The Nitoyo Coast stretches from the southern part of Oita Prefecture to the northern part of Miyazaki Prefecture, and it's famous for one thing in particular - rock oysters. The oysters in this part of the country are nourished by […]
Bright and cheerful sunflowers are a quintessential sign of summer in Japan, and the annual Akeno Sunflower Festival boasts fields upon fields of them to enjoy. The event began in 1993, and at the venue, you'll also find a sunflower […]
The annual Haneda Matsuri, or Haneda Festival, is held on the last week of July every year. At this lively traditional summer festival, the mikoshi, or the portable shrine, is carried by 3,000 people, with more than 30,000 visitors attending. […]
Many people in Tokyo have no idea how different Hokkaido is. It is almost 200 km from Sapporo to Obihiro, the same distance as between Shizuoka and Tokyo. But instead of 20 million people and the world’s 15th biggest GDP […]
The Sumiyoshi Matsuri (festival) happens over three days in and around Osaka’s Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine. The highlight is the nagoshi harai shinji ritual which happens on a middle day. The ritual involves participants (women and children) processioning through a straw […]
Kuroishi, a town on the central Tsugaru Plain of Aomori Prefecture holds its own Nebuta festival (called Neputa in these parts) on July 30th and August 5th each year. The parade features more than 50 floats, most in the shape […]
Each year from late July through until late August, Kagawa's Sanuki Mannou Park hosts a Summer Festa event which is filled with fun summertime activities. There are around 15,000 cheerful sunflowers and 6,000 green kochia to marvel at, along with […]
This festival for which Aomori is most famous takes place in Aomori City during the first week of August, however, on the 1st it is only an evening fireworks display. The main procession of the festival consists of large internally […]
Taking place on the banks of the Yoshino River in the Shinmachi neighborhood of Gojo city, this is Nara Prefecture’s most popular fireworks festival. Not content with a mere 4,000 exploding projectiles, the organizers have added a laser light show […]
The One Love Jamaica Festival is an annual summer event that will be held in Komazawa Olympic Park and is a good time for those looking to soak up some great food, drinks, dancing, and music. Music seems to flow […]
The Hirosaki Neputa Festival is a lower-key (but still spectacular) sibling of the much rowdier Nebuta Festival in Aomori City. While the Aomori floats are a lot more free-form, Neputa floats in Hirosaki are mainly of a distinctive fan-like shape […]
Every year in early August, Miura City hosts the Miura Summer Fireworks Festival. For me, that meant a beautiful beach in glorious, sunny weather followed by 3000 fireworks launched off the ocean lighting up the night sky. It had everything […]
Does the idea of taking the stage give you cold feet? Can you imagine if your stage was a wobbly Indiana-Jones-movie suspension bridge? That suspension bridge is the stage for the taiko drummers performing in Totsukawa-Mura's Yuredaiko. The suspension bridge […]
The Nagaoka Festival is held from August 1st to August 3rd around the Shinano River in Nagaoka City. Its main attractions are the portable shrine float parades and folk dance processions during the day with large-scale fireworks displays in the […]
The Kojiya Awa Odori is held along the town’s shotengai (shopping street) where roughly 600 spectators join – lined up 10 rows deep – to watch the dancers and cheer as they pass by. There are about 150 kids who […]
Do you like the beach? Do you like or want to experience Japanese summer festivals? Then the Morito no hama, bon dance competition/Festival is the best place to be this summer. The Experience You can enjoy great grilled and barbecue […]
The festival is one of the top five festivals of the Tohoku (northeastern Japan) region--and it is easy to see why. The main event is the massive parade of over three thousand drummers, representing taiko groups created by schools, companies, […]
During the annual Zama Mikoshi Festival (July 31-August 1st), residents and Mikoshi regulars from neighboring communities carry a portable shrine through the streets of Zama chanting "Say ya, Soi ya, Sah, Sorya" and "Dokkoi, Dokkoi, Dokkoi Sorya". They are asking […]
Hirakawa city in Aomori Prefecture hosts a Nebuta Festival at the beginning of August each year. While the Aomori City has the crowds, Hirosaki has the refined tradition and Goshogawara has towering floats, Hirakawa’s claim to fame is having Aomori’s […]
Kanto (not related to the region of the same name) are poles that are approximately 15 meters long from which hang 46 lanterns – intended to resemble bags of rice. Weighing up to 50kg, the festival performers balance these poles […]
There is an island, a shrine, and a station that is only open for a short festival each year. For two days this shrine, and the tiny Tsu island on which it sits, see around 10,000 people come and go. […]
