Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival will take place April 10-12, 2026 in the Armory Food & Event Hall, Fisher Pavilion, and Exhibition Hall (Saturday only). The festival is part of the Seattle Center Festál series. It is free and open to the public.
Seattle Center Festál is a year-round series of 25 free cultural festivals, produced in partnership with community organizations. In 2022, Festál celebrated 25 years of stories and traditions, ushering in a new era of hybrid programming. Learn more about Festál and subscribe to the newsletter for updates.
EVENT Schedule – Friday, April 10: 11am-5pm
ARMORY STAGE
|
Time
|
Activity/Performance
|
|
5:00pm
|
Opening Ceremony (45 mins)
|
ARMORY FLOOR
|
Time
|
Activity
|
|
11:00am-4:00pm
|
Tegata “hand print” making - ink your hand and make a print on a traditional shikishi board, like sumo wrestlers do
|
|
ALL-DAY
|
Japanese Crane Games - “play until you win”. Paid experience by Amusy Entertainment.
Amusy Entertainment specializes in Japanese claw machines and operates vending locations in malls, restaurants, and retail stores across the Pacific Northwest. We also began participating in community events in 2024 featuring our “play until you win” experience, designed so every guest can enjoy the excitement of winning a prize. All prizes are carefully imported from Japan and include a wide selection of officially branded/licensed products from trusted brands such as YELL, SK Japan, Bandai, & Furyu. At the Festival, we will sell tokens for play, and each machine will be set to our guaranteed win style, creating a fun, friendly, and memorable entertainment experience for all ages.
|
ARMORY BALCONY – KIMONO TRY-ON (ALL-DAY)
- The Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association (SKSCA) is a volunteer-based 501(c)3 nonprofit association that helps promote and facilitate friendly relations between Seattle and our sister city of Kobe, Japan. They welcome anyone with an interest in Japan to check out our activities, and you’ll find our members have many ties in Kobe and the surrounding Kansai region. This year, they will once again offer guests the chance to dress up in a selection of kimono and yukata and take photographs.
ARMORY LOFT HALLWAY & LOBBY – ART EXHIBIT (ALL-DAY)
This year’s art exhibit will feature more than 120 pieces by over 30 talented PNW artists – with both 2D and 3D pieces on display in a variety of styles. This is significantly more artists and pieces than 2025! All the pieces share one thing in common – an inspiration from Japan, whether that be subject, technique, or style.
Most of the pieces will be available to purchase, which supports the artists as well as the festival and city of Seattle. Please join us up in the Armory Loft and take in all these beautiful pieces!
This year, Kenji Stoll of Tacoma, Washington, will display an original temporary mural inspired by the Festival theme, Sakura Monogatari.
Check out a selection of the artists who will be exhibiting below!
Selected 2026 Artists
ARMORY LOFT – TEA STAGE
|
Time
|
Activity/Performance
|
|
10:00am
|
Hand Puppets & Stories – Lori Whaley (30 mins)
|
|
2:00pm
|
Haiku Northwest (30 mins)
Haiku Northwest is one of the premier haiku organizations in the Pacific Northwest and America. Based in Seattle/Bellevue and founded in 1988 by Francine Porad, Haiku Northwest is a group of active poets that love to share and discuss haiku and related forms of poetry. They host monthly meetings, quarterly field trips, and gather for our annual Seabeck Haiku Getaway in October. The Seabeck event is one of the most important immersive haiku festivals in North America. They will be doing readings of haiku at the Tea Ceremony stage in the Armory Lofts during the weekend.
|
ARMORY LOFT 2 – ACTIVITIES (ALL-DAY)
- Learn the Game of Go
- The Seattle Go Center teaches and promotes the Asian game of Go. This 4000-year-old strategy board game continues to fascinate players around the world. They have a mission to spread peace through the game of Go and aim to spread it throughout the area.
- Calligraphy Display by Beikoku Shodo Kenkyukai Seattle Chapter
- For more than 60 years, the organization has continued to promote and preserve the highest standard of Japanese Calligraphy otherwise found only in Japan, through local education and cultural exchange.
ARMORY LOFT 3 (ALL-DAY)
FISHER PAVILION – ACTIVITIES (ALL-DAY)
- Make Your Own Soroban (abacus) with the Seattle Abacus School
- Seattle Abacus School is an educational organization dedicated to teaching Japanese abacus (soroban) and mental math to children. At this year’s Festival, we will offer a hands-on “Make Your Own Abacus” activity, where children can create their own mini abacus while learning how numbers are represented visually. This interactive experience introduces the beauty of Japanese learning culture through play, creativity, and math. A materials fee will be collected for participation.
- Uchiwa Fan Making with the JCCCW
- Japanese Name Tags with the Seattle Japanese Language School
FOOD VENDORS
- Egg Roll Hut
- Enjoy authentic Asian food – Filipino, Vietnamese, & Japanese. Eggrolls, lumpias, gyoza, tempura shrimp, Yakisoba noodles, rice, teriyaki chicken, humbaos, tea, lychee lemonade, and cinnamon stick dessert!
- Hokkaido Ramen SANTOUKA
- Hokkaido Ramen SANTOUKA is a Japanese ramen restaurant that has proudly served the Washington community for over 10 years. Their mission is to share authentic, high-quality Japanese cuisine while building meaningful connections with their neighbors. At this year’s Festival, their booth will focus on providing freshly prepared ramen and traditional Japanese bento during the Sumo Tournament on Saturday, highlighting comforting flavors and careful craftsmanship. We are honored to celebrate Japanese culture through food and contribute to a vibrant, family-friendly community experience.
- Koto Jelly Coffee
- Koto Jelly Coffee is the first dessert bar in Japanese-origin drinkable jelly coffee and tea.
- The jellies are made with freshly brewed coffee and carefully selected matcha from Japan. They use agar for the jellies, making them suitable for everyone including vegetarians and vegans!
- Modern Japanese Cuisine & Setsuko Pastry
- Setsuko Pastry is a healthy alternative pastry option with a Japanese spin. Their creations are all original recipes and are made from scratch with a low sugar content, no artificial flavors, and no preservatives.
- Sakura Sweets
- Sakura Sweets is a Shoreline-based cottage bakery founded by Masami, a Japan native who deeply loves sakura (cherry blossoms). The name “Sakura” means cherry blossom in English, reflecting her passion for these beloved spring flowers. At this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival, we will feature sakura-inspired floral cupcakes designed to be delicate in both appearance and flavor. We will also offer sakura cookies and sakura cake pops, along with seasonal floral cupcakes that celebrate the beauty of spring. Each petal is individually hand-piped with care.
- Tokara
- Their focus this year is perfecting cherry blossom-themed wagashi and providing sense of Japanese culture. We will introduce the joy of pairing our wagashi with matcha and other green tea, with a fine atmosphere.
