
Suwa Onbashira Festival
Japan's most dangerous festival — several participants don't make it back home...
Japan's most dangerous festival — several participants don't make it back home...
Omizutori – a festival of fire and water – is one of the oldest Buddhist ceremonies still performed today. Get all the details you need to know to join in.
This fiery celebration takes place in mid-March each year in and around Himure Hachimangu Shrine in the city of Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture. What happens In preparation for the festival, the …
February is traditionally known as the month of the tiger. To celebrate this, a tiger festival is held at Chōgosonshi-ji temple: a budhist temple in the city of Ikoma in Nara prefecture. The main …
A small, local festival held to celebrate the girls who sacrificed themselves to save the village from the disasters of the Yodo river (now the Nakatsu river). It takes place on February 20th …
As you may have ascertained from the accompanying image, this is another one of Japan’s renowned “naked” festivals. Before you get carried away, it would be better described as …
A kamakura is a hollow carved out from a mound of snow. This festival, in Yokote City, Akita, usually features more than 100 large kamakura and numerous smaller ones. Sizes range from small …
A festival in which locals dress up as demons and scare the bejesus out of young children. There are also bonfires, a dramatic explanation of the reason for the festival, taiko drumming, and …
Making the best of the truckloads of snow that cover Hirosaki each winter, the Hirosaki Castle Snow Lantern Festival surrounds the quaint little castle with approximately 200 snow lanterns along …
This unique festival gets its name from the straw coats worn by the participants. Apparently they’re supposed to be birds. While dancing, they cry out “kaah, kaah” – …
The Nagasaki Lantern Festival will be held for the first time in three years! Featuring more than 15,000 lanterns, the festival originally started as a simple Chinese New Year celebration. In …
An amazing chance to see a remote, snow-covered thatched village illuminated with hundreds of lanterns.
Celebrated to mark the end of winter and the day before spring begins on the old lunar calendar, Setsubun is an age-old Japanese ceremony thought to drive evil spirits from the house. Many people …
The Nozawa Fire Festival is one of the three greatest fire festivals in Japan and a must-see event which takes place at Baba-no-hara, Nozawa Onsen Village on the 15th of January every year. After …
The Dontosai Festival, known as the Matsutaki Festival for Osaki Hachimangu Shrine, is a fiery New Year festival unique to Miyagi. What happens? Every year on January 14, festival goers burn …
The Maebashi Hatsuichi (meaning first market) Festival is an explosive way to start the year. The highway nearby is closed to cars and stalls are set up, ready to sell lucky trinkets and festival …
This festival in Nara prefecture traces its origin back to the 12th century. The name comes from the Wakamiya Shrine – a shrine within the ground of the larger Kasuga Taisha Shrine. This …
The Kōrankei Gorge is home to around 4,000 color-changing maples. This year there will be illuminations from sundown until 9 p.m. throughout November as part of the annual autumn festival. There …
The Tokushima Yokai (monster) Matsuri is a unique event that takes place at Kamimyo Elementary School near the somewhat remote Hiraga Shrine in Miyoshi, Tokushima Prefecture – a town that …
The Tochigi Autumn Festival is a three day traditional festival that usually takes place in Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture in even-numbered years. 2020’s event was cancelled so the 2022 …
Taking place in Ishigaski City at Shinei Park on the island of Ishigaki, this local festival encompasses a wide range of performances and attractions. Among the many related events are a bench …
This civic festival has been held annually in Ube City on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea since 1933. The festival features parades, a main stage, a street stage, a gourmet zone and a business …