Goshogawara hosts the third of the famous Nebuta festivals in Aomori. The others are Aomori Nebuta in Aomori City and Hirosaki Neputa. ‘Tachineputa’ means ‘vertical Nebuta’, so called because Goshogawara’s Nebuta floats are very tall – some as tall as […]
The Hinokuni Matsuri is a festival that takes place in early August predominantly in and around Sunroad Shinshigai (a covered arcade) in Kumamoto City. The festival will feature various dance troupes and competitions as well as a “Natsu Machi Yokocho” […]
Each year, on August 6th, candle-lit lanterns are set afloat on the Motoyasu River next to Hiroshima’s A-Bomb Dome in remembrance of deceased ancestors and as a wish for world peace. The lanterns are on sale from 6 am with […]
Tanabata – literally meaning the ‘7th evening’ is a festival celebrated on different dates throughout Japan. The Sendai version, touted as one of the three major summer festivals in the Tohoku region, is the most famous of them all. It’s […]
Every year, in Honmoku, Yokohama, the Ouma Nagashi event is held during summer. Ouma is a figure with the head of a horse and a turtle-like body made of straw. Every year six pieces of Ouma are made for the […]
Summer is prime time for big festivals in Japan, and Kochi City is no exception. The highlight of the local year is a three-day dance/parade extravaganza in August, called ‘Yosakoi’. What the word means exactly is open to interpretation, but […]
Tokushima Awa Odori is rated by many as Japan’s top summer festival. It takes place in Tokushima – a prefecture on the island of Shikoku. The dance festival (Odori means dance) has its origins as a summer Obon festival. ‘Awa’ […]
The Minato Mirai Bon Odori Festival will once again be held in mid-August in Rinko Park, Yokohama. Looking out over the evening waters of Yokohama Bay, Rinko Park provides one of the most pleasant locations for one of Japan's most-loved […]
This is a joint fireworks festival across the Kanmon Straits between Shimonoseki City in Yamaguchi Prefecture and Kita-Kyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture. More than 1 million people on both sides of the strait are expected to watch the almost 1-hour […]
The small city of Yanai in Yamaguchi Prefecture is famous for its lanterns, but they're a little different from many lanterns you've likely seen in the past. The lanterns here are shaped like goldfish, and you'll see them displayed outside […]
This is a memorial service for the spirits of fallen soldiers and to pray for peace which takes place on August 15th every year. A large 大 (the kanji symbol for great) is set alight on Mount Wakakusa using 108 […]
The locals call it Daimonji, the celebration during the height of the O-bon festival where the city’s surrounding mountains are lit up with five bonfires. Three of the bonfires are lit in the form of Kanji, while the other two […]
Summer Sonic, one of Japan's premier music events, is a two-day rock festival that's held simultaneously in both Tokyo and Osaka. All-you-need-to-know As with the previous years, the rock festival is held in both Tokyo and Osaka. For the Tokyo […]
Every year in late August, the parishioners of Anamori Inari Shrine In Ota City join the priests and their attendants to light handmade lanterns, asking Inari-sama, the god of rice, for the granting of wishes. The lanterns which bear images […]
Shinjo City in Yamagata is proudly home to Shinjo Matsuri, which is arguably the best festival in Tohoku. This festival, with its history of 250 years, is celebrated from August 24th to 26th every year and consists of city-wide parades […]
Young men dressed in women's clothes and with make-up on their faces carry a portable shrine into the ocean at Sodegahama Beach. Then small children on shore pull long ropes attached to the shrine back and forth. This is the […]
You might have heard of Kiriko in Wajima but do you know Niwaka? A procession of colorfully painted floats marks the end of summer in Ukawa, a fishermen’s village on the Noto Peninsula. This is the time when the locals […]
Follow the giant footsteps carved into the ground to the top of the mountain, where the landmark Kannonyama stands majestic, watching over the city of Takasaki. From here you can look out on the entire city, the mountains a constant […]
An excited crowd clad in their best Yukatas, the smell of grilled sausages from the street vendors, sounds of excitement and thrill from kids sitting on their parent's shoulders, anxiously waiting for the next masterpiece painted on the dark summer […]
Inside the temple grounds are food stalls with grilled food, including grilled squid, and lanterns light the path leading to the temple. The temple grounds have a different atmosphere than usual, with groups of families gathering for this special event. […]
Snow Machine came to Japan in 2019! Being the first-ever major winter music festival being held on a Japanese ski field. Snow Machine, a sister festival of the popular Australian "Wine Machine" is organized by Australia-based Falcona and Hakuba.com. About […]