Ministers pray for the end of COVID-19 at empty Aoi Festival
One of Kyōto’s three most important festivals, the Aoi Matsuri, went ahead at Shimogamo shrine on friday, albeit incredibly scaled back and without the famous…
Festivals
The Flying Carp of Japan: Recommended places in 2020 and the Importance of Koi Nobori and Kanzarashi
Once a year, you will see Japan decorated by beautiful colored carp into the wind to celebrate Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day), one of the…
Treat Yourself To All Of Japan’s Regional Delicacies And Traditional Performances At Furusato Matsuri Tokyo 2020
First-time travelers to Japan can often be overwhelmed when putting together their itinerary, as the country offers so many delicacies, festivities, and traditions spread throughout…
Nebuta Matsuri Revellers Wowed by Traditional Lantern Tribute to Infamous Japanese Cat Treat
One of Japan’s most visually arresting festivals, Nebuta (or Neputa) Matsuri takes place in Aomori prefecture in August every year. Beautiful and humungous laterns intricately…
Nagasaki Lantern Festival 2019 Turns City Into Magical Spirited Away Experience
Fans of celebrated animation giant Studio Ghibli can find all sorts of sights and sounds that seem as if they were a real life depiction…
Japan’s Surprisingly Artistic Manhole Covers Have Their Own Festival, And Of Course Sweets Too
When traveling around Japan, you may notice that manhole covers often have surprising artistic designs. Different towns and regions across Japan display local history and…
Wearing a Mask to Terrify Children Recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Japan
Japan is not a country short on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Properties and Cultural Heritages. In the most recent additions to the list of UNESCO…
Tokyo 2018 Gyoza Festival Offers A Collection Of Japan’s Best Dumplings
Dumplings, pot-stickers, or gyoza as they are known in Japan–call them whatever you want, but they’re delicious and a surprising amount of cooking styles make…
5 Tokyo Area Fireworks Festivals for a Sparkling Summer 2018
Best Fireworks Festivals and Displays in the Tokyo Area Dust off your yukata and ready your stomach for delectable festival food. It’s summer, a.k.a. fireworks…
Oedo Waen Soba and Sake Festival Shows Off The Amazing Variety Of Delicious Soba In Japan
If you’re a fan of Japanese food, you may be familiar with soba (thin buckwheat noodles traditionally served either chilled with a dipping sauce or…
Epic Giant Straw Animals Emerge From Japanese Rice Harvest In Style
Niigata prefecture’s Wara Art Festival has a very creative and imposing way of making use of the leftover rice straw (wara) from the harvests that…
Absolutely Stunning Photos Of Hokkaido’s Fire Walking Festival Bring Japanese Folklore To Life
Japanese festivals seem to put a priority on spectacle, whether they be magical lantern festivals that seem like they came right out of Spirited Away,…
1,500 Pikachus Invade Yokohama For The Annual Pikachu Festival–This Time With Boats And Blimps!
In what has become an annual event in Yokohama’s Minato Mirai area, the The Pikachu Outbreak Festival runs for nearly a week long (8/9-8/15 this…
Tokyo Mask Festival Has Some Of The Coolest And Creepiest Masks You’ll Ever See
As we’ve seen in the past with enormous wearable felt cat heads, Japan is no stranger to some of the more quirkier types of headgear…
Japan’s Early Blossoming Kawazu Cherry Blossoms Are In Gorgeous Full Bloom Right Now
While Japan has celebrations for each of its distinct seasons, you’d find little argument against the Spring’s sakura (cherry blossom) season being the most emblematic…