Gaido Japan

Yairo Watermelon Festival
2022-07-27 09:00 - 2022-08-10 17:00 (Asia/Tokyo)
Japanese watermelons are known for being deliciously sweet and juicy, but also quite expensive. There’s a way to minimize the expense and maximize your watermelon enjoyment, and that’s by heading to the Yairo Watermelon Festival. The festival runs from late July to mid-August at the Japan Agriculture Minami Uonuma Branch, and for the bargain price of only 500 yen (or 300 yen for elementary-aged children and below), you’re able to indulge in as much watermelon as your stomach can handle. The Yairo Watermelon variety available at the event is said to be even sweeter and juicier than their other counterparts on the market, making them a perfect and refreshing dessert at this time of year. There is an undercover tatami mat area at the event, so you can enjoy your fill of watermelon out of the sun’s glare. As well as the all-you-can-eat watermelon, there are also watermelons of various sizes that you can purchase to take away with you. They are substantially discounted compared to usual market prices, so be sure to stock up!

The Kagurazaka Matsuri
2022-07-25 19:00 - 2022-07-28 21:00
In late July, the Tokyo suburb of Kagurazaka will host the annual Kagurazaka Matsuri. Famous for Kagurazaka Dori, the area’s chic and pedestrian-friendly street slope, the suburb is also known for the historical Akagi Shrine, Edo period geisha houses, and French schools. Held over four days, the first two days of the festival center around the Houzuki Market. Houzuki is ground cherries used during the Obon festival in summer and was once thought to prevent chronic illness. The final two days feature the Awa Odori Festival with crowds of evening dancers performing traditional Japanese dances that originated from far-off Tokushima Prefecture. Kagurazaka features a lively local eatery scene and along with the four days of festival street food stalls, the area will be full of happy revelers enjoying a traditional Japanese summer party atmosphere.

Tokyo Revengers Exhibition Return
2022-07-24 11:00 - 2022-07-25 19:00
The popular manga series Tokyo Revengers has been serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Magazine since 2017 and has exceeded a staggering 40 million copies sold. After the Tokyo Revengers Exhibition was held with great success in Tokyo and Osaka, the event has been renamed Tokyo Revengers Exhibition Return and will be headed to the Niigata Manga Animation Information Center from June 4th until July 18th. The event will include a variety of original artwork from Ken Wakui (the artist behind the manga), and despite the venue being smaller than previous versions of the exhibition, there is no change to the number of works on display. Advance tickets can be purchased via the Lawson website at a slightly discounted rate than on-the-day tickets.

Live Earth Matsuyama
2022-07-24 10:00 - 17:00
The middle of May in Matsuyama is an uncertain time, weather-wise. It might be burning hot. It might rain. It might be cold and overcast. Or it might be all of these on the same day. You can expect any during Live Earth Matsuyama. As the name suggests, the festival is about live music with an earth-loving theme. The event runs from 10 in the morning to 5 in the evening. This small local festival was born in 2007 and it has come a long way. Literally in fact. It used to be held in the car park of the gymnasium above the Fuwari Road Station. Report from 2012 At around noon I made my way up the hill by bicycle towards the venue. It’s a long steep climb and I passed a number of people trudging up on foot. I didn’t envy them. As the car park came into view, I could hear a pleasant throbbing hum coming from the hilltop. This was the music of Dewachen, a combo that features sitar, didgeridoo, throat singing, chanting, and hand percussion. Having handed over my 1,500 yen ticket, I bumped into an English friend who greeted me cheerfully; “We’re living the dream. This drone is driving me nuts”. I plonked myself down on a tarp and was introduced to my friends for the afternoon. Someone went to the beer stall to get a round of Asahi Super Dry in plastic cups that had to be bought separately and reused, to emphasize the importance of resources. The cold, leaden sky gave way to scorching sunshine. Someone had given me a blanket to keep my legs warm, and I wondered about transferring it to my head for shade. The venue was filled with rows of stalls selling a very tempting array of food with a generally “ethnic” theme, clothing, accessories, and outdoor gear. Other stalls offered massages, aromatherapy, and barefoot art for children. Between the lectures, the music went on with some fairly major Japanese acts including Ua, who sang her interesting but undanceable freeform jazz, and Ikue Asazaki who sings in the Okinawan style. The sun went in again and it got really cold. Then the reggae/ska group Little Tempo took the stage, and at last, some danceable music poured forth. Those with a taste for it shook their booty hard, waving empty reusable plastic cups. The Japanese rapper Rankin’ Taxi, topped off with a jaunty gold crown, joined Little Tempo and entertained the crowd with his scurrilous lyrics and banter. Woodstock this is not. Nor is it Fuji Rock. But for a pleasant day out with food, music, and an impromptu community, it can’t be beaten.

