Hiroshima's Must-See September 2025 Event: Japan's Largest Dahlia Festival at Sera Kogen Farm - Complete Travel Guide
Hiroshima Prefecture is the 12th most populous prefecture in Japan and represents one of the leading regional cities in western Japan. Not only is commerce well-developed in the city center, but the suburbs also offer rich natural beauty to enjoy. Since the northern part of the prefecture is surrounded by mountains and the southern part by the sea, you can enjoy both mountain and ocean nature.
Additionally, September in Hiroshima is the best season for events. There are plenty of events that can only be participated in during September in Hiroshima, where you can enjoy various things such as Japanese traditions and beautiful scenery.
Author's Carefully Selected Must-Visit Hiroshima Events in September
Innoshima Suigun Festival - Island Fire Festival
Source:Official website
From around the mid-14th century, pirates called the Murakami Suigun (Murakami Navy) were active in the waters near Hiroshima. Rather than repeatedly engaging in robbery at sea, these "pirates" were like champions of justice who maintained order in maritime transportation and distribution.
This event is modeled after the triumph ceremony following the return of the Murakami Suigun. The island people perform welcome dances and taiko drum performances, and the armored navy members showcase taiko drumming. Additionally, there are about two times during the festival when the audience can join in dancing. You can experience something like time travel by watching the festival and dancing together. It's very enjoyable to contemplate what kind of existence these pirates were to the villagers while participating in the festival.
Information
- Date: September 20, 2025
- Access: 25 minutes by route bus from JR Onomichi Station to Innoshima Habu Port, get off at Innoshima Ohashi, 10-minute walk
- Admission: Free
- Website: https://0845.boo.jp/suigun/fire
"Innoshima Suigun Festival - Sea Festival" is scheduled for August
Source:Official website
Actually, the Innoshima Suigun Festival is an event consisting of three parts: "Island Festival," "Fire Festival," and "Sea Festival." In fact, only the "Sea Festival" among these takes place in August.
This event features a 1km race using small wooden warships that recreate one of the ships used by the Murakami Suigun. Fourteen crew members row the ship with full force to the rhythm of Japanese taiko drums. This powerful event should definitely be enjoyed as a set!
Information
- Date: August 31, 2025
- Access: 25 minutes by route bus from JR Onomichi Station to Innoshima Habu Port, get off at Innoshima Ohashi, 10-minute walk
- Admission: Free
- Website: https://0845.boo.jp/suigun/sea
Mitsujo Tumulus "Light Banquet"
Source:Chugoku Shimbun Digital
Mitsujo Tumulus is a massive tomb built in the first half of the 5th century, boasting Hiroshima's largest size of 92 meters. This tomb has undergone extensive research and maintenance, recreating its original appearance when it was built. The stacked stones and pottery placed around the perimeter are extremely beautiful, like a temple that might appear in a video game.
The day when Mitsujo Tumulus shines most beautifully throughout the year is during the 'Hikari no Utage' (Light Banquet) event. Thousands of lanterns are placed on top of and around Mitsujo Tumulus, gently illuminating the surroundings. The sight of countless small lights floating in the dark night and the large tumulus dimly emerging behind them is so beautiful that I wanted to just stand there silently and gaze at it forever.
The best spot for this event is the view from the top of the tumulus. The scenery of small lights spreading out with yourself at the center is also an unforgettable spectacular view for a lifetime.
Information
- Date: 2025 TBD (typically late September to early October)
- Access: 3-minute walk from Mitsujo Tumulus-mae bus stop
- Admission: Free
- Website: https://www.higashihiroshima-digital.com/event-0926-hikarinoutage/
Recommended Historical Tour for Those Interested in Historical Spots
Miyajima is an island famous for its torii (shrine gate) floating on the sea and is one of Hiroshima's premier tourist attractions. The Miyajima Half-day Trip Historical Walking Tour allows you to thoroughly enjoy the island's charms, including Miyajima's beautiful scenery, delicious food, and interactions with friendly wild deer.
Actually, this island has deep connections with Japanese Shintoism and Buddhism. Things you wouldn't understand just by sightseeing, such as Japanese religious perspectives, can be learned deeply through this tour guided by local tour guides.
Tour Details
- Meeting point: In front of Coin Operated Locker at outside of JR Miyajimaguchi Station
- Tour area: Miyajima
- Start time: 9:30
Events in Hiroshima in September 2025 Where You Can Experience the Beauty of Japanese Nature
Experience the stunning Hiroshima Event September 2025 season with these magnificent natural attractions that showcase Japan's seasonal beauty at its finest.
Dahlia Festival
Source:Official website
Here, you can enjoy 550 varieties and 7,500 dahlia plants. Dahlias are flowers that vary completely in color and shape depending on the variety. Some flowers have several flat petals, while others have so many petals that overflow to make the entire flower round in shape. Both enjoying the flower fields from a distance and observing each individual flower up close are recommended ways to appreciate them.
