by Philbert Ono
This is the 2018 schedule of Awa Odori dance festivals to be held in the Tokyo/Kanto area (Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba Prefectures) from June to October 2018. Nobody has compiled such a schedule so I did it myself. Most Awa Odori are held in the summer and a few are held in autumn. A few are held as part
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“If you don’t visit Asakusa, you haven’t seen Tokyo” is what I always tell my tourist friends visiting Tokyo, even those who don’t like crowds or tourist traps. Amid this megacity’s modernity, Asakusa is an oasis of Tokyo’s “old town.” Asakusa’s fame and popularity is owed to Sensoji Temple (浅草寺), Tokyo’s most famous and popular Buddhist temple also called “Asakusa
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One of Tokyo’s most famous Buddhist temples, Zojoji (増上寺) is a major temple in the Shiba area of Minato Ward, Tokyo. It belongs to the Jodo-shu Pure Land sect (headquartered at Chion-in Temple in Kyoto). Soon after it moved to its present site in 1598, Zojoji became the Tokugawa shogun’s family temple. A family temple is where family members are
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The Handa Dashi Matsuri float festival (半田山車まつり) is held only once every 5 years in the city of Handa in Aichi Prefecture. The festival has a whopping 31 ornate wooden floats paraded on the streets near JR Handa Station. Handa is not far from Nagoya and Toyota. The headquarters of Mizkan vinegar is in Handa. The unique thing about the
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Tsuruga is a small coastal city (pop. 65,400) facing the Sea of Japan. Best known for nuclear power plants feeding power to Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, etc.), Hokuriku (Fukui, Ishikawa, Toyama), and Chubu (Aichi, Gifu, Nagano, etc.) regions. Tsuruga has this famous and historic beach of pine trees called Kehi no Matsubara (気比の松原), a National Scenic Site (名勝). The Tsuruga lantern-floating
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Fuji Rock Festival at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata was held on July 28–30, 2017. Went for the first time on a rainy Sat. (July 29). Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held since 1997. It used to be held at a ski resort at the foot of Mt. Fuji so it was named “Fuji.” They soon moved
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Happy Halloween in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan’s massive costume street gathering on Oct. 31, 2016. Saw it for the first time from about 9 pm to 10:30 pm. Costumers and cosplayers of all kinds gathered in Shibuya for three nights in a row since Sat. night on the 29th. Last night was the largest gathering despite Halloween falling on a weekday
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