Kitakami River Rubber Boat Race
2022-07-24 09:00 - 15:00
The Kitakami River Rubber Boat race is an annual event held on the 4th Sunday of July in Morioka, Iwate. The race starts just below the Shijuushida Dam (四十四ダーム) and ends at the Kaiun Bridge (開運橋) in front of Morioka Station. The participants end the journey at the Minami Ohashi (南大橋). Every year over 500 teams participate in that thrilling event, making it the biggest rubber boat race in Japan and one of the biggest in the world. There are 2 categories, timed race, and pleasure, the racers start first and the pleasure boats go last so as to not impede the race participants. All participants gather under the Minami Ohashi (南大橋) from around 6:00 in the morning, many people camp there overnight to be ready early. On normal days, camping isn’t allowed at the site. It’s good to get there early to get a good spot near the river, the ground under the bridge turns into a huge barbecue party after the race. After registration, all participants are taken to the Shijuushida Dam by bus. The teams start in groups of 50 at 5 minutes intervals from 9:00 AM. It takes about 2 hours for all participants to start. The site at the dam is too small to accommodate all participants at once, hence the gradual start. You have to carry your inflatable boat, oars, life jackets, and anything else that you might need during the race. It’s a good idea to bring water, the course is just under 10 kilometers long. You should wear long sleeves or some good sunblock to avoid sunburn, this year most of the time it was cloudy. Once you start, you have to go to the end. The average participants take about an hour to complete the course. The race itself varies from year to year depending on the water level. It’s much easier if the water is high but also faster. Low-level water makes for a very treacherous race, due to the high rock hazard. There are 2 tricky passes, the first one after about 3-4 kilometers, where the river is much faster and turbulent and the last one after the goal mark. As you pass under Meiji Bashi (明治橋) there is a drop of about 2 meters, so be prepared. 2017 was the only time that the race was canceled in 41 years due to torrential downpour. The parking area at Minami Ohashi was under almost 1 meter of water. The river changes significantly as we go down with parts slow-moving, others fast-moving with lots of rocks. If you carry any electronic equipment make sure it’s secured and waterproof. The possibility of going overboard is quite high. You can find more info about the race at the following link, in Japanese only; http://www.kawakudari-morioka.jp/ You’ll pass under several bridges along the way, each one of them is loaded with people cheering the participants on. You can also rent a boat if you don’t have one, you can find a link on the event home page. Attached oars make for a much faster race but most people just sit on opposite sides of the boat and row.

Tenjin Matsuri
2022-07-24 04:00 - 2022-07-25 23:00
Tenjin Matsuri (天神祭) is one of the most symbolic water and light festivals in Osaka also ranked as one of the three greatest festivals in Japan, held annually on the 24th–25th of July. Tenjin is the ‘god of the sky’ and Matsuri is a festival in Japanese. The other festivals are the Gion Matsuri in Kyoto and Kanda Matsuri in Tokyo. Osaka, also known as the City of Water and Light, hosts this festival that dates back more than a thousand years ago. This festival started in year 951 to commemorate the deification of the great scholar, Sugawara no Michizane, enshrined now as the God of Learning. Come and you will get a first-hand experience of how the Japanese celebrate their summer. Tenjin Matsuri is the amalgamation of a boat festival, a fireworks display of over 3000 shots, and parades of Omikoshi-portable shrines. And of course, a lot of energy from the crowd clad in colorful yukata (summer kimono) and geta (wooden slippers) to be a part of this annual summer event. Start your exciting journey into the festival from the Tenmangu shrine. For early birds, on the 24th of July, the Yomiya-sai(Pre-evening festival) starts as early as 7:45 am with rituals and prayers for the success of the festival. There is a Taiko-Japanese drum performance accompanied by a Danjiri (Omikoshi carrier) dancer and dragon dance to signify the start of this festival. Do not miss the golden Omikoshis on display in Tenmangu shrine used in the festival. By 11 am in the Tenmangu shrine you can see the people dressed in costumes getting ready for the possession of the Omikoshis. One of the famous stops that you won’t want to miss is the possession on Midosuji street all the way to Tenjinbashi bridge. Sound and music are of course a big part of any festival, for Tenjin Matsuri, you can see people young and old, sweating profusely in the summer heat, chanting loudly, playing traditional music while 20-30 Danjiris shout to the rhythm of the music while carrying the sacred Omikoshis that weights up to hundreds of kilos. At 6 pm, the Boat Possessions starts on Okawa River. Try to spot the possession with a Kabuki actor, or the boat with the Japanese puppets while enjoying your walk along the stalls by the river. On 25th July, known as the Honmiya – the actual festival day, the three main events are the Land Possessions, Boat/ Water Possessions, and the Fireworks at night. The highlight is the Hanabi firework that starts around 7:30 pm with a much bigger crowd. In Japan, a summer festival is not complete with Hanabi, this must-see event displays 3000 shots of awesome fireworks. The firework is indeed a great end to a grand festival. The people, the energy, the sound, and the color of Tenjin festival are indeed an experience a Japanese traveler wouldn’t want to miss.