During the same period, a Garden Mum flower festival is also held. Garden Mums are a type of chrysanthemum, and the sight of small flower clusters lined up like mountains is truly beautiful.
After walking around the flower fields, try climbing the observation deck at the end. You can overlook both the dahlias and garden mums. When viewed from a distance, the flowers look like a colorful carpet, offering a different beauty from what you see up close.
Information:
- Dates: September 13, 2025 (Saturday) to November 3, 2025 (Monday, National Holiday)
- Access: Direct bus from Hiroshima Bus Center
*"Sera Farm Flower Tour Ticket" available with admission fee included for great value
- Admission: Adults: 600-1,200 yen
Children: 300-600 yen
Under 3 years old & Pets: Free
- Website: https://sera.ne.jp/sk/dahlia/
Cosmos Festival
Source:Shobara Kankonavi
This event features 6 varieties of approximately 2.2 million cosmos flowers in full bloom. The sight of entire hills covered in pink and purple has a beauty like a scene from a picture book, perfect for social media photos. The time spent leisurely strolling through the park while viewing the flowers will surely become a healing time that helps you forget your busy daily life.
During the festival period, you can enjoy more than just cosmos flowers. You can enjoy outdoor activities like rental bicycles, athletics, and canoeing in the clean air right next to the flower fields. Furthermore, there are abundant events you can only enjoy here, including Japanese traditions like pottery classes and kagura (traditional Japanese dance), as well as local cuisine cooking using seasonal ingredients.
The attractive point of this event is that you can enjoy both beautiful flowers and experiences you can only have here.
Information:
- Dates: September 13, 2025 (Saturday) to October 19, 2025 (Sunday)
*Irregular holidays, please check the official website
- Access: Depending on the season, direct bus to "Kokueі Bihoku Kyuryo Park" available via Bihoku Transportation express bus
- Admission: Senior: 210 yen
Adults: 450 yen
Children: Free
- Website: https://www.bihokupark.jp/special/autumn
*2024 information
Autumn Flower Festival
Source:PR TIMES
This event also features cosmos flowers blooming densely across 7 hectares. Walking surrounded 360° by cosmos, combined with the warm autumn weather and cool breeze, feels very pleasant.
For those who want to enjoy a unique experience at this event, early morning opening is recommended. In this area, you can see "sea of clouds" (unkai). "Sea of clouds" is a phenomenon where you can look down on clouds spreading like an ocean, and the sight of the sea of clouds extending endlessly is very beautiful.
In this park, you can see a fantastic landscape with sea of clouds on one side and cosmos flower fields on the other. It makes you feel as if you're playing in a flower field of a garden floating in the sky, which is very enjoyable. Also, watching the dim morning light illuminate the cosmos and seeing the cosmos gradually become more vibrant as the sun rises higher is a special experience you can only have here.
Information:
- Dates: September 6 (Saturday) to November 3 (Monday)
- Access: JR Onomichi Station → China Bus (bound for Kozan Sales Office) about 1 hour 5 minutes → Get off at Kozan Sales Office bus stop → About 20 minutes by taxi
- Admission: Adults: 1,000 yen
Early morning opening, Adults: 2,000 yen
- Website: https://www.serayurien.com/
Viewing the Higanbana Colony in Tsuji
Higanbana (red spider lily) is a very rare flower that blooms only in parts of East Asia. It's commonly seen scattered along rivers and rice field paths. Actually, seeing this flower in colonies is very rare. Here, through careful care by local residents, there's a higanbana flower field that spreads wider than examples found anywhere else in the world.
Higanbana is sometimes called by a name meaning "flower that blooms in heaven." This flower has a mysterious shape and is so intensely red that I've never seen anything like it - I truly felt an otherworldly beauty from it. Here, there's a small path in the middle of the higanbana flower field that you can walk through. You can feel a mysterious sense of elation, as if walking on a path to another world.
In recent years, higanbana has appeared as an important element in Demon Slayer. If you'd like to actually see the higanbana that appeared in the anime, please visit here.
Information:
- Dates: Usually reaches peak viewing in late September
- Access: About 5 minutes walk from "Otani Bridge (Juban Transportation)" bus stop
- Admission: Free
- Reference Website: https://tabetainjya.com/archives/cat_2/post_3699/
3 Local Recommendations for Events to Enjoy in Hiroshima in September
The charm of Hiroshima in September extends beyond just history and nature. What we'd like to introduce lastly are the enjoyable Hiroshima Events that you simply cannot miss when visiting in September 2025. Each of these spectacular Hiroshima Events is absolutely wonderful, overflowing with the smiles of local people and creating unforgettable memories for tourists.
