Hot air balloons decorate the sky as international festival opens in Saga
Dozens of hot air balloons from all over the world decorated the clear autumn sky on Thursday as the Saga International Balloon Fiesta opened in the Kyushu city. Pilots fired up balloons with an array of colors and shapes to carry them high above the ...
Mexicans paraded in the streets of the capital dressed as elegant skeletons Saturday as the country's Day of the Dead festivities extend in scope and popularity. Thousands of revelers gathered at the foot of Mexico City's Angel of Independence statue wearing costumes and face paint ...
Indian business sags as Diwali prospects dim
For Indian executive Bibhas Chakraborty, Diwali used to mean shiny expensive gifts from business associates keen to use the auspicious — and spectacular — Hindu festival to deepen ties. Now he mostly gets sweets and nuts. As Asia's third-largest economy battles waning consumer demand, extravagant ...
Aichi illustrator shines light on local moon-viewing tradition called 'Japan's Halloween'
There is a tradition in Japan of holding moon-viewing parties to celebrate the harvest on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, believed to be the best time of the year to watch the full moon, and this year it ...
Harajuku Omotesando Genki-sai Super Yosakoi 2019
In August, the streets of Japan are filled with the sounds of music and dance. In Tokyo, one of the monster events is the Harajuku Omotesando Genki-sai Super Yosakoi, for which more than 100 teams gather to perform on streets and stages in the ...
Japanese Bon dance picking up popular tunes as it goes international
The Bon Odori dance, once a community event and a midsummer ritual for consoling ancestors' spirits, has evolved drastically in recent years, picking up popular disco and anime tunes and attracting people regardless of their age or nationality. "Let's take Bon dance to the world!" ...
Fuji Rock '19: The 'international' festival gets more worldly
On the Thursday night before the Fuji Rock Festival begins in earnest, part of the festival site is open to everyone free of charge.
Japan's summer festivals plan for a final party before Olympic fever hits
As Yo La Tengo once sang, "summer's what you make it," and that's especially true in Japan this year. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are likely to throw a major wrench (or should that be hammer?) in the works for next summer's festival ...
Stranger things: Weird ways to get festive in Japan
Men in straw capes wearing ferocious horned masks with gleaming eyes and long, pointed fangs stare down at a group of reporters. Others donning masks of a devil, monkey and a long-nosed tengu birdman squat as they pose for photographs during a news conference ...
Namahage demon festival of northern Japan grapples with blessing and curse of UNESCO listing
As a child, Tatsuo Sato was terrified when the Namahage demons roared into his house every year, but in adulthood he mