Mobara Tanabata Matsuri (Star Festival) 2025

A weekend packed with live performances, a vibrant atmosphere, and plenty of delicious treats.

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I first heard about Tanabata whilst teaching a sixth-grade class, just a month before the actual festival date.

After some initial research, I discovered that the Mobara festival is one of the three major Tanabata Festivals in the Kanto region, attracting huge amounts of visitors annually and being a highlight for many people in Chiba.

How incredible to have such an impressive event right on our doorstep!

We rallied the troops of fellow ALT pals in my area, and began making plans for a jam-packed weekend of fun.

What is Tanabata?

The story behind Tanabata is based on a Chinese legend which tells the story of two stars, Orihime and Hikoboshi, who are deeply in love, but only able to reunite by crossing the Milky Way one night per year.

Tanabata Matsuri is a very lively and vibrant festival, celebrating love, hope, and the power of wishes.

When is Tanabata?

The actual date of Tanabata varies across different areas of Japan, but it falls on July 7th in Chiba, which was a couple of weeks before my school broke up for Summer vacation.

To kick off the festivities, one of my special needs classes hosted their own mini Tanabata Festival before Summer vacation, so I was able to get a taste of the games, sweet treats, and customs I was to expect at the main Festival a few weeks later.

The classroom was packed with laughter and excitement, and I was really impressed with the carnival games that the children had managed to think up on their own, like a beetle battle, elastic band target shooting, and a lucky dip.

They were certainly very generous with their prizes; I went home that day with a selection of about ten different origami crafts, plus a bonus bowl of delicious yaki soba (pieces of cut-up brown wool and some pink paper for seasoning).

But, my favourite aspect of this mini festival, and the bigger festival to come, was the writing of wishes on tanzaku (colourful strips of paper) and hanging them on bamboo branches.

Not only are they beautiful to look at, but it was so heart-warming to see so many students taking part, and even helping me to write and hang my own tanzaku.

In the weeks leading up to the festival, these tanzaku branches started popping up all over town in supermarkets, cafes, and other public spaces, which really helped to generate excitement.

Mobara Tanabata Matsuri

On the day that the Festival officially opened, we made sure to get to the heart of the action in plenty of time to witness the opening ceremony.

Mobara Matsuri is held on the streets leading off the train station, and it continues all the way to City Hall (a stretch of just under 2km).

On our initial trek to the station, I started to wonder if the festival was much smaller than we had been led to believe; there were very few decorations in sight, and the crowds I was expecting to have to navigate through were nonexistent.

But as we turned the corner onto Dobyo Street, the Festival burst to life.

The main road had been shut off to vehicles and was instead packed on either side with market stalls and colourful decorations. At this point, they were still setting up for the weekend, which explained the lack of crowds (something I should have taken more advantage of before the evening).

For as far as the eye could see, there were stalls trailing off into the distance, each offering a variety of carnival games, traditional Japanese snacks and dishes, and souvenirs.

I was immediately drawn to the stand of Ichigo Ame (candied strawberries), which are very popular in Japan for good reason.

On our walk to the main stage, we wandered past stalls selling Japanese delicacies such as Takoyaki (octopus balls), and Karaage (fried chicken), as well as comically long chips, chocolate bananas, shaved ice, and cucumbers on a stick.

Whilst I'm typing this, I realise how odd a lot of these sound, but in the four months I've lived here, I've learnt to put a lot of faith into the weird and wonderful sounding Japanese snacks; you'll be surprised at just how tasty everything is.

Fans of Sanrio characters, anime, and pretty much any manga popular in Japan are sure to find a stall specifically dedicated to their interest.

My friends and I had plenty of fun at various themed stalls where we won packs of Pokémon cards, Hello Kitty postcards, and these clip-on rubber ducks that you can attach to your cap or hair, which proved to be a massive hit at the festival this year for some reason...

We visited the festival on three separate occasions across the weekend: once in the daytime, and twice in the evening.

For future reference, I'd highly recommend going in the late afternoon or evening.

Not only are the lights and general atmosphere more exciting, but you can also avoid the daytime heat.

Let me tell you, when I say that it was hot, I'm not referring to the mild British summertime heat that we love to complain about. I'm talking about a next-level, sticky, soul-draining, headache heat from the pits of hell.

A lot of the day consisted of me silently praying that I wouldn't bump into anyone I knew who might immediately presume I'd gone for a dip in one of the cool drink tubs.

For me, the biggest mystery of all is how on Earth Japanese locals manage to maintain a semblance of calm and composure despite the soaring temperatures.

Walking through the streets of amazing hand-crafted decorations and admiring the stalls and performances during daylight hours was such an incredible experience, but the evening festivities were far more bearable, even though it was still rather hot.

If you're not well accustomed to <32°C heat, I'd suggest waiting until later in the afternoon to explore the festival.

The crowds may be far bigger, but I'd much rather navigate my way through a packed crowd than get turned into a baked potato by the sun.

An Honest Review of Mobara Tanabata Matsuri

My first Mobara Tanabata Matsuri did not disappoint. It was such an uplifting, vibrant, and fun celebration for people of all ages, and it's a weekend that I will remember forever.

I thoroughly enjoyed venturing around my home city and seeing a few familiar faces along the way.

The food was exquisite, the atmosphere was electric, and I had the best company anyone could ask for.