Daigaku Festival at Ikune Shrine
2022-07-24 01:00 - 2022-07-25 20:00
The Daigaku festival takes place in late July every year at the Ikune Shrine in Osaka. Like other matsuri, it’s a lively community event with street food stalls and children’s games accompanying the traditional elements. The eponymous daigaku is an impressive array of 79 lanterns, originally constructed in celebration of a successful prayer for rain. Ikune is the only shrine in Osaka where a daigaku can be seen, as the others burned down during a battle. Singing, dancing, and a great display of traditional drumming are the main show here, but a wander around the local streets is also a necessity – the street food is delicious and the atmosphere is infectiously upbeat. It’s worth noting that there are two Ikune shrines within a walk of each other, the Daigaku Festival is at the north-westerly of the two.

Tenjin Festival
2022-07-24 - 2022-07-25
This year, Osaka’s Tenjin Festival will only include the mikoshi procession, which will happen on the 25th, as well as various shrine rituals. The festival’s evening components, including the lighting of fires on the boats and the firework displays, are not going ahead. Moreover, should Osaka be placed under a state of emergency or quasi-state of emergency, there may be no parade at all.
Although this is held throughout Japan, the festival that takes place around Osaka Tenmangu shrine is the most famous. Touted as one of Japan’s Top 3 festivals, the Tenjin Matsuri has a history of over 1,000 years.
There are two main parts to the festival, one on land and the other on the water. On dry land, there is a procession of 3,000 people dressed in the style of courtiers of the 8th to 12th centuries accompanied by mikoshi (portable shoulder-borne shrines). The water part of the festival takes place when the same 3,000 participants board boats at Tenmanbashi bridge and sail up the river.
As the sun sets, fires are lit on board the vessels, creating a spectacle for those on the banks. Although they’re lit just for effect now, originally, they were lit for night patrols or fishing.
As the darkness descends, there is also a fireworks display.

Odaiba Lantern Festival
2022-07-23 18:30 - 22:00
Marine Day or Umi no hi (literally ‘day of the sea’), is celebrated every third Monday of July. While there aren’t any traditional ceremonies (being a newer national holiday), many people choose to visit the beach on this day. Parks and aquariums also hold events and festivals to celebrate the importance of the ocean. Odaiba’s Marine Park located right behind DECKS Tokyo Beach and Aqua City (near Daiba Station or Odaiba-Kaihin-Koen Station on the Yurikamome Line), holds an annual Lantern Festival, where thousands of colored lanterns are lit along the beach, thoughtfully placed to reveal an image when seen from a vantage point. Although the highlight of the festival is the lanterns lit by volunteers, there are many activities and things to do while waiting for the sun to set. Local musicians and singers perform by the beachside café, where you can sit and enjoy the scenery: cruising ferries, the Rainbow Bridge, and skyscrapers surrounding the bridge. If you’re a fan of seafood or feeling adventurous, you may also choose to try the oysters that are freshly grilled by vendors on the street. Whether you are there to enjoy the music, witness the hundreds of lanterns flickering in the night, or even just for an evening stroll, the Lantern Festival at Odaiba is definitely an event you don’t want to miss. More photos of the Odaiba Lantern Festival

