Undeniably influential to the development of the modern fashion landscape, Tokyo is widely considered a mecca for fashion enthusiasts for its distinct range of aesthetics and environment that allow
Otaimatsu Festival Nara: the Otaimatsu Fire Ceremony at Nigastsu-do Temple in Nara takes place in March; young monks carry huge, flaming torches around the open balcony of the temple.
The festivals (matsuri) in Japan are colorful moments that often reveal another side of the Japanese: their customary reserve gives way to exuberance but perfectionism is always in order,
For twenty years, in the heart of winter, the small port town of Otaru to the west of Sapporo has adorned itself with its most beautiful finery (traditional lanterns, candles, illuminated ice sculp
The Fukushima Waraji Festival in Fukushima city takes place on the first weekend in August and features parades and dances on the theme of straw sandals.
Osaka Festivals: see a listing of festivals in Osaka throughout the year from January to December including the Tenjin Festival and the Danjiri Matsuri.
On the occasion of the major contemporary art event, the Setouchi Triennale, visitors and art enthusiasts will have to sail between the different islands of the Seto Inland Sea to visit the works.
From April 22 to May 8, Koinobori invades Roppongi Midpark. A project was set up in honor of Children's Day on May 5, which delights young and old around Tokyo Midtown!
Tokyo is renowned for its well-developed public transportation system but intends to showcase the best transportation system in the world during the 2020 Olympics!
Basketball has been on the schedule for the Summer Olympics since 1936. In 2020, the discipline returns for its 20th Olympiad. And it will be accompanied by a variant of the sport in 3x3.
Hungry after a day of attending the Olympic games... Discover our selection of favorite restaurants near the venues of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games events!
The Paralympic Games have gone hand in hand with the Olympic Games for several decades. They allow people with different physical disabilities to compete in sporting categories of their own.
The Some no Komichi festival in Nakai and Ochiai in Shinjuku celebrates the area's traditional fabric dyeing industry with fabrics displayed in the streets.
Dazaifu Tenmangu has a plum tree famous for the legend that says it flew from Kyoto to join teacher Sugawara no Michizane. Much later, an Empress planted another at its side.
Every year, Rikugi-en holds its spring illuminations. Ten days of festivities during which the cherry blossoms reveal their most beautiful colors under the nocturnal lighting of the garden!
Head to northern Tohoku, Kitakami, for a festival that combines cherry blossoms and Koinobori, to vie the flying carp and pink petals soaring in the spring air!
Every seven years, the famous Zenkoji temple, located in the city of Nagano, unveils a replica of the first statue of Amida Buddha: an event that attracts more than 5 million visitors!
Every year since 2014 Yokohama has organized its Pikachu Outbreak, 8 days of festivities centered around the most famous Pokémon on the planet: Pikachu!
Created in Komagome in the 17th century by order of shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Rikugi-en is one of Tokyo's most famous gardens for its reddening leaves!
For centuries, every second Sunday of March, yamabushi (monks living in the mountains) come to practice in great ceremony the asceticism of fire, Hiwatari, at the foot of Mount Ta
In the historic district of Fukagawa, the Fukagawa Hachiman Festival takes place every year. It is one of the three most critical Shinto festivals in Tokyo!
From the end of October to the beginning of November the streets of Naha, the capital of Okinawa, are full of color and invite you on a journey back in time, to the era of the Ryukyu Kingdom...
Tenjin Matsuri (天神際) is one of Osaka's largest and most colorful festivals. Tenjin Festival takes place annually on July 24 and July 25 around Tenjin Shrine.
Like Rome, Kyoto didn't happen in a day. The two thousand participants parading during the Jidai Matsuri honor the memory of the great figures who helped shape the city's long history.
Every year in August, on the 26th, an explosion of colors and shapes lights the sky over Miyajima behind the iconic torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine, offering an unforgettable spectac
The impressive Kiyomizu-dera, a temple on magnificent stilts, offers a spectacle three times a year worthy of a visit to celebrate the dragon god Seiryu.
Every March, generally the second week, the Higashiyama district is adorned with two thousand five hundred lanterns placed on the ground which illuminate the alleys and other remar
Originally a message of hope and comfort to the victims of the Kobe earthquake in 1995, the Kobe Luminarie has become one of the most famous places in Japan for winter illuminations.
The Tori no Ichi is a year-end festival for fortune in the next year held in November at shrines mainly in Tokyo and features a gorgeously decorated good luck charm called a kumade.
In countries throughout the world artisans are often attached to their tools, but Japan may be the only country where they carry out religious ceremonies for their used and broken instruments...
In Hakata, the Dontaku Festival has been celebrated for more than 800 years. Held during Golden Week, this carnival brings nearly 2 million people together every year.
Ikegami Honmonji Temple, Tokyo: people from Nichiren Buddhist temples all over Japan come to commemorate the death of the 13th century priest Nichiren.
The Awa Odori , or dance of Awa, is danced on the festival of the dead, Obon. It is one of the most common and appreciated traditional dances in Japan.
In addition to numerous concept cars of Japanese brands, the International Exhibition of Tokyo Motor Show presents the latest innovations in eco-friendly vehicles.
At sunset, one day in early August, when the the cicadas wrap the twilight in their sweet ballad, after the intense heat of the day, the sky shines brightly over the Yodogawa River.
An unusual visit, the cherry-tree-lined driveway of the banknote factory of the Japan Mint (government agency), however offers some of the finest flowers every year.
