions about folklore.
  • Tachikawa Hyakki Yagyo — a lantern-lit night parade styled after the folklore "Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."
  • Street performance in the spirit of Edo-period misemonogoya sideshows, plus an ethnic food festival section and food trucks alongside the main stalls.

Exact set times and day-by-day line-ups are announced closer to the event on the official site — this guide covers the recurring structure, not a fixed schedule.