Let’s go to the Narita taiko drum festival
If you love the kind of Japanese drumming that’s not just a lively musical entertainment, it’s also an exuberant, precision-choreographed dance, get thee to the Narita Taiko Festival, which happens every April!
While weaving their complex rhythms, taiko drummers exchange places, pivot to beat on each other’s drums, and make every drumbeat an opportunity for drama. At the Narita festival, taiko teams from all over Japan come to perform in the little town that gave Tokyo airport its name, and there are performances all day, every day, on every corner, plus the world’s most joyful parade.
Some groups are small, but mighty…
others feature players on every sized drum, from the monster bass you see in the back…
to the tiniest little tamborine-sized ones.
And don’t miss the parade, where you can see your favorites up-close and personal.
Every team puts their best moves on display as they dance down the street…
and their energy is really infectious.
Some pause to give a virtuoso performance…
while others dispense smiles through their sheer enjoyment of pounding that big drum.
Naturally, they’ve all got themes and costumes too…
and some are accompanied by dragons…
of various luck-dispensing varieties!
Taiko drumming has burst out of Japan onto the world stage in recent years, drawing fans from all over. If you’ve never had a chance to see Kodo or one of the other internationally famous troupes in concert, don’t miss this chance to experience this very Japanese style of drumming at its source and get hooked for free!
The handout with the parade route map and schedule for the various groups is all in Japanese, but here’s the map from this year, so you can see where the basics are:
Here’s where the town of Narita is:
It’s a short train ride from the Narita airport station
Despite its distance from Tokyo, Narita is close to all the express trains designed to quickly and cheaply ferry airport passengers from there into town, so it’s an easy day trip, and more accessible than it looks. To figure out how to get there from where you are, use the Japan Navigation phone app, plugging in your location, travel date and preferred arrival/departure time. Here’s where to get the app and how to use it.
Narita Taiko Drum Festival
April 18-19, 2026
The best way to see this festival is:
• Go to the Narita town website and find out this year’s dates and schedule (in English!). I’d recommend scheduling your visit around the parade (do not miss the parade—it’s really fun).
• When you get there, just wander through the town and discover your favorite groups as they entice you to stop and watch.
• When you need a little quiet time amid all the drumming, duck into the temple and stroll the garden, which is both vast and gorgeous.
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly Japanagram newsletter, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
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Will this be your new favorite mystery too?
“The Samurai’s Octopus…will keep you guessing—and turning pages—all the way to the end. I couldn’t put it down!”
—Susan Spann, author of the Hiro Hattori mysteries
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