10 Events in Tokyo Prefecture That You Shouldn't Miss

11,000 fireworks light up the night on the Arakawa River during the Itabashi Hanabitaikai. With the Todabashi bridge in the background, the popular summer display attracts a number of visitors eager to see the bright lights and brilliant displays. Many guests don summer yukata, and go early to reserve their viewing spots.

The Illumination along Nakadori in Marunouchi runs from November to February every year and reflects the style and classy atmosphere of the surrounding neighbourhood. There are few gimmicks and the organisers rise above the continuing arms-race in Tokyo Illuminations with an understated display that complements Nakadori's European-style boulevard. The many trees along Nakadori are tastefully lit with eco-friendly LED bulbs, bathing the area in the signature 'champagne gold' colour that says everything about the luxury designer shops and financial powerhouses lining the street. The flagstones and cobbles, the sophisticated sculpture, the myriad of shopping and dining complexes, art galleries, luxury hotels and mixture of glitz with classical facades all conceal what used to be a rather staid and conservative business district. Before that, Marunouchi ('within the enclosure') was within the outer moat of Edo Castle and was the home of the most powerful feudal lords during the Edo period.

Sanja Matsuri is one of Tokyo's three great summer festivals. It takes place late in May and celebrates the founding of Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. The festival has been running for over 700 years and today draws about two million visitors to the neighbourhood over the course of three days of processions and dances leading up to a parade of three enormous Mikoshi (portable shrines) carried precariously on the shoulders of locals. The shrines are ornate with black lacquer and gold leaf and elaborate purple and vermilion ropes, and weigh about 1 ton each. There's an incredibly charged atmosphere as the people carrying them shout in rhythm and bounce and jostle the shrines to wake up the spirits inside and encourage them to spread luck and prosperity throughout the surrounding neighbourhoods. The mood of celebration and street party atmosphere is packed with the sights and sounds of formal processions with ancient costumes and traditional music, geisha and taiko performances, yakuza gangsters showing off their tattoos, all mixed with the aroma of hundreds of impromptu food stands in the streets.

The annual Tokyo Marathon welcomes over 35,000 runners. One of the six World Marathon Majors, participants run a route that takes them whirring past the Tokyo Imperial Palace, around the Tokyo Big Sight, and towards the finish line that awaits in the distance. Whether visiting as a spectator or a runner, fanfare around the event is high, with onlookers in the thousands cheering on racers as they take on 26 miles of open road in under seven hours.

First held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in 1934 with the aim of improving bonsai art and developing traditional Japanese culture, the "Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition" has a history of more than 80 years. On display at the venue are the prized creations of selected bonsai enthusiasts. And after rigorous examination of such factors as beauty and condition, the most outstanding works are presented with the Kokufu Award. The oldest and the largest bonsai exhibition in Japan, it is widely known at home and abroad as the place to see the best bonsai in the world.

The Chiyoda Cherry Blossom Matsuri is held when cherry blossoms are in bloom at Chidorigafuchi Moat, Yasukuni Shrine, and Kanda Shrine, all famous cherry blossom spots. In the evening, the trees are lit up along the Chidorigafuchi walking path and you can rent a rowboat at the Chidorigafuchi boat pier and see the lit-up flowers from the water. Meanwhile, Yasukuni Shrine's Sakura Festival has many stalls, attracting many visitors. On the weekend, free shuttle buses run between the major cherry blossom spots.

The Musashimurayama City Tourism Noryo Fireworks are held at the athletic field of Noyama Kita Park amid the Sayama Hills. Dance and live band performances are also staged. The many food stalls add to the bustling atmosphere. Also popular are the "Message Fireworks" where a message, such as a wedding or childbirth announcement or disaster recovery prayer, is announced before the firework is launched. You can hear all kinds of messages attached to the fireworks. (Messages must be submitted in advance.)

Along the Meguro River, trees burn bright blue and pink for the Illumination festivities. Crafted to turn the drab winter scenery into a dreamscape that delights the imagination and charms the senses, thousands of LED lights are used to brighten the river walk during the Meguro Illumination. Most impressive of all the displays is the "Sakura Namiki" Illumination, which singularly utilizes nearly 160,000 LEDs to recreate the springtime burst of delicate magenta cherry blossoms. Also unmissable is the "Kodomotachi no Yume Tree", or Children's Dream Tree, constructed from recycled bottles and lit by the green energy created by passing foot traffic.

Held at Yasukuni Shrine, the Mitama Matsuri festival is one of Tokyo's great Obon festivals, held to honor ancestors. 30,000 bright paper lanterns line the walk to the main shrine, throwing delicate and haunting light onto the footpaths. Mikoshi shrine parades and traditional song and dance troupes take to the street over four days of celebration. As it is a festival of the dead, sometimes pop-up haunted houses are incorporated.