Umi no Hi (Ocean Day) at Odaiba
Odaiba is set in a wonderful light using paper lanterns, which are lit up by citizen volunteers every year on the third Monday

Tokyo Hula Festival
2022-07-23 18:00 - 2022-07-24 20:00
It’s summertime and Ikebukuro is gripped by Hawaiian fever. The annual Hula Festival is hard to miss as the colors and sounds of the Pacific sweep the northwestern part of Tokyo. Up to 3,900 dancers show off their skills on stage, where the gentle sounds of Hawaiian music are playing to the elegant routines of the dancers. First held in 2002, the festival celebrates the friendship between Ikebukuro and Hawaii, where 13% of its residents are Japanese Americans. The festival is usually held on the 3rd weekend of July, so take your seats and be transported to the Pacific Islands.

Tsushima Tenno Matsuri
2022-07-23 08:30 - 2022-07-24 21:00
Every steaming hot summer evening for over 500 years, the people of Tsushima in Aichi Prefecture go down to the Tenno river. It’s not that the riverside is cooler on the evening of the fourth Saturday of July, but that’s when one of the three major river festivals in Japan, the nationally famous Tsushima Tenno Festival takes place. The Tenno Festival was said to have been a favorite of local war-lord Oda Nobunaga, and today has been designated a Nationally Intangible Folk Cultural Asset. Tsushima is a small city of around 66,000 people, just west of Nagoya City. Apart from the Tenno Festival, Tsushimas’ Autumn Festival, and Wisteria Festivals which also share a long history and traditions, Tsushima’s other claim to fame is the little-known fact that there are more temples in Tsushima than there are in Kyoto! However, it’s that fourth Saturday evening in July, the night of the “Yoimatsuri”, the Night Festival, and the celebrations that continue the next day with the “Asamatsuri”, or Morning Festival that has everyone Tsushima bound. The festival begins after sunset on a Saturday night. Various displays of matchlock gun firing and a kind of handheld fireworks resembling an upright bazooka get the festival goers in the mood. Singing and dancing also take place before the highlight of this particular festival takes to the water. Five large and graceful Makiwara boats, consisting of two boats strapped together with purified straw ropes and decorated with over 400 large paper lanterns each, arranged in a dome-like flying saucer shape, but supposed to represent a mountain, glide along the river, to the accompaniment of Tsushima flute players on board. The reflections of the hundreds of lanterns in the dark, calm waters add to the ethereal effect. The five boats represent the former five villages that made up Tsushima. The dome-shaped arrangement of 365 lanterns, one for each of the days in the year, features a further 12 or 13 lanterns in an antennae-like fashion above it. Under the orange-yellow dome of lanterns are 30 red lanterns. More lanterns decorate the bow of this floating festival float. Most folks dressed in light summer kimono called Yukata watch from the riverside, others take to small boats to enjoy a meal, drinks, and entertainment. All the while, cameras click as the lantern-laden boats sail by, and fantastic fireworks roar like thunder in the sky above. The next morning, the same five Makiwara boats are redecorated with gorgeous red, black, and gold hand-woven tapestries and Karakuri Ningyo mechanical dolls dressed in Noh costumes. These boats are joined by a sixth, the “Ichieguruma” from neighboring Higashiho-Cho. This boat too is decorated with dolls representing characters from Japan’s traditional Noh performing arts. Also on board are ten men, armed with cloth-covered halberds and specially chosen to take part in the ritual, where they dive off the boat with the halberd, before swimming, or walking to shore before presenting the broad-bladed pole-arm to the Tsushima Shrine. The rest of the day is filled with various displays, events, and festivities. If you find yourself in Japan in late July, make sure you visit Tsushima for both days of one of Japan’s biggest and most spectacular festivals, the Tsushima Tenno Matsuri. It’s an awe-inspiring sight on a hot summer’s night!

Akeno Sunflower Festival
2022-07-23 08:00 - 2022-08-21 17:00
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 maze and the ability to purchase locally made products. From sunset until 9 pm the fields will be lit up, giving visitors the chance to enjoy the flowers illuminated under the night sky. Admission to the Akeno Sunflower Festival is free.

