Each year, on the 8th and 9th of September, Nozawa Onsen comes alive for the amazing Lantern Festival. Festivals are something that Nozawa Onsen village does well and while January’s Fire Festival may get all the hype due to coinciding […]
The Hanamaki Festival is one of the 3 biggest in Iwate, the other 2 being Sansa Odori in Morioka and the Mizusawa Festival in Oshuu. The streets of downtown Hanamaki are usually rather quiet but for 3 days in September, […]
In a region of Niigata which is perhaps better known for sake, it may come as a surprise to find a working winery. Echigo Winery produces a range of different beverages, including red wine, white wine, sparkling wine, and rosé, […]
Jazz music is not everyone’s cup of green tea, so it was quite a shock to discover that the Jozenji Street Jazz Festival is one of Sendai’s biggest annual events. Starting back in 1987 on a department store stage, the […]
Kami-Kitayama-mura in southeast Nara Prefecture has acres, hectares, and uninterrupted square miles of unsullied mountain, valley, and river nature and a population of between just 500 and 600 people. For a tiny rural village, though, Kami-Kitayama-mura does know how to […]
This carpet of over 5,000,000 bright red spider lilies beside the Koma River made it to the list of the top 30 reasons to visit Japan or really, the top 30 most beautiful places in Japan. So remarkable, in fact, […]
Seasonal eating is great for a number of reasons - it's fresher, cheaper, and more sustainable for our planet. The Niseko Autumn Food Festival celebrates this train of thought, and the event will include eighteen local restaurants and bars serving […]
Running for over 30 years now, the Hokkaido Fair at Yoyogi is a multi-day event that brings some of the region's foodie favorites to Tokyo's Yoyogi Park. The prefecture is highly regarded for its food exports – especially its dairy […]
The Czech Festival in Tokyo is Japan's largest Czech-based event, and the multi-day affair includes a variety of ways to connect with this charming European country. There will be Czech products including accessories, character goods, toys, and books available to […]
Whether one hails from the States and misses good ol' American burgers, or if one simply is curious as to how a day can be dedicated to American culture out in rural Japan, American Day is a great way to […]
Each year around the early October timeframe, Saga's Kinryu Park is filled with the color of thousands of cosmos flowers in bloom. The park spans around 3.5 hectares, and the cosmos planted here include several different varieties and colors, too. […]
Each year from around early to mid-October, Aichi's Shinshiro Cosmos Alley is filled with the beauty of around 350,000 cosmos in bloom in numerous varieties. During the blooming season, they also hold a fun scarecrow competition here, with numerous amusing […]