Omisoka Festival is held on New Years Eve in Japan. Normally the evening is spent with family and a traditional food called Toshikoshi soba is eaten to see in the New Year. Toshikoshi Soba is a plain soup with noodles.

Around midnight people will often visit a temple to see in the new year. This is called Hatsumode or the first praying in the New Year. Another tradition is to watch Kouhaku on NHK television. This is a variety show that is watched by the nation every year and does the countdown for New Year.

Date: November 15

Shichi go san Festival (7-5-3 Festival) is a ceremony held each year for the children who turn 3,5, or 7 that year. Specifically, girls who are three and seven attend, and for boys it is when you turn five. Traditionally the girls get dressed up in ceremonial kimono and the boys wear a traditional outfit called a hakama. This is a national holiday and is held each year on November 15th.

Families get the kids dressed up and take them to a shrine to be blessed for health and a long life. Read the rest of this entry »

Date: Mid-August

Obon usually occurs in mid-August in Tokyo and the central regions, but there are variations on when it is held throughout Japan.  The festival lasts for three days and is held each year to guide dead spirits home. Obon has become a family reunion type holiday in Japan.

It is a Buddist tradition and  it is believed that deceased relatives return to their family home during this period. During this holiday family members return to the family home and often sweep and tend to the graves of their deceased ancestors. Read the rest of this entry »

Dates: August 5-8 (Sendai), July 7 (Kanto)

Tanabata is a festival based on the meeting of two stars. The story goes that Orihime was a weaver who wove her tapestries on one bank of the Milky Way.  Hikoboshi was a cow herder who lived on the other bank. The two met and fell in love but both of their work suffered for it.

Orihime’s angry father separated them and forbade them to meet. However, on seeing the despair of his daughter, Orihime’s father gave them permission to cross the river and meet one day per year on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunisolar calendar. Read the rest of this entry »

Date: May 5

Kodomo no Hi literally means Children’s Day. Historically it was Tango no Sekku and was held on the 5th day of the 5th month (of the lunar calendar) as a boys festival. The Japanese government renamed it Kodomo no Hi  in 1948, and declared it a national holiday in appreciation of all children and their mothers. However, it is still essentially celebrated as the historical boys version of Hinamatsuri. Read the rest of this entry »

Dates: March 16 to End of April (undpredictable)

Depending on the region, hanami bloom at different times. The further north you get the later the sakura bloom. The earliest recorded date for sakura to bloom in Tokyo was March 16, in 2002 but they usually bloom sometime in later March to early April.

Hanami is a wonderful time of year in Japan. Many of the parks and river banks are lined with Cherry blossom trees which bloom in unison during Cherry Blossom Season. Read the rest of this entry »

Date: March 3

Hinamatsuri is the Doll Festival and is held on the 3rd day of the 3rd month (March 3rd).  This day is also known as Girls’ Day as it is believed that the decoration of hina dolls helps to ward away bad spirits and ensure future happiness for a family’s daughters. Read the rest of this entry »

Date: 2nd Monday in January

Seijinshiki is the Japanese Coming-of-Age ceremony and is the western equivalent to a 21st party. Youths who turn 20 between April 2nd of the precious year and April 1st of the current year attend that years ceremony.

The ceremony is held on the 2nd Monday of January and is usually held at the local ward or city office. Women often wear Furisode Kimono and Zori shoes. This is a traditional Kimono with draping long sleeves and pretty Japanese style sandals. Read the rest of this entry »

Date: January 1 (midnight, December 31)

The Japanese celebrate the incoming new year on the first of January (Oshogatsu). In Japan Christmas was not really celebrated historically although it is slowly gaining in popularity now.  However, Christmas is more like Valentine’s Day in Japan and it is Oshogatsu which holds the most similarity with Christmas.  Read the rest of this entry »

Date: February 3

Setsubun happens four times a year on the day before each new season. Setsubun itself literally means division of the seasons. Perhaps the most celebrated Setsubun is the Spring Setsubun, or Harumatsuri, which generally occurs on February 3rd.

Before the Gregorian calendar was adopted in Japan, the New Year of the Lunar Calendar was spring so this festival had special meaning in cleansing out the bad spirits and ensuring good luck and fortune for the year to come. Read the rest of this entry »