Complete Guide to Kansai Summer Festivals [2025–2026]: Electrifying Stages and Performing Artists

Rockin’ Radio!, an FM802 event, is held every spring at Osaka Castle Outdoor Music Hall. It’s organized as a “Kansai-born omnibus rock event” that brings together the hottest rock bands of the moment. It’s a recommended event where you can enjoy live performances at a relatively affordable price.

This is an outdoor hip-hop festival held at Sora no Hiroba in Maishima Sports Island, Osaka. The event has previously featured up-and-coming rappers who are gaining attention worldwide. Amid the challenge of holding the festival safely during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, it will be conducted with attendance limited to one-third of the venue’s capacity, alongside simultaneous online live streaming. Why not join in from home and discover a new way to enjoy festivals?

Mihoudai, the large circuit festival held every year across multiple live venues around Osaka’s Amerikamura, will be back this year. The lineup is carefully selected by the Mihoudai staff from bands they’ve seen live over the past year, so you can catch a slew of artists who are really on the rise. Looks like we can expect plenty of wonderful bands again this year, don’t you think?

HOTHOTGUMBO ’92 was held in 1992. A single truck started at Shijō-Karasuma and slowly made its way to Kyoto University’s West Auditorium, performing live as it went. Inspired by that incredible event, HOT MOTTO GUMBO began in Osaka in 2013 and finally returned to Kyoto University’s West Auditorium in 2017. It’s a highly captivating event that feels packed with the culture of the time.

It’s a summer festival hosted by 10-FEET, a three-piece rock band from Kyoto. It began in 2007, but the inaugural event had to be canceled due to a typhoon. However, there’s a saying that festivals canceled by a typhoon in their first year go on to become beloved and popular events… True to that saying, this festival has seen various legends unfold every year—perhaps thanks to the mysterious power of the organizers, the three members of 10-FEET, and all the attendees. The overall atmosphere is known for being warm and friendly among both performers and visitors. It’s an essential event that marks the start of summer in Kyoto.