is an annual music festival held in July at Naeba Ski Resort in Yuzawa, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan and one of the country's major annual music festivals. In 2005, more than 100,000 people attended the festival.
Fuji Rock Festival is named so because the first event in 1997 was held at the base of Mount Fuji. The festival moved to Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata in 1999.
Festival grounds
There are seven main stages and other minor stages scattered throughout the site. The Green stage is the main stage and it has a capacity for almost 50,000 spectators. Other stages include the White Stage, the Red Marquee, Orange Court, and Field of Heaven. The walks between some of the stages can be long, and some of the trails can be hilly, but the walks are beautiful, often taking you through forests and over sparkling streams. Dragondola – the longest gondola lift in the world, carries festival goers up to the top of the mountain overlooking the festival site.
The hub of the site is called Oasis where more than 30 food stalls from around the world gather. The main site closes each night after the final act, but Oasis continues to stay open until late at night, as well as the Red Marquee where an all-night rave continues until 5am. The site re-opens at 9am.
The night before the festival (Thursday night) features an opening party which is free entry, featuring bon-odori (traditional Japanese folk dance), prize draws, food stalls and a fireworks display.
The festival's stated aim is to be "The cleanest festival in the world"; great effort is also put into recycling.
Accommodation Although Naeba, being a ski resort, offers a number of accommodation options such as hotels, ryokan and minshuku within walking distance of the festival site, competition for these is fierce and they tend to book out very quickly. Many festival goers find accommodation in nearby ski resorts such as Tashiro, Asagai and Mitsumata – the free shuttle bus linking JR Echigo-Yuzawa Station in the town of Yuzawa to the festival site can be used for these areas which are en route. Some even find accommodation in the numerous options available in Yuzawa itself. The shuttle bus takes between 40 minutes to an hour each way and runs until 2am each night.
Alternatively, there is a campsite on a golf course next to the festival site which costs for the weekend (2011), complete with toilets, showers and food stalls. About 17,000 festival goers choose to spend their nights here every year. The campsite is hilly in many places and flat spots are taken quickly, however, the manicured putting greens, which are the flattest areas are generally out of bounds to campers.
In previous years many took the option of sleeping rough – a relatively common practise amongst young Japanese during the warmer months thanks to a low crime rate – in the vicinity of the site and Echigo-Yuzawa Station, however this is now prohibited.
Access The festival is a free 40–60-minute shuttle bus ride from in the town of Yuzawa, on the line which link it to in about 90 minutes. JR Shinkansen ticket, Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa is one way (for a reserved seat). Car parking also available for per day at the festival site area.
History
The first year of the festival, held on Tenjinyama Ski Resort near Mt Fuji (and hence the name), was a disaster. It was scheduled to be a two-day event, but by sheer bad luck the first day of the event was struck by a typhoon. The Red Hot Chili Peppers' headline set, played through a storm despite Anthony Kiedis having a broken arm, is almost legendary amongst Fuji Rock veterans. The festival-goers were poorly prepared for the heavy rain and strong winds, and many needed medical attention from hypothermia (although no deaths occurred). The organisers decided to cancel the second day of the event (which turned out to be sunny), and thus ended Japan's first outdoor rock festival. The organizers were criticized for being poorly prepared for bad weather, and for not organising enough buses to link the site to the nearest train station.
The second year, the festival moved to a temporary location in Toyosu, on Tokyo's waterfront. Although the event was a success, many found the searing heat of mid-summer Tokyo too much to bear, and it was decided that the next event was to return to the relative coolness of the mountains.
It was in 1999 the festival found its home in Naeba, Niigata prefecture. Naeba is not anywhere close to Mt. Fuji, however, the festival still retains its original name. After the horrific first year, the organizers have been running the festival smoothly up until present.
