There are lots of different festivals, both big and small, in Japan. There is some sort of event happening somewhere sometime which you may love to visit. Every Japanese festival is based on a specific theme and is celebrated at a particular time. These festivals are full of fun, food, games, fireworks, and frolic, providing an all-around entertainment, and can happen anywhere from a temple to shrines, from shops to parks. Therefore, plan your Japan festival tours according to the type of festival you want to visit as well as the time of year you want to visit this fascinating country.
January to April
There are lots of exciting festivals in Japan within the first six months of the year. For example, in January and February, you can visit Yuki Matsuri or ‘Sapporo snow festival” in Hokkaido. This week-long festivity is one of most popular winter events where you can see some great snow and ice sculptures. In March, there is Omizutori or ‘sacred water-drawing’ festival in Nara. This is a Buddhist festival held for two weeks to cleanse the sins of the people for a better spring in the new year. On the first Sunday In April, visit the Kanamara Matsuri in Kawasaki. This ‘penis festival’ has a lot of different stories behind its origination though.
July, August and September
Moving on to the later half of the year, in July you can visit the Gion Matsuri which is considered to be the mother of all Japanese festivals. This festival is actually a purification ritual. This pleases the gods that cause floods, fire, and of course, earthquakes. In the month of August, there is Aomori Nebuta Matsuri which involves creature-inspired floats as armies to scare off the enemies. Finally, there is the Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri in September, which is the Japanese harvest festival. With so much on offer, the choice is obviously yours.
