The Kamakura Matsuri is a week-long festival held from the 2nd Sunday of April to welcome in spring.…

The Yayoi Festival (弥生祭, Yayoi Matsuri) is held on the 13 to 17 of April each year at…

The Nagasaki Tall Ships Festival (長崎帆船まつり, Nagasaki Hansen Matsuri) is one of a kind in Japan. It was…

Yabusame (horseback archery) has its roots in the Kamakura period when samurai used the competition to improve their skills…

The Meiji Jingu Spring Grand Festival is actually a series of traditional performances that take place over the…

The Crying Sumo Festival (泣き相撲) is undoubtedly one of Tokyo’s more unusual events—and one which has attracted the…

Kurayami Matsuri is one of Tokyo’s most popular festivals and one with a rich and long history with…

Annual parade with marching bands and dance teams that takes place during the Golden Week holidays. The Yokohama…

Held on the 2nd and 3rd of May every year the Ome Grand Festival (“Ome Taisai”) is—as its…

Over 1,000 years ago the military leader Fujiwara no Hidesato came to the shrine to pray for victory…

The Hakata Dontaku (博多どんたく港まつり, Hakata Dontaku Minato Matsuri) is one of the most popular festivals during “Golden Week”,…

Kanda Matsuri is held in mid-May at Kanda Myojin Shrine on odd numbered years (so intense was the…

This oddly named festival was started in 1956 by the store owners in the commercial district around the…

Held annually on the third weekend of May, Sanja Matsuri is probably Tokyo’s biggest festival. It celebrates the…

The Okinawa Festival returns this year with performances from musicians on the main stage, food stalls, and booths…

The Shibuya-Kagoshima Ohara Matsuri (おはら祭) is an annual event held in the center of Shibuya which has roots in Ohara-bushi…

Tokyo Port Festival is an annual event held to commemorate the opening of the terminal in 1941. It’s…

The Aoi Matsuri (葵祭) or the “Hollyhock Festival” is one of Kyoto’s three major festivals (the others being…

This festival started in 1988 as a way to remind people of the prestigious past of this area…

The Grand Festival (例大祭) at Nikko Toshogu Shrine is held on 17 & 18 May every year in…

Okinawa themed anything is always a draw in Japan. This time it is Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City that hosts…

Annual festival commemorating the entry of the feudal lord Maeda Toshiie into Kanazawa Castle in 1583

Annual event celebrating the anniversary of the opening of Yokohama Port to America, Holland, Russia, Britain, and France…

This festival—centered around Torigoe Shrine in Asakusabashi—has a history dating back to the Heian era (794-1185 CE), but…