Japanese festival | Travel Guide
Throughout the year there are many festivals in Japan, every region has its fair share of mainly spring, summer, and autumn festivals, but even in winter, some locales have festivities on the calendar. Summer is undeniably the peak of festival season, and fireworks are often part of it. If you visit Japan in summer, chances are you will happen upon a local festival, whether you are in the city or in the countryside.
Japanese Festivals (Matsuri)
Throughout the year there are many lively festivals, or matsuri, that are held throughout Japan. Which festivals are considered the most major ones?
Tokyo Mitama Matsuri | Japanese Festival Guide
During the hot summer days, one of the most spectacular Obon festivals in Japan is celebrated in central Tokyo. For the Mitama Festival, the Yasukuni Shrine is decorated with more than 30,000 traditional Japanese lanterns, running all the way from the great torii gate to the main gate of the sanctuary.
Kyoto Gion Matsuri Festival | Japanese Festival
The Gion Matsuri in Kyoto is one of the three most famous festivals in Japan with more than 1000 years of history. I’m crazy about this festival which is cool, high-spirited and elegant at the same time.
Nara Mantoe Matsuri Festival
August 15th is a special day for the Japanese as it is the anniversary of the end of World WarⅡand it is also the last day of the Bon holiday on which it is believed that ancestors’ spirits that came back to this world go back to the netherworld again. On this day, an annual event called Mantoe is held at night in the Todaiji temple in Nara.
Hiroshima Toro Nagashi Matsuri festival
Every August 6, the first atomic bombing in history is commemorated in the city of Hiroshima, where in a few minutes hundreds of thousands of souls perished under the bomb called “Fat man”
Osaka Danjiri Matsuri Festival
The Danjiri Matsuri (float festival), is said to have its origin in the Inari Matsuri held in the 16th year of the Genroku era (1703). The festival was created by the Lord of Kishiwada Castle to pray for an abundant harvest, and it has from its very beginning enjoyed great local support.