New York’s outdoor food festival season is about to get a delicious jumpstart. JAPAN Fes, one of the city’s most beloved street food events, is returning later this month to celebrate a major milestone: its 10th anniversary in New York City.
The festival officially launches its 2026 season on March 28 at Astor Place in the East Village, bringing dozens of Japanese food vendors to the streets for a full day of snacking, sipping and exploring. If you miss that first event, another festival will follow the very next day on March 29 on 40th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown.
And that’s just the beginning. Organizers say at least 34 JAPAN Fes events are already scheduled across New York City this year, with more likely to be added as the season unfolds. Each event typically runs from 10 am to 6 pm and pops up in neighborhoods across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
If you’ve never been, imagine a block party devoted entirely to Japanese street food. Vendors serve everything from teriyaki chicken skewers and crispy karaage to onigiri, ramen, takoyaki and yakisoba. Sweet treats like matcha shaved ice and bubble tea also make frequent appearances, along with Japanese snacks, crafts and cultural booths.
What started as a local New York City event in 2016 has grown into something much bigger. JAPAN Fes now hosts events around the world, including stops in Florida, Texas and even Paris. Organizers say 2026 will be the festival’s most ambitious year yet, with plans for more than 80 events globally.
The growing popularity reflects a wider appetite for Japanese culture and cuisine, but the festival’s mission goes beyond food. Organizers often talk about the concept of “wa,” the Japanese idea of harmony, which they see as the spirit behind bringing communities together through shared cultural experiences.
That international expansion is already underway this spring. Before arriving in New York, the 2026 season will kick off with events in Miami, Austin and Paris earlier in March. Still, New York remains the heart of it all. The city hosted the very first JAPAN Fes nearly a decade ago, and today it continues to hold the largest lineup of events anywhere in the world.
If you suddenly spot a street filled with the smell of sizzling yakisoba and fresh takoyaki this spring, chances are you’ve just wandered into one of the city’s tastiest festivals.
Here are the 2026 JAPAN Fes dates in NYC:
March
March 28 in the East Village
March 29 in Midtown West
April
April 4 in the Village
April 5 on the Upper West Side
April 11 in the East Village
April 12 in the East Village
April 18 in Morningside Heights
April 19 in Chelsea
April 25 in Chelsea
April 26 in Astoria
May
May 2 on the Upper East Side
May 3 on the Upper West Side
May 9 in Chelsea
May 24 in the Village
May 30 on the Upper East Side
May 31 in the East Village
June
June 6 in the East Village
June 7 on the Upper West Side
June 14 in the East Village
June 21 in Brooklyn
June 27 in Times Square
June 28 in Astoria
July
July 11 in Chelsea
July 19 in Times Square
August
August 2 on the Upper West Side
September
September 12 in Chelsea
September 13 in Chelsea
September 19 on the Upper East Side
September 26 in Morningside Heights
September 27 on the Upper East Side
October
October 3 in the East Village
October 10 in Astoria
October 24 in the East Village
October 25 on the Upper West Side