Japan Summer Travel Guide (Part 1)

Summer is an exciting and colorful travel season, not only offering ample vacation time to enjoy with family, but also more opportunities to travel abroad and broaden one's horizons. Summer in Japan is also a peak season for charming festivals (matsuri). You should consider participating to experience a different, passionate side of Japan.

What exactly are Japanese festivals?

Answer: Grand ceremonies to welcome and send off gods.

Japanese festival rituals often involve welcoming a deity to offer worship, then sending the deity back. Thus, the process is generally divided into welcoming and sending off the gods, with the deity carried in a portable shrine (mikoshi) during a procession.

Which festivals in Japan are most worth visiting?

Kyoto Gion Matsuri:

This is one of Japan's most famous festivals and a major summer event. During Gion Matsuri, Kyoto's streets are filled with grand processions and elaborately decorated floats, attracting a large number of tourists and residents. This year, the yamahoko parade routes for the pre-festival on July 17th and the post-festival on July 24th will be the same as in previous years. Additionally, the highly anticipated 'Taka-yama' float will officially rejoin the post-festival procession for the first time since the late Edo period. This year, there will be a total of 33 yamahoko floats, with the largest weighing up to 12 tons. Assembling, parading, and dismantling each requires about 180 people. The most famous is the 'Naginata-hoko,' which leads the procession every year; it carries a large halberd symbolizing the defeat of epidemic and evil spirits. The second float in the fixed order is the 'Kanko-hoko,' whose origin is linked to the story of 'The Dog and the Cock' from the Chinese Warring States period concerning Lord Mengchang. Other yamahoko floats also have unique and interesting historical backgrounds.

Nagasaki Lantern Festival:

Held in July each year, this is one of Japan's most distinctive summer celebrations, taking place in Nagasaki City. During the festival, thousands of lanterns light up the entire city, creating a beautiful nightscape. This festival originated from the celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year 'Spring Festival' and is a major winter attraction in Nagasaki. In central Nagasaki, including Shinchi Chinatown, Minato Park, Chuo Park, around Meganebashi Bridge, Hamamachi, and the shopping arcades, about 15,000 colorful Chinese lanterns and large artistic structures decorate the streets, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. During the festival, various venues host vibrant performances such as dragon dances, Chinese acrobatics, and erhu concerts, all rich in Chinese characteristics.

Hirosaki Castle in Aomori Prefecture and Aomori Nebuta Matsuri:

Hirosaki Castle is a historically significant castle, and in summer it hosts a spectacular fireworks display. The Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is the largest summer festival in Aomori Prefecture, famous for its giant nebuta floats (lantern boats) and nebuta parades, attracting many visitors. This year it will be held in August. The main features of the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri are the 'large nebuta floats' and the 'haneto' group dance. The large nebuta floats are three-dimensional, brightly colored lantern floats depicting samurai figures such as 'Ushiwakamaru and Benkei' (Ushiwakamaru is the childhood name of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a general of the Minamoto clan from the late Heian to early Kamakura period; Benkei was a rogue warrior monk who later became Yoshitsune's vassal after being subdued). The haneto group dance involves dancers moving to the rhythm of drums and accompanying music, creating a spectacular and lively procession.

In the next part, I will introduce recommended lesser-known festivals in Japan.