Hokuryu Sunflower Festival
2022-07-23 00:00 - 2022-08-21 00:00 | 板谷 Hokuryu, Uryu District, Hokkaido 078-2511, 板谷 Hokuryu, Uryu District, Hokkaido 078-2511, Hokuryu, Hokkaido, 078-2511, Japan
The summer months in Japan see several sunflower festivals pop up on the calendar, one of the best in Hokkaido’s Hokuryu Sunflower Festival. The event has been running since 1987 and showcases the beauty of a staggering 2 million sunflowers covering 23 hectares. Along with the overwhelming number of sunflowers to appreciate, the event also has two sunflower mazes, various sunflower-themed foods such as sunflower soft-serve ice cream, bicycles for rent, and more. Admission to the event is free, but there is a charge if you want to participate in the sunflower mazes or rent a bike.

Hita Gion Festival
2022-07-23 | Yasan Shrine, Yasan Shrine
The historic town of Hita in Oita prefecture is the venue for the Hita Gion Matsuri in late July. Gion festivals are held throughout Japan in July, but each brings a touch of local flavor with lavishly decorated floats and traditional music.
The Hita Gion is touted as one of the “top 3 Gion festivals in Kyushu”. How these rankings are made is a bit of a mystery, but if you’re in the area in late July it’s worth a look.

Kihoku Lantern Festival 2022
2022-07-23
The Kihoku Lantern Festival takes place in the port town of Nagashima in Kihoku, Mie Prefecture. Each year a large, elaborate cloth lantern is set afloat on the harbor in the afternoon. After nightfall, there is a spectacular fireworks display known as the Saiun Kujaku (Rainbow Peacock) as a backdrop to the floating lantern. From 3 pm until the fireworks begin at 8 pm there are performances and other entertainment on a stage.

Flea Market at Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park
2022-07-22 10:00 - 2022-07-23 13:00
Note as of September 1, 2021: This event has been suspended indefinitely due to the pandemic. Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park hosts a flea market monthly, weather permitting. The market does not go ahead when it is raining or if there is any weather warnings in place. Furthermore, from 2021 you have to book in advance to visit the flea market as they are only allowing a certain amount of shoppers in each time. The flea market is held on the main avenue of the park, and there are generally about 200 stalls. The event is organized and run by Recycle Man who manages about 30 flea markets monthly in Saitama, Chiba, and Tokyo. Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park is a beautifully landscaped park with great facilities for families. The Tokorozawa Aviation Museum is also on the grounds. The park hosts several events monthly. Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park is relatively close to the new Tokorozawa Sakura Town and the permanent TeamLab outdoor exhibition ‘Digitized Nature’. Combine a visit to a traditional Japanese flea market and a typical Japanese park with a visit to a modern entertainment hot spot and an atypical park for a rounded day trip to Saitama!

Tobata Gion Yamagasa Festival
2022-07-22 - 2022-07-24
Tobata is a ward of the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka prefecture and this festival dates back over 200 years to when Tobata was a village.
The Yamagasa are tall floats that are carried around. At night the floats are adorned with lanterns, making them an impressive sight.
The festival has been recognized by the Japanese government as an important intangible cultural asset.

Himeji Yukata Festival
2022-07-22 - 2022-07-24
The Himeji Yukata Festival is the oldest festival of its type in Japan, dating back more than 260 years.
Yukata are the light and often very bright kimonos worn in Japan during the summer months. While yukata are a part of most summer festivals, it’s the main point of this one so people make an extra effort with their yukata. Reportedly, 70% of festival-goers come kitted out in their yukata.
The evening festival (it runs from 4:30 pm until 9:30 pm) features around 700 food and drink stalls along with entertainment. If you get in on the yukata action yourself, you’re entitled to some discounts. In particular, entry to the zoo, museum, and Himeji Castle is free.

Kiso Mikoshi Makuri Festival
2022-07-22 | Suimu Shrine, Suimu Shrine
Taking place in the picturesque Kiso township of Nagano Prefecture, the Mikoshi Matsuri is an annual event involving approximately 100 wooden mikoshi (portable, shoulder-borne shrines). The mikoshi, weighing up to 375 kilograms, are carried and flipped (!) end over end by groups of men.
The climax of the festival is in the evening of the 23rd, but if you’re there on the evening of the 22nd, you can enjoy a fireworks display.

