Zojoji Tanabata 2026: A Gloomy Milky Way Candle Night

Crowds gather for Zojoji Tanabata at twilight, with the illuminated Tokyo Tower rising behind the temple. — *Tokyo Tower watches over Zojoji Temple and the Tanabata Festival.*

I hadn’t been to the Zojoji Tanabata Festival for four years, which was in 2022. That year was my first time at the event, and I enjoyed it greatly. This time, in 2026, it was a mixed bag. I kind of had a good time. There were some good things and some not-so-good things. The main thing was to get good photos, but the weather gods did their best to make it hard. But the large crowd wasn’t deterred, they crowded the barrier waiting for the candles to be lit.

Crowds photograph a winding path of glowing lanterns on temple steps during Zojoji Tanabata at twilight. — *This was the Milky Way at Zojoji Tanabata.*

The 2026 opening ceremony

The event started with an opening ceremony by Zojoji’s chief priest and some acolytes. He talked about the tanzaku, the paper strips on which people write their wishes and tie them on symbolic trees in the hope they will get carried to heaven and made true. One of his points was that, no matter how hard we ask for divine help, we still need to make every effort to realize our dreams. Once the ceremony was over, a group of students lit the candles on Zojoji steps and in front of Koshoden hall and the photography part of the night started!

Japanese priest in purple robes speaks into a microphone, holding a whisk before stone steps with white candles. — *Zojoji’s chief priest leads a ceremony to open Zojoji Tanabata.*

A smaller candle display in 2026

I hate to say this, but the event was rather lacklustre. In 2022, the Zojoji Tanabata candles stretched to the stairs in front of Sangedatsu Gate. That was quite a distance and the scene looked great. In most people’s imagination, it must have resembled the Milky Way.

Colorful paper tanzaku wish strips hang from a bamboo frame at a Japanese temple. — *Tanazaku (strips of paper for writing wishes) hang on a symbolic tree.*

Well, in 2026 the candles were only on the stairs immediately in front of the temple. That was disappointing to say the least. Instead of seeing thousands of candles, there were a few hundred. But there was another display.

Lanterns form a winding path and star patterns at Zojoji Tanabata, with the illuminated Tokyo Tower in the distance. — *Koshoden Hall had the most stars.*

Another river with some stars was in front of Koshoden Hall. That was also probably a few hundred candles. It wasn’t what I was hoping to see. I had hoped for something grander, but left disappointed.

Glowing lanterns create a winding path up temple steps for Zojoji Tanabata as crowds gather at dusk.

Tokyo Tower in the gloom

The thing that didn’t change was Tokyo Tower! Towering over Zojoji Temple, it still looked great when the lights went on. It was such a pity we couldn’t see the Milky Way above it. Wouldn’t that be a sight?

Crowds at Zojoji Tanabata at twilight, with Tokyo Tower rising behind the main hall under a heavy, overcast sky. — *Tokyo Tower watches over Zojoji Temple and the Tanabata Festival.*

Low light & high ISO challenges

This year, the weather was terrible. Rain had threatened earlier in the day, but the night was just overcast. The sky was covered in a thick grey mush, which wasn’t a great background.

That gloom made my job hard. My Canon RF24-105mm F4 L IS USM wasn’t great for such conditions which led to me shooting at f4 and ISO 25000. I knew my grain and noise were going to fill my photos, but thankfully Adobe Lightroom’s Denoise handled it quite well. Hopefully, a faster lens will be in my bag next time.

Crowds photograph rows of glowing paper lanterns at Zojoji Tanabata, with colorful wish strips in the background. — *Zojoji Tanabata always draw large crowds.*

Was Zojoji Tanabata 2026 worth it?

This is a hard question. I’m always happy to photograph any event in Tokyo, but I appreciate nice weather with which to do it. Most of all, to see fewer candles at the event was disappointing. When the Milky Way is above us at night, it takes up the whole sky, not just one tiny corner like the steps of a temple. That was disappointing. Hopefully, 2027 will have something better to offer us.

Temple roof at Zojoji Tanabata framed against the illuminated Tokyo Tower and Azabudai Hills at twilight.

Photography gear for this shoot

Camera body: Canon EOS R5
Lens: Canon RF24-105mm F4 L IS USM

Two Buddhist monks in green robes chanting on stone steps; one holds a ceremonial bell during a ritual. — *Buddhist priests during a chant.*

To learn more about the history of Tanabata and photo tips look at [Zojoji Tanabata Festival 2022]. You can also look at the photos to compare the two events.