Chinese Spring Festival (Lunar New Year)
Don’t feel discouraged if you haven’t been sticking to your 2025 resolutions. According to the lunar calendar, we still have a few more days before we officially enter the 2025 new year, which begins on January 29. If you want to celebrate the year of the snake in Japan, there are few better places to visit than Yokohama Chinatown, which has observed Chinese Spring Festival traditions since 1986.
This year’s programme will kick off on the evening of January 28 with a midnight countdown at Yamashitacho Park. The festivities run through February 12, featuring a host of performances, food pop-ups and lantern displays. Here are the highlights to look forward to.
February 1 (Sat), 2 (Sun), 1pm-5pm: a showcase of acrobatics, lion and dragon dances and other spectacles will take to the stage at Yamashitacho Park. Everyone is welcome to catch the performances for free, but you should purchase tickets online in advance for the best seats.
February 8 (Sat), 9 (Sun), times unrevealed: for the first time this year, a street entertainment show will be held in an undisclosed location within Yokohama Chinatown. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a spontaneous lion dance show.
February 11 (Tue), 4.30pm: the Shukumai-yuko procession will begin at Yamashitacho Park, where a dazzling ensemble of lion dancers, rickshaws carrying people dressed as famous Chinese emperors, and other performing artists parade through Kanteibyo Street, Fukken Road, Nishimon Street and Minami-mon Silk Road. The...