Jazz Festivals in Eastern Japan [2025–2026]: List of Jazz Streets

One of the world’s three major jazz festivals, the Montreux Jazz Festival, is set to be held in Tokyo this October as Montreux Jazz Festival Japan 2016! In addition to live performances by top artists from Japan and abroad, a variety of events such as workshops will also take place.

The cozy, community-driven music festival created by Tama Ward residents began in 2011. It’s held to provide a stage for artists active around Tama Ward and to boost local vitality and交流 through music. Participating artists cover a wide range of genres—jazz, brass band, dance, rock, pop—offering programs that people of all ages can enjoy. It’s a wonderful environment where local children can grow up familiar with music and have the chance to perform on stage. We hope you’ll join with your family!

It began in 1995 after the Moonlight Jazz Orchestra, an amateur big band that started full-scale activities in Nonoichi City in 1980, performed at a jazz festival in the United States. The event title “BIG APPLE” is a nickname for New York and was chosen to signify a place where the world’s top musicians gather.

This event, launched with the hope of brightening and energizing Niigata, is a jazz festival held at venues such as restaurants, jazz cafes, and halls throughout Niigata City. Influenced by the postwar occupation forces and the American Cultural Center, Niigata has long had strong ties to jazz. On this day, the city becomes a “music theme park,” offering a day of enjoyment for everyone from adults to children.