Heron Dance
2022-07-20 22:00 - 2022-07-27 17:00
Although a small countryside town, Tsuwano has festivals with a few hundred years of history. The most important of them is the Heron Dance in July. Performing on the same date every year, it draws a big crowd of spectators. As the most important ceremony of the year, the townsfolk come out of their homes, some shops close for the time of the dance, and even the school closes during the early afternoon (if the festival is on a weekday). While it would be easy to move the festival’s date to a weekend, the locals take pride in preserving the ceremony as it was, thus sticking to the old dates of 17 and 20 July. (7 and 14 in the old lunar calendar). Watching the ceremony, the shining white feathers of the heron costume exude pureness and cleanness. The crowd is silent during the dance; one’s ears are concentrating on the chanting, the music, and the clicking of cameras. There is also a charming children’s performance, which preserves the traditional parts of the dance. There are a lot of spectators despite the hot weather in July, and one has to be careful not to get a heatstroke. History The Heron Dance originated from Kyoto’s Gion Festival and was introduced to Yamaguchi’s Ouchi clan first, and then to Tsuwano in 1542 by the Yoshimi clan. While the ceremony was discontinued in Kyoto and Yamaguchi, the people of Tsuwano kept it alive for the past 470 years. The only time Sagi-mai was not performed, was when the Sakazaki clan wanted to erase the previous domain ruler, Yoshimi clan’s, customs. The Sakazaki clan was in power for a short time from 1601 to 1616, and the following Kamei clan reintroduced the dance in 1643. Kosugi-mai, or young heron dance, started some 60 years ago, to let children experience local traditions from an early age. Elementary school students dress up in a cute version of the heron costume and perform a modified dance. There is a male heron with the beak open, and a female heron with the beak closed, indicating that the dance is mating. The herons are believed to protect from illnesses and diseases. There are also two men in red wigs carrying long staffs in their hands, fending off demons and ghosts.
Kosugi: Elementary school students dress up and dance a cuter version of the Heron dance
The rest of the procession comprises musicians and two dancing figures of yet unknown roles. The wings are made of wood, and their clicking sound is incorporated into the music as an instrument. This makes it heavy, about 12-15kg for the feathers and another 3kg for the bamboo headpiece. The Festival The festival starts around 15:00 at the Yasaka Shrine, where the deity lives. On 20 July, the ceremonial dance is performed at 10 locations in the town, starting from the shrine, going to the place where the palace was standing (now Tsuwano High school), and onward to the former merchant town. The final destination is the Otabisho, the temporary resting place of the deity. One week later on the 27th, the deity returns to the shrine taking the same route backward. Recently, the first dance is performed in front of the community hall in the Old Town part of Tsuwano, where the preparations begin. The Young Heron dance starts earlier, around 13:00, and goes around the same route as the Heron dance.

Kumagaya Uchiwa Matsuri
2022-07-20 13:00 - 2022-07-22 21:00
The Uchiwa Matsuri, possibly the largest of Saitama’s summer festivals, is held in Kumagaya, just north of Tokyo in Saitama Prefecture. With a history dating back to 1750, the three-day festival in July attracts over 750,000 revelers and is one of the region’s most popular summer events. The festival name was coined in the early 1900s as part of a gimmick whereby local vendors would hand out uchiwa fans in order to attract more customers. These traditional hand-held fans are still used throughout Japan to ward off the summer heat. With Kumagaya summers being memorably warm, this arrangement worked out well for everyone.
Along with the street stalls, mikoshi portable shrines, and Japanese drumming, what sets the Uchiwa Matsuri apart is the energy of its 12 massive parade floats. The floats’ extravagance stemmed from the festival coinciding with a boom in the silk industry in days past. Flaunting their wealth, merchants would compete with each to develop and show off the most flamboyant and opulent floats. The result is what you see today. Different events during the festival are held on different days so please see the official website for details.

Yunnan Festival in Tokyo
2022-07-20 11:00 - 2022-07-28 17:00
The landlocked Chinese province of Yunnan is situated in the country’s southwest, and is known for its spectacular natural landscapes (think snow-capped mountains and terraced rice fields), UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the Old Town of Lijiang, and being regarded as the birthplace of tea. A festival taking place in Tokyo is set to celebrate the culture of this region, and it’s free for visitors to enjoy. The Yunnan Festival in Tokyo is a multi-day event, and it includes the chance for visitors to dress in traditional attire from different ethnic groups in the province (Yunnan has one of the highest levels of ethnic diversity in all of China), sample various flavors of Pu’er tea, watch dance performances, and plenty more.

