festival
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Hakata Gion Matsuri: Fukuoka’s Spectacular Japanese Festival
Welcome to the Hakata Gion Matsuri, a captivating celebration of Japanese culture and tradition. It takes place annually in the historic city of Hakata, located in modern Fukuoka city. With its dazzling displays of ornate floats, mesmerizing performances, and delectable culinary delights, this festival has been captivating both locals and visitors for centuries. Steeped in…
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Setsubun Festival in Japan
On 3 February every year, people across Japan go to Shinto temples to participate in the Japanese Setsubun Festival or Bean-Throwing Festival. It marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring; it is one of the most important traditional events in Japan. The festival has been celebrated for centuries and has roots in…
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Karatsu Kunchi Festival, Japan
Just across the border of Fukuoka in Saga Prefecture on the coast lies Karatsu, a large coastal town. In addition to having a well-known castle, Karatsu is also one of three places in Japan that host a Kunchi festival. A Kunchi festival? What is that? It is one of Japan’s intangible folk cultural properties. In…
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Tanabata Festival in Sendai, Japan
If you are thinking about visiting Sendai in the summer, the best time to visit is around 7 August. Known for its famous Tanabata Festival (arguably the most well-known and definitely the largest one held in Japan), or the Star Festival, Sendai is decorated to the nines! What is the star festival? The legend The…
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Sansa Odori – The World’s Biggest Taiko Drumming Festival in Morioka, Japan
If you are in Japan in August, one of those places you must go to is Morioka. “What is so special about this place”, I hear you ask. “What can this small-to-medium-sized city a couple of hours north of Tokyo offer that other places in Japan can’t”? The answer to that is simple: Sansa Odori…
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Matsumoto Castle Grand Taiko Festival – Japanese Drumming
Picture this: you are studying Japanese intensively at a language school in Japan. It is the end of July and you have a couple of weeks off. What do you do? Where do you go? Well one possibility is the Matsumoto Castle Grand Taiko Festival. The best part (apart from the drumming) – it is…
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Hydrangea Festival at Takatôyama Park (Kitakyushu, Japan)
If you know anything about the Japanese, it is that they love their monoculture gardens. Many Japanese people also know when different flowering plants are in full bloom. Plum blossoms early in the year, cherry blossoms in April, Wisteria in mid-May, Peonies in late May/early June, etc. So what about mid-June? In mid-June the hydrangeas…
