Events In Japan | Summer Festivals

Taking place throughout the month of July, the Gion Matsuri in Kyoto is Japan’s most famous festival. There are parades of decorated floats on the 24 and 31, which are the most significant dates of the festival. It has taken place since 869, and is registered as a UNESCO Cultural Heritage. It is one of the oldest festivals in the world.

The Tenjin Matsuri, which, according to legend started in 951, honors Sugawara Michizane, the Shinto god of scholarship. Several portable shrines are carried along the streets of the city as lantern-adorned boats float down the river, finally ending with fireworks. There are food stalls and music as well.

In this festival, teams of 400 to 1,000 people pull massive 4‑ton wooden floats through narrow streets at high speeds. There are booming taiko and flute rhythms, as well as a nighttime lantern parade that makes it an amazing experience.

This festival in Tokyo celebrates community spirit through portable shrines carried through the city’s waterways and streets. Over 50 portable shrines are featured, and visitors are encouraged to splash water at each other and at the shrines, symbolizing purification.

30,000 lanterns light up the road to the shrine in this festival, centered around celebrating the souls of the dead.

Attracting over 1 million visitors every year, the 400-year-old Awa Odori Matsuri is a legendary dance festival located in Tokushima on the island of Shikoku. Dancers wear traditional outfits as they perform the Fool’s Dance, which originated from the lyrics of a song that say, “Both who dance and watch are fools, so if you are both fools, why not dance?”

At this festival, the traditional Yosakoi dance is performed. It is colorful and unique, with many dance troupes performing to a vareity of music.

The Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is famous for its giant illuminated floats depicting warriors, myths and gods. With energetic taiko drums, dancers in traditional haneto costumes, and a lively nighttime parade, it’s an unforgettable cultural experience that combines art, history and celebration.

The Akita Kanto Matsuri, related to the Tanabata festival, has many lanterns as well as kanto competitions. Kanto are long bamboo poles, usually with paper lanterns attached to the end. Some of them weigh up to 50 kilograms and are almost 12 meters long. There are daytime and nighttime performances.

While Tanabata festivals are performed throughout Japan, Sendai’s is the biggest. There are many colorful streamers hung from displays around the city’s shopping arcades, as well as street food in Shimin Hiroba Square in Kotodai Park, and a fireworks display in Nishi Park on August 5 sets the stage for the festival to come. Many visitors wear beautiful yukatas to celebrate.

This festival is known for its thrilling race of men carrying massive, elaborately decorated floats through the streets. It offers an exhilarating glimpse into local culture and centuries-old Shinto rituals.

Derived from the Japanese Buddhist custom of honoring ancestors’ spirits, the Torroti Shan-Shan Festival is a celebration of colorful umbrella dances. The term “shan-shan” is representative of the sound of boiling, which is symbolized by little bells at the end of the umbrellas.