Yamaguchi Gion Matsuri
2022-07-20 - 2022-07-27 | Yasaka shrine, Yasaka shrine, kyoto, Japan
The Kyoto of the area, Yamaguchi was modeled after the beautiful city and it’s no surprise it has a similar festival. When the Yasaka shrine was brought from Kyoto and the spirit of the deity implanted during the Kanjo ceremony, the Yamaguchi Yasaka shrine was formed. One of the main attractions of the festival is the “Dance of the Heron” which marks the beginning of the celebration. The elegant dance is performed wearing heron costumes and is classed as a Folk Cultural Property by the prefecture. There is a large dance performance involving the residents of the city and a mikoshi procession takes place.
The festival takes place on the same three days every year: the 20th, 24th, and 27th of July.

Shirahama Fireworks Rally 2022
2022-07-17
This year, Kansai beach town Shirahama is doing something different with its summer fireworks program. Instead of one big show, it’s doing six small shows on different Sundays throughout the season.
Dates: July 17th, 24th, and 31st and August 7th, 21st, and 28th. Cancelled in case of rain.

Ekin Festival: Spooky Paintings by Candlelight
2022-07-16 19:00 - 2022-07-17 21:00
Walking the narrow streets of small town Akaoka at night with nothing illuminating the way but candlelight and paper lanterns strung up above, one instantly notices this is not your typical festival. Feeling a little more like Halloween, Ekin Festival is a trip into the frightening scenes of famous kabuki plays as depicted by one local artist. Hirose Kinzou, better known as Ekin in Kochi, lived from 1812 to 1876 and is famous for his shibai-e byoubu, or theatrical images on folding screens. To protect the sensitive condition these paintings are in, all of the street lights (even those of the vending machines) are not allowed during this two day festival that happens every 3rd weekend of July. Rather, each painting is folded out in front of stores on the street, lighted by a single candlestick. Personally, given the nature of these scary images, this seems like the only proper way to view them. Plus, it just makes for a great, fun festival. After wandering through the streets and taking in all the spookiness, you will find a central square where the typical Japanese festival yatai, food booths, are set up in plenty. This area is well lit by high beam super lights of the 21st century, and there’s a stage with some kind of entertainment constantly going on in the background. The food here is very good, so eat, have a beer, and relax for a bit (if you’re lucky enough to find a table!). The streets of the festival wrap around in front of Bentenza, a lovely little kabuki theater. Appropriately, they usually have plays running at at 5p.m. both Saturday and Sunday—they’re even free. The theater is beautiful, so I really recommend trying to get there for this. Even if you can’t see a play, go in and have a look around at this local theater. Ekin Festival is one of my favorite festivals because of its novelty. Akaoka is kind of known for its novel festivals, come to think of it. But that is for another post. You can get to Akaoka by driving east of Kochi City on road number 55, or take the JR train from Kochi Station to Akaoka directly. I hope you can manage to go to this festival while you’re in Kochi. It is so much fun and the mood and atmosphere is almost that of another time. Go enjoy the scary pictures, the yukata wearing onlookers, and the excited children as they run through the crowds of people playing in ‘the dark’.

Roast Battle Tokyo - New Faces
2022-07-15 20:00 - 22:00
Ever since Roast Battle Tokyo started, it’s brought to the city’s comedy fans a succession of riotous sold out shows, entertaining them as Tokyo’s best comedians have traded body-blows with jokes as savage as they’re hilarious. July 15th sees the first New Faces show, bringing to the stage of the recently opened Tokyo Comedy Bar comedians who have been performing for some time, but who are new to Roast Battle. We know they’re funny when they’re nice, but can they bring it when they’re mean? Nothing is sacred, and no holds are barred, as the next generation of brutal battlers vie to join the top league of insult comedy bruisers.

