5 Most Popular Festivals to Check Out in the Kansai Region
Mar 23, 2018 By Justin Hanus
There’s always a famous festival in every country that draws pilgrims, tourists, the one-time visitors and even locals. There’s that exhilarating energy that wafts in the air when you hear the drums booming, the music blaring, the dancing, the merriment and all the energy that is ablaze every time there’s...[ Click to read more ]
Getting Hot Under the Collar at Tejikara Fire Festival
Mar 22, 2018 By Bert Wishart
I sometimes worry about the Japanese and their propensity for dangerous festivals. With logs hurtling down hills, submergence in icy water and the violence inherent in the naked festival, it seems quite often that a festival isn't complete without someone getting hurt. I’d like to tell you that the Tejikara Fire Festival...[ Click to read more ]
Sake’ing it to ya, at the Nayabashi Sake Festival in Ngaoya
Feb 26, 2018 By Bert Wishart
Forget Asahi, Kirin or Strong Zero, there can be no doubt that the national drink of Japan is sake. ‘Nihonshu’, to give it its proper title (with ‘sake’ being a term to cover all alcoholic drinks), has been the main tipple of choice in these parts since the Nara period (710 to 794),...[ Click to read more ]
Oagata Shrine Fertility Festival, Celebrating the Power of Femininity
By Bert Wishart
If you have spent any time in Nagoya or its surrounds, then it is a good chance that you have heard of the Hōnen Matsuri harvest festival at Komaki. You, know that one. The one with the huge phallus that gets paraded around the city streets and everyone goes a...[ Click to read more ]
Hinamatsuri, or the Doll’s Festival in Hiroshima
Feb 21, 2018 By Matt Mangham
“Hinamatsuri,” also called Girl’s Day or the Doll’s Festival, is a day that will either charm you or leave you cold. If you have a domestic bent, or a fondness for dolls or traditional craft, it’s sure to win you over. Officially, the day itself is on March 3, although...[ Click to read more ]
Komaki Air Base Open Base
Feb 20, 2018 By
Do you know how it feels to perform death defying stunts in the air, to have the power of some of the world's most sophisticated artillery at your finger tips, to have the wind rushing through your hair? Well the brave men and women of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force...[ Click to read more ]
World Igloo Building Championship at Osorakan Snow Park
Jan 29, 2018 By Matt Mangham
Without a little advance planning, midwinter in Japan can seem bleak, especially in the city. Which is precisely why it makes good sense to get out of town. Whether you head for an onsen to drive out the chill, or light out for a winter festival, it’s a good time...[ Click to read more ]
Sake Tasting in Tokyo
Jan 20, 2018 By Bert Wishart
Sake, of course, is famous around the world for being Japan's national drink. Though the drinking of Chinese alcohol is thought to predate recorded history, it is believed that sake as it is currently known - made up of rice, water and 'kōji' mold - dates from around the Nara period (710...[ Click to read more ]
Tondo Festivals in Hiroshima 2017
Dec 22, 2017 By Matt Mangham
Across Hiroshima Prefecture, early to mid-January involves one final, festive bit of housekeeping with regard to the year just passed. Part of ‘Koshagatsu,’ which marks the traditional lunar new year, it’s called the Tondo festival. In public parks, school grounds and shrine courtyards, people gather around towering bonfires of bamboo,...[ Click to read more ]
Miyajima’s Daisho-in Temple near Hiroshima
By Matt Mangham
January is a wonderful month to make a trip to Miyajima. Whether you’re heading out early in the month for the year’s first ‘hatsumoude’ visit to the island’s World Heritage Itsukushima Shrine, or stopping by mid-month for the shrine’s Tondo festival, make sure not to miss out on another of...[ Click to read more ]