Miyajima Fireworks Night 2025 ～ Fireworks After All! Miyajima After All!
Source:TSS
This magnificent Hiroshima Event scheduled for September 2025 is a fireworks display held at Miyajima, which we introduced earlier as a place you can tour. This outstanding Hiroshima Event promises to be even more spectacular than the 2024 display, where 2,500 fireworks brightly colored the sky of Miyajima for 30 minutes.
The number one attraction of this event is the collaboration between the torii gate and fireworks. The contrast of the pitch-black sky, bright red torii gate, and colorful fireworks is absolutely beautiful. Another attractive point is that you can enjoy two aspects of Japanese traditional culture beauty simultaneously.
Also, food and light meals are sold along the coast right after getting off the ferry. Please enjoy Japanese festival gourmet food here.
Actually, the tour we introduced earlier can also end with dissolution at Miyajima. My recommended way to spend the day is to thoroughly enjoy Miyajima from morning with a tour guide, then enjoy fireworks with friends and family at night.
Information:
- Date: TBD (September 28, 2024 in the previous year)
- Access: From Miyajimaguchi Pier to Miyajima Pier by ferry (approximately 10 minutes)
- Admission: Free
- Website: https://www.tss-tv.co.jp/hanabi2024/
Sagaribana and Night Plants Competition
Source:Yahoo! News
This enchanting Hiroshima Event taking place in September 2025 is held at The Hiroshima Botanical Garden, a botanical garden where plants from all over the world gather, from popular plants to rare ones. This unique Hiroshima Event offers tourists a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness nature's nocturnal beauty.
One of the rare plants you can see here is "Sagaribana." Sagaribana blooms from evening to night and scatters by morning. This flower with pale, thin petals is so delicate that it seems like it would break just by looking at it, and it truly has the ephemeral quality of dropping its flowers in just a few hours.
Besides Sagaribana, there are also flowers that bloom at night and flowers whose fragrance becomes stronger at night. Please come see the beautiful flowers that can only be seen at night.
Also, various events are held during this event period. There are plenty of fun events including flower lighting and illumination, kitchen cars, and more.
Information:
- Date: September 6 (Sat), 13 (Sat), 14 (Sun), 20 (Sat), 27 (Sat)
- Access: Direct bus from Hiroshima Bus Center, JR Hiroden Itsukaichi Station North Exit (via Botanical Garden to Yakushigaoka Danchi)
- Admission: Ages 18-64: 510 yen
Ages 64+, High school students: 170 yen
Junior high school students and below: Free
- Website: http://www.hiroshima-bot.jp/info/%e3%82%b5%e3%82%ac%e3%83%aa%e3%83%90%e3%83%8a%e3%81%a8%e5%a4%9c%e3%81%ae%e6%a4%8d%e7%89%a9%e3%81%ae%e7%ab%b6%e6%bc%94%ef%bc%88%e5%a4%9c%e9%96%93%e9%96%8b%e5%9c%92%ef%bc%89/
Fog Beach Opening
This breathtaking Hiroshima Event beginning in September 2025 takes place at Takataniyama Observatory, an observation deck located at an altitude of 491 meters, where you can overlook the city from a two-story deck. This remarkable Hiroshima Event offers tourists an extraordinary natural spectacle that continues through December.
This is also a popular spot for beautiful sea of clouds, which can be seen in the morning from late September to early December. The sight of mountains surrounding the city rising like islands floating in a sea of clouds is absolutely beautiful. The time when the sun rises is especially recommended. The way the morning sun slowly rises from below the clouds and the sea of clouds and mountains gradually become clearly visible makes you feel as if the brilliance of the scenery is becoming stronger and stronger.
Also, you can enjoy the entire city during the day and the city's night view at night. This is an attractive spot where you can enjoy the mountain's fresh air and beautiful scenery all day long.
Information:
- Date: Sea of clouds is most likely to occur from late September to early December
- Access: 30 minutes by taxi from JR Miyoshi Station
- Admission: Free
- Website: https://www.miyoshi-dmo.jp/play/takataniyama/
Have a Local Guide Who Knows the Area Inside and Out Show You Around Hiroshima's Peace Spots!
Hiroshima is a city that suffered great damage during World War II. The Hiroshima Peace (Heiwa) Walking Tour at World Heritage Sites tours spots related to war and peace, including the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which conveys the damage of the atomic bomb to future generations.
This is a tour where you can experience the tragedy of war and the city and people of Hiroshima who have struggled and continue to struggle to overcome that sadness. This tour should be the first step in thinking about peace.
Tour Details:
- Meeting point: In front of the mont-bell store near Nishi Kamiyacho Station
- Tour area: Hiroshima
- Start time: 10:00
