festival

The Jidai Matsuri event is taking place again right now in Kyoto. The weather seems to have dipped a bit and is providing some rain today. Not too bad but a lot of umbrellas were on show. Always nice to see these…

On August 16th each year the traditional Gozan no Okuribi 五山送り火 bonfires are lit on the mountain side around Kyoto. This is part of the obon festival. There are five bonfires in total. I managed to capture a few of them this year.…

There is a special Kyoto Tanabata festival being held on the Horikawa and Kamogawa rivers. I went for an evening walk at the Horikawa river event.

Today was the annual Hoshi Matsuri at the Agon Shu Temple in Kyoto. I was surprised to see it being broadcast on so many different television stations live, including the BBC. Were you watching in your part of the world? The Hoshi…

Summer is a time of festivals in Japan and also the time of Obon. I took these photos at a local matsuri in Chiba which included plenty of drum playing and obon dancing.

The Bonden Festival is held in various parts of Akita-ken. I attended this one in Yokote City. A Bonden represents a mythical marker point for the gods to descend to our world. The Bonden is carried through the streets and holds with it the…

Setsubun is approaching very soon. In Japan, the festival Setsubun is celebrated on February 3. It is thought of as a festival which helps remove evil and usher in luck. Lets hope we have lots of luck in 2010. In preparation, stores sell…

There are often mini festivals on in Japan around the station area. This one was a couple of days ago, but I forgot to put the pictures up. I was passing by on my way home and saw the stalls set up for okonomiyaki and takoyaki, as well…

The Kigurimi 2009 Summit for Yurukyara (ゆるキャラ) Festival is on in Hikone, Shiga-ken (滋賀県彦根) from 23rd to 25th October, 2009. Over 100 soft toy characters from all over Japan will be at the Festival. To get to the event you can catch…

Another day, another matsuri (festival), this time in Sakuragaoka-cho (桜丘町), Shibuya. This was just a local matsuri involving the kids carrying the omikoshi through the streets. Looks like they had a good time.…

Team Shibuya CENTER-GAI is helping Shibuya to celebrate the Tanabata Matsuri by decorating the entrance and streets of Center-gai. The festival runs from July 23 to August 08, 2009. It was not that busy today at the Shibuya…

I was walking up the hill at Sakuragaoka-cho when I came across this live jazz festival under the Sakura trees. Of course a Sakura festival is nothing without some treats to go with it. and treats are nothing without some…

The weather doesn't feel like it today, but Spring is upon us. In Shibuya, the Sakuragaoka area is getting ready for a festival. The Cerulean Tower are putting on a display of Hinamatsuri, Doll's Festival, which is held every year across…

On Sunday March 1st the Rainbow Bridge connecting Shibaura and Odaiba will be closed to allow the general public to walk across the bridge in a walk festival. The event is said to be in aid of: building excitement for the sports…