The Kokura Gion Festival
2022-07-15 15:30 - 2022-07-17 20:00
The Kokura Gion festival is a frenzy of mid-summer community drumming in northern Kyushu and is held annually over three days from the third Friday through Sunday of July. Kokura Gion Festival Report In the middle of July, I took the night ferry from Matsuyama to Kokura, a district in the city of Kitakyushu. When I planned my trip, I wasn’t aware that I’d be landing a slap bang in the middle of a major taiko drum festival. In fact, it wasn’t until the afternoon that I became aware of this. I’d spent a very pleasant morning in Mojiko and was making my way back into Kokura when I came upon some men in a car park wearing festival clothes. They were standing around a decorated wagon with drums on it. This was the first hint that something was afoot. Since the men looked fairly exhausted, I asked one of them if they were packing up after a festival. No, he assured me, they were getting ready for the last night. Shortly after, I became aware of a general throbbing of drums from the direction of Kokura Castle where I was heading. As I was eating a late lunch of ramen, what should pass by the window but a marching band of the brave armed forces of Japan, led by a troupe of pretty girls in yukata. The band was great. They were playing Japanese pop hits with a swaggering marching tempo. I dashed out of the ramen shop to follow them just as they broke into a traditional English number that I recognized. The band headed on towards Kokura castle which sits in a large, grassy park. There, laid out around the perimeter and along each path were row upon row of stalls selling tasty snack food and children’s toys that break after 24 hours. Everywhere there were festival juggernauts with drums on them, being pulled this way and that. There were some within the castle walls too, sitting in front of the shrine. The shrine itself was packed with people who were watching a traditional drama with heroes clad in bright kimonos and ferocious masks, sword-fighting in slow motion to the sound of drum and flute. I took a seat near one of the industrial-strength fans that were set up to cool the audience and watched until the end of the show. I had time to enter the castle and enjoy the spectacle of the festival from high above. As evening fell, groups of drummers assembled, setting up a couple of taiko drums on simple stands. Each group, men, women, and children, represented a single city community. They were dressed in identical leggings, jikatabi, and a happi coat with the local crest. They all began drumming, with the rhythm set by someone playing tiny, piercing cymbals. As the evening wears on, something of a frenzy takes hold, and the drummers take turns on each side of the drum, switching places with a flourish. The sound is hypnotic, not because the drumming is monotonous but because there are so many variations – the people of Kokura collectively have a huge repertoire of rhythms. Forgive me if I was a bit lyrical here, but I found it moving to witness community solidarity in the form of mass cultural participation and creation. There was also a group of foreigners from all over the world putting on a very creditable performance. The atmosphere was nothing if not inclusive. The drumming continued after dark. As I wandered the streets I came across a small urban park where one of the groups was sitting quietly under a tree in the dark drinking beer, with their drum wagon parked on the street. It seemed a perfect expression of the local community.

Miyagawacho Beer Garden
2022-07-15 - 2022-08-31
The Miyagawacho Beer Garden is a rare occasion where you can enjoy beer, daily specialties served by neighboring restaurants, and Classical Japanese dance by the Maiko (apprentice geisha) of Miyagawacho Kabukai. Miyagawacho Kabukai is one of the five famous groups of maiko and geiko along with Gion Kobu, Gion Higashi, Pontocho, and Kamishichiken. It is held at a specially-prepared tented hall adjacent to the main building of the Miyagawacho Kaburenjo for a month. Four maikos wearing yukata, a casual cotton kimono for summer, attend the beer garden and show traditional dance performances. They walk through the aisles to greet each of the visitors and hand them their name cards or small uchiwa-shaped stickers with their names on them. It is held twice a day: from 18:00 to 19:30 and 20:00 to 21:30. Entry is limited to 100 visitors for each period and reservations are required at Miyagawacho Ochaya Kumiai (phone: 075-561-1151). It may be difficult to make a reservation on weekends. The charge is 5,000 yen including a free drink and hors d’oeuvre.

Lavender Season at the Tambara Lavender Park
2022-07-15 - 2022-07-31
Japan’s most well-known summertime lavender fields are likely to be those at Furano in Hokkaido, but there are numerous other options to enjoy a sea of purple across the country. One such option is at Gunma’s Tambara Lavender Park, which is typically at its best from early July through until late August. Along with the array of floral beauty to enjoy, the park has a range of lavender-infused products available for purchase, such as soaps, face toners, and hand sanitizer gels. For the foodies out there, don’t miss the lavender soft serve ice cream, soba noodles, or lavender scones!

Windmill Sunflower Garden
2022-07-15 - 2022-08-15
From Saturday, July 10th until Sunday, August 1st, Chiba’s Sakura Furusato Square will host a Windmill Sunflower Garden event. Approximately 15,000 sunflowers will be in full bloom during the event dates, including the Vincent sunflower variety named after none other than the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh. Admission to the event itself is free, but bring some coins if you want to pick some sunflowers — it’ll set you back 100 yen for 2 flowers from the picking area.