2026 The festival will be held from July 24 until 26. The headline acts will be the xx, Khruangbin and Massive Attack.
Green StageFridaySaturdaySundayThe xx
Hi-Standard Turnstile Loyle Carner My Hair is Bad Route 17 Rock'n'Roll Orchestra USKhruangbin
Fujii Kaze Basement Jaxx IO Trueno BialystocksMassive Attack
Susumu Hirasawa + EJIＮ Mogwai Kneecap Donavon Frankenreiter Hirai Dai
White StageFridaySaturdaySundayAsian Kung-Fu Generation
Arlo Parks Toro y Moi Yo-Sea Son Rompe Pera KOTORITomora
XG Joey Valence & Brae Kroi Bohemian Betyars Riddim SaunterMitski
Tempalay Geordie Greep Sofia Isella Grapevine Mono No Aware
Other major acts includes Hyukoh, Sunny Day Service, American Football, Snail Mail, Thurston Moore Group, The Beths, The Lemon Twigs, Ichiro Yamaguchi, Lettuce, BadBadNotGood, Never young beach, Ogre You Asshole, and more.
2025 The festival was held from July 25 until 27. The headline acts were Fred Again, Vulfpeck and Vampire Weekend. Attendance for the weekend was 122,000 guests, with both the Saturday single-day tickets and the three-day passes selling out. 2025 also saw the addition of a new stage, Orange Echo, and the closure of the Day Dreaming stage on top of the mountain.
Green StageFridaySaturdaySundayFred Again
Vaundy Hyukoh & Sunset Rollercoaster Brahman Route 17 Rock'n'Roll Orchestra USVulfpeck
Tatsuro Yamashita James Blake STUTS Ohzora Kimishima Ca7riel & Paco AmorosoVampire Weekend
Radwimps Little Simz Creepy Nuts Naotarō Moriyama Red Hot Chilli Pipers
White StageFridaySaturdaySundaySuchmos
OK Go Miyavi Mdou Moctar Ecca Vandal Otoboke BeaverFour Tet
Barry Can't Swim JJJ Faye Webster Balming Tiger Fermin MuguruzaHaim
Hitsujibungaku Royel Otis Motoharu Sano & The Coyote Band Silica Gel Mono No Aware
Other major acts included Tycho, Perfume Genius, Ichiko Aoba, Kiasmos, Ezra Collective, Sambomaster, Ginger Root, NewDad, Jane Remover, Ego-Wrappin', The Hives, English Teacher, Galactic, and Jake Shimabukuro.
2024 The festival was held from July 26 until 28. The headline acts were The Killers, Kraftwerk and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.
Green StageFridaySaturdaySunday The Killers
Awich Omar Apollo Macaroni Empitsu Friko Route 17 Rock'n'Roll Orchestra Indigo la EndKraftwerk
Beth Gibbons Man with a Mission 10-Feet The Last Dinner Party Tokyo Ska Paradise OrchestraNoel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Zutomayo Raye CreepHyp Rufus Wainwright No Party for Cao Dong
White StageFridaySaturdaySundayPeggy Gou
Hiroko Yamamura Iri Teddy Swims Taeko Onuki Lucky KilimanjaroGirl in Red
Sampha Quruli Yuta Orisaka The Bawdies Syrup16gTurnstile
Kim Gordon toe The Jesus and Mary Chain HEY-SMITH Esne Beltza
Other major acts included Floating Points, King Krule, Denki Groove, Hiromi's Sonicwonder, 2manydjs, the Yussef Dayes Experience, Ride, Fontaines D.C., The Allman Betts Band, and George Porter Jr..
2023 The festival was held from July 28 until 30. The headline acts were The Strokes, Foo Fighters and Lizzo.
Green StageFridaySaturdaySundayThe Strokes
Daniel Caesar Eikichi Yazawa Idles Route 17 Rock'n'Roll Orchestra Fever 333Foo Fighters
Ellegarden Alanis Morissette Hitsujibungaku Benee GezanLizzo
Bad Hop Yuki Gryffin Super Beaver never young beach
White StageFridaySaturdaySundayNxWorries
Denzel Curry Tohji Stuts Sudan Archives Oyat Yona Yona WeekendersLouis Cole
Vaundy Caroline Polachek TESTSET Dermot Kennedy Itaca Band Chilli Beans.Weezer
Ayano Kaneko Black Midi 100 gecs Domico Stardust Revue Homecomings
Other major acts included the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Eastern Youth, Yves Tumor, Yo La Tengo, Cory Henry, Overmono, Ryoji Ikeda, Slowdive, Weyes Blood, Romy, Cory Wong, FKJ, Yard Act, and Ásgeir.
