Seasonal feature 2026

Christmas in Japan 2026Illuminations, Christmas Markets, KFC and Cake

Name: Sapporo White Illumination
Start: 2026-11-20
End: 2027-02-11
Location: Odori Park and other venues, central Sapporo

It isn't a public holiday, yet whole streets light up, and families sit down to fried chicken and strawberry cake. Here are the 2026 dates and how Christmas works in Japan.

52 days to Christmas

AI-generated illustration

Thu 24 & Fri 25 Dec

Ordinary working days, not public holidays

Christmas markets

Open mid to late November; most end on 25 Dec

Illuminations

Switched on in November; many run into Jan or Feb

KFC

Reservations usually open in early November (2026 dates not yet out)

Christmas cake

Reserve ahead; Seven-Eleven in-store deadlines 16 and 19 Dec

In Japan, Christmas is less a religious holiday than a winter festival. From November, roadside trees are wrapped in hundreds of thousands of lights, German-style Christmas markets open in city plazas, and convenience stores put out leaflets for reserving a Christmas cake.

But 24 and 25 December are not public holidays: schools and offices are open as usual. And the moment the 25th is over, the whole country switches to getting ready for New Year. This page gathers the 2026 dates for the main events, plus the unwritten rules of a Japanese Christmas, so nothing catches you off guard.

This winter at a glance

3 Nov Midosuji and Hakata Station lights go on
5 Nov Roppongi Keyakizaka lights go on
12 Nov Marunouchi Illumination begins
20 Nov Sapporo, Tokyo and Yokohama markets open
4 Dec Sendai's Pageant of Starlight begins
16 Dec Cake reservation deadlines (Seven-Eleven in store)
24 Dec Christmas Eve (a weekday)
25 Dec Christmas Day; last day for most markets
26 Dec Japan switches to New Year mode
29 Dec Government year-end holiday (to 3 Jan)

Not a public holiday, yet the most glittering time of the year

Japan has no national holidays in December. In 2026, 24 December is a Thursday and 25 December a Friday, both normal working days. Older guidebooks may tell you 23 December is a day off for the Emperor's Birthday, but that dates from the Heisei era: the law changed with the imperial succession in 2019, and the Emperor's Birthday is now 23 February.

Even so, December streets go all-out for Christmas. Department stores and station buildings put up huge trees, and in the evening people come out to see the lit-up trees along the streets. Most Christmas markets also end on the 24th or 25th. Weekdays or not, expect the evenings of the 24th and 25th to be the busiest of the whole year.

A low table with a bucket of fried chicken and a strawberry shortcake, a small lit Christmas tree behind. — AI-generated illustration

KFC for Christmas: reserve, or you may miss out

In Japan, the classic Christmas dinner is Kentucky Fried Chicken. KFC Japan's company history records its first Christmas campaign in December 1974. Its signature Christmas product, the Party Barrel, went on sale in 1985 and turned 40 in 2025.

At this time of year KFC works on reservations. In 2025, bookings opened on 4 November in stores and through KFC's online ordering, with pick-up from 19 to 25 December, and an early-bird deal took 500 yen off for reservations made by 12 December. Bookings close once the planned number is reached, so if you want chicken on the 24th or 25th, reserve early. As of 2 November, KFC had not yet announced when 2026 reservations open.

Why do Japanese families eat KFC at Christmas? →

Strawberry shortcake is Japan's Christmas cake

A Japanese Christmas cake is almost always a strawberry shortcake: sponge, whipped cream and strawberries on top. According to the confectioner Fujiya's company history, it put a Christmas cake on sale in December 1910, the month after opening its shop in Motomachi, Yokohama, and began selling shortcake in 1922. Seven-Eleven also notes that the custom of eating cake at Christmas in Japan is said to have started as an idea from Western-style confectioners.

Cakes are usually reserved, too. Convenience stores, cake shops, department stores and hotels take orders from autumn. At Seven-Eleven, for example, 2026 reservations opened on 14 September; the in-store deadline is 16 December for pick-up on 19-23 December and 19 December for pick-up on the 24th or 25th. You can also order and pay in the 7NOW app and simply collect in store. There are small cakes for one or two people and cakes for some allergies.

Illuminations light up the winter nights

Light displays, called illuminations in Japan, are a fixture of winter. Sapporo White Illumination, which began in 1981 with about 1,000 bulbs in Odori Park, is known as the country's first, and 2026 is its 46th year. Sendai's Pageant of Starlight, which lights the zelkova trees of Jozenji-dori avenue, started in 1986 and reaches its 41st edition in 2026.

Most city-street illuminations are free to walk through. Those in theme parks and gardens charge admission, and some require date-specific advance tickets around Christmas. Kobe Luminarie is not a Christmas event: it began as a memorial to the victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and its next edition runs from 29 January to 7 February 2027.

Wooden Christmas market stalls with string lights and mugs of hot wine, office towers behind. — AI-generated illustration

German-born Christmas markets

In recent years, Christmas markets modelled on German ones have opened across Japan: wooden stalls selling hot mulled wine (Glühwein), sausages, stollen and tree ornaments. Sapporo's Munich Christmas Market grew out of the sister-city tie between Sapporo and Munich, began in 2002, and holds its 25th edition in 2026. Tokyo Christmas Market started in Hibiya Park in 2015; its symbol is a 14-metre Christmas pyramid from the German village of Seiffen.

Many markets are free to enter, but some charge. Tokyo Christmas Market (Shin-Toyosu) and the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse market charge higher entry fees on the 24th and 25th.

Christmas Mass at church

Churches in Japan hold Christmas Masses and services, and visitors who are not members can sometimes attend. St Mary's Cathedral in Bunkyo, Tokyo, replaced a church destroyed in the war; rebuilt with support from the Archdiocese of Cologne and designed by the architect Kenzo Tange, it was completed in 1964.

In 2025 it held Masses at 17:00 (parishioners only), 19:30 and 22:00 on the 24th, and at 10:00 on the 25th. The 2026 times had not been announced as of 2 November. Entry may be limited when it is crowded, so check the church's official site for the latest notice before you go.

A shop entrance with New Year bamboo and pine decorations, a Christmas wreath packed away beside it. — AI-generated illustration

After the 25th, Japan switches to New Year

Most Christmas markets and Christmas decorations end on 25 December. Many street illuminations carry on into the new year, though: Marunouchi stays lit until 14 February, the site-wide lights at Yebisu Garden Place until 28 February, and the square in front of Hakata Station until 11 January. Huis Ten Bosch switches to a Grand Finale Night with music and fireworks from 26 to 31 December.

For Japanese people, New Year matters far more than Christmas. Government offices close from 29 December to 3 January, and many companies take their holidays at the same time. People write New Year cards, eat soba noodles on New Year's Eve and visit a shrine on New Year's Day. Once Christmas is over, the preparations for all of that begin.

Illuminations

Major illuminations in 2026

North to south. Dates, hours and prices are from official announcements as of 2 November 2026.

from Nov 20

Hokkaido

Sapporo White Illumination

さっぽろホワイトイルミネーション

Odori Park and other venues, central Sapporo

Dates: Odori venue 20 Nov - 25 Dec 2026 / Ekimae-dori venue 20 Nov 2026 - 11 Feb 2027
Hours: 16:30-22:00 (until midnight on 23-25 Dec)

Japan's first illumination, started in 1981. New venues in 2026: the Former Hokkaido Government Office (the red-brick building) and Nakajima Park.

This winter at a glance

Not a public holiday, yet the most glittering time of the year

KFC for Christmas: reserve, or you may miss out

Strawberry shortcake is Japan's Christmas cake

Illuminations light up the winter nights

German-born Christmas markets

Christmas Mass at church

After the 25th, Japan switches to New Year

Major illuminations in 2026

Sapporo White Illumination

SENDAI Pageant of Starlight

Ashikaga Flower Park 'Garden of Light Flowers'

Marunouchi Illumination

Roppongi Hills Keyakizaka Illumination

Yebisu Garden Place Baccarat chandelier

Yomiuriland Jewellumination

Sagamiko Illumillion

Nabana no Sato Illumination

Midosuji Illumination

Umeda Sky Building Christmas

Hikari no Machi Hakata

Huis Ten Bosch: The Starlight Million Illumination

Major Christmas markets in 2026

Munich Christmas Market in Sapporo

Tokyo Christmas Market 2026

Roppongi Hills Christmas Market

Marunouchi Christmas Market

Yebisu Garden Place Christmas Marché

Tokyo Christmas Advent (Ueno Park)

Christmas Market 2026 at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

WONDER CHRISTMAS MARCHE (Umeda Sky Building)

Christmas Market in Hikari no Machi Hakata

Tips for Christmas in Japan

Say it in Japanese

Venues with a page on this site

More about this season