For over 1 200 years, Todaiji has been celebrating the return of spring by flamboyant purification ceremonies that end in a grand finale with the soothing water.
Heisei Emperor's Birthday: there are two days in the year when ordinary people can enter the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo: the Emperor's birthday and January 2nd, the Emperor's New Year Greetin
Held annually at the end of September in Chiba, the Tokyo Game Show brings together the great family of geeks for three days of discovery and entertainment.
Medieval ships gliding on the water, accompanied by the haunting sound of drums, flutes and other stringed instruments, all supported by a cheering crowd?
Thirty minutes by train seperate Kawagoe from central Tokyo. That is nothing when it comes to discovering its amazing festival, which is held every third weekend of October.
Renowned as one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan along with the Gion Matsuri in Kyoto and the Chichibu Matsuri in Saitama Prefecture, Takayama Matsuri is held twice a year.
Osaka's Tenjin Matsuri remains one of the three biggest festivals in Japan. A celebration that lasts two days where parades, floats and other illuminations are in the spotlight.
One night of May in Nara. The breath of flutes and the dull pulse of drums set the tempo. The torches bathe the actors in a golden glow. Takigi Noh exalts the sublime art of Noh theater.
Come and see over three thousand traditional Japanese lanterns, which shine for three days during this festival, which is held every year from February 3rd at Kasuga Taisha shrine.
One March 21st, many years ago, Kobo Daishi (774-835), founder of the Shingon Buddhist school and celebrated in most temples in Koyasan, went into meditation for eternity.
If you travel through Koyasan in April, you may come face to face with a curious procession when visiting Garan Temple: on the 10th of the most important ceremonies of the sacred mountain is held,
How was an inhabitant of a village in Shikoku able to rise up to the level of the great and travel to China? Aoba Matsuri honors the work of this major figure in Japanese Buddhism.
For a weekend, the Asano River comes alive and hosts actors and dancers. While the branches are sagging under the weight of the cherry blossoms, men begin to float on water, as light as air.
Half naked firefighters perform acrobatics in the freezing cold. This tantalizing show takes place every January 6th, during the Kagatobi Dezomeshiki festival.
June is announced with great fanfare in Kanazawa, with the Hyakumangoku Matsuri. Featuring a parade and a series of dances, the Castle Park is filled with good humor.
The Sumida Festival illuminates the Tokyo sky. Big summer event in the capital, the fireworks over the Sumida River are held on the last weekend of July.
When the cherry blossom festival is coming to an end, the Sanno Festival in Takayama celebrates the arrival of spring with a parade of floats through the city.
Earth Celebration: read a guide to the Earth Celebration on Sado Island in Japan, an annual international percussion festival organized by the Kodo Drummers.
From July 1st, a frenzy grips the Hakata area of Fukuoka. The seven districts clash in huge chariot races in memory of a priest: this is the Hakata Gion Yamakasa.
Brought back from China in the 13th century by a craftsman by the name of KATO Shirozaemon, the techniques for creating ceramics had immense success in Japan.
Clamour of the street, children running, families walking around to the rhythm of the shows that resonate in the city... Celebrate peace in Japanand harmony
The curtain rises on porcelain dolls as The Kyo Odori celebrates the arrival of spring with songs and dances performed by geiko (geisha) and apprentices, maik
Sweet habit, every 25 of the month, to go to the flea market of Kitano Tenmangu. On February 25, however, a charming tea ceremony, a nodate, a little more occasional.
Daimonji Festival Kyoto, Kyoto. Read about the August Daimonji Festival held in Kyoto where various hills in Kyoto are lit up with burning kanji characters.
Nagoya Festivals: see a listing of festivals (matsuri) in Nagoya and the central Japan region throughout the year including Nagoya, Arimatsu and Inuyama.
Anjin Festival Shizuoka. Read about the August Anjin Festival held in Ito, Shizuoka to celebrate the launch of Japan's first western style ships by William Adams.
Nagasaki Lantern Festival. Read an article on Nagasaki Lantern Festival which celebrates Chinese New Year at the end of January and the beginning of February in Nagasaki, Kyushu.
Otabi Festival Komatsu: read a guide to the Otabi Festival in Komatsu. The festival consists of children's kabuki performances on beautifully decorated floats with music.
A matsuri (festival) in glowing flames and colorful lights is to be discovered in the charming mountain village of Kurama, just half an hour from the center of Kyoto.
The city of Genji Monogatari offers a nice fireworks display (August 10) on the banks of the Ujigawa, more intimate and convivial than the major events of the genre.
Since 1872, the Pontochô Kaburenjo theater has been hosting “the dances of the Kamo river” - the one that winds slowly through the Pontochô district - one month a year at the end of spring (variabl
Sakai Festival: takes place on the third Saturday and Sunday of October. Look out for a bicycle parade, a flea market in Xavier Park and a tea ceremony.
Arimatsu Festival (Arimatsu Matsuri): the town of Arimatsu, a suburb of Nagoya, has a colorful festival on the first weekend of October with large floats.
Owari Tsushima Tenno Festival, Aichi Prefecture 尾張津島天王際 - The 500-year-old Owari Tsushima Tenno Festival takes place annually on the 4th Saturday and Sunday in July in Tsushima just outside Nagoya.
Konomiya Hadaka Festival The town of Konomiya, part of Inazawa, just outside Nagoya witnesses one of Japan’s most famous hadaka matsuri or naked festivals.