2022 The festival was held from July 29 until 31, and saw the return of international artists. The headline acts were Vampire Weekend, Jack White and Halsey.
Green StageFridaySaturdaySundayVampire Weekend
Hiatus Kaiyote Clammbon Original Love OAU The HuJack White
Foals Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra Yuta Orisaka Orange Range BloodywoodHalsey
Tom Misch Punpee Route 17 Rock'n'Roll Orchestra Japanese Breakfast go!go!vanillas
White StageFridaySaturdaySundayBonobo
Jonas Blue D.A.N. JPEGMafia The Novembers Doping PandaCornelius
Dinosaur Jr. Glim Spanky Snail Mail Sherbets Fire EX.Mura Masa
Zutomayo Superorganism Black Country, New Road Masayuki Suzuki Your Song Is Good Kroi
Other major acts include: Syd, Awich, Dawes, Arlo Parks, Mogwai, Elephant Gym, and Hanaregumi. Many artists were forced to cancel their appearances due to contracting COVID-19 or other artist circumstances, including Black Pumas and Fontaines D.C..
2021 The festival was announced to be held from August 20 until 22 and, for the first time, the festival only included domestic artists due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The headline acts were Radwimps, King Gnu and Denki Groove.
Green StageFridaySaturdaySundayRadwimps
Man with a Mission SiM Quruli Yonige Okamoto'sKing Gnu
Ken Yokoyama The Cro-Magnons Sambomaster Sirup KemuriDenki Groove
Kiyoshiro Imawano Rock 'n' Forever tribute Misia Motohiro Hata Cero Awesome City Club
White StageFridaySaturdaySundayMillennium Parade
Metafive Kid Fresino 5lack DYGL The DresscodesNumber Girl
The Birthday Momoeyes Envy Ajico Ayano Kaneko TricotSusumu Hirasawa + Ejin
Finalby Tha Blue Herb Yuta Orisaka Tendre Yonawo Kiro Akiyama
Other major acts include: The Bawdies, Indigo la End, Chai, Yoshinori Sunahara, Aoi Teshima, Char, and Ichiko Aoba.
2020 The festival was scheduled for Friday 21 August through Sunday 23 August 2020, with headline acts to include Tame Impala (Friday), The Strokes (Saturday), Kiyoshiro Imawano Rock 'n' Forever tribute and Denki Groove (both Sunday). On 5 June 2020, this iteration of the festival was postponed to August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the 2020 Fuji Rock Festival was put together from past performances and broadcast live on YouTube on the original scheduled dates.
2019 The festival ran from Friday 26 July until Sunday 28 July in 2019. Headline performers on The Green Stage were The Chemical Brothers, Sia, and The Cure. About 36 percent of the acts were in the rock genre, while the rest of the lineup was composed of pop, R&B, hip hop, and electronic artists.
Green StageFridaySaturdaySundayThe Chemical Brothers
Ellegarden Janelle Monáe Route 17 Rock'n'Roll Orchestra Anne-Marie Red Hot Chili PipersSia
Martin Garrix Asian Kung-Fu Generation Cake Ging Nang Boyz DohatsutenThe Cure
Jason Mraz Superfly Hiatus Kaiyote never young beach Hanggai Special Guest: G&G Miller Orchestra
White StageFridaySaturdaySundayThom Yorke Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
Tycho Shikao Suga Gary Clark Jr. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Tavito Nanao Lucky TapesDeath Cab for Cutie
American Football Clammbon Courtney Barnett Unknown Mortal Orchestra ZOO GezanJames Blake
Vince Staples KOHH Hyukoh Interactivo Banda Bassotti Sanabagun.