Across Japan, Ebisu is one of Shinto’s most popular deities. Deaf and lame, and always laughing (hence the Japanese term ‘ebisugao’ for a smiling face) Ebisu is the god of...[ Click to read more ]
Japan has a slew of fire rituals, the most famous of which being Kyoto’s famous Daimonji Festival. These festivals, leveraging ancient notions of purification and renewal, continue to draw people...[ Click to read more ]
Inoko Festivals are a familiar feature of autumn across western Japan. Hiroshima has been running its own Grand Inoko festival since 1990, although there was a 17-year hiatus prior to...[ Click to read more ]
In early October of every year, Hiroshima Prefecture’s Saijo town (part of Higashi-Hiroshima) lets its hair down for a massive, two-day block party. One of Japan’s three premier sake-brewing locales,...[ Click to read more ]
If you missed the Onomichi Lantern Festival on the 13th, or you were blown away by it and wanted more, the Takehara Shokei-no-michi Candle Festival may be just what you’re...[ Click to read more ]
Onomichi’s Lantern Festival (Onomichi Akari Matsuri) makes for a perfect way to see this jewel of a small city and its historic temple district. Some 30,000 paper lanterns light the...[ Click to read more ]
Tsukimi, or Moon Viewing, is a Japanese tradition going back to the Heian period, when portions of the old Chinese mid-Autumn festivals blended with local practices to create one more...[ Click to read more ]
I regularly meet people traveling through Hiroshima. And because my wife has suggested I be friendlier, I ask them what they’ve seen and enjoyed. Most of the answers are unsurprising,...[ Click to read more ]
Let’s say you arrive in Hiroshima for the August 6th Peace Memorial Ceremony a day early. You don’t feel like sitting around the hotel room watching TV, but what feels...[ Click to read more ]
Both of my daughters have attended and enjoyed this wonderful local film festival for their entire lives. If you’re living in Hiroshima, or are lucky enough to be passing through...[ Click to read more ]