The historic town of Hita in Oita prefecture is 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.
Ashikaga Flower Park’s annual Great Wisteria Festival is the place to see pretty purple wisteria — fuji-no-hana in Japanese — in all its glory. And also to see less common varieties in pink, white, and yellow. Basically it’s a really […]
Featuring the dancers of the Pontocho area, this show has it’s own specially-built theater just off Pontocho called the Kaburenjo theater. The stage is designed to enhance the performance; it curves, allowing for a more immersive experience for the audience. […]
Japan is an anthophile’s dream: chrysanthemums, camellias, wisteria, and the mighty cherry blossom abound, and it seems that every region and city has a gorgeous formal garden landscaped to showcase the bloom of the moment. In Yamanashi Prefecture, the star […]
On the last Sunday of May each year, Higashiomi in Shiga Prefecture hosts a festival in which enormous traditional kites are hauled into the air by teams of up to 100 people. The festival features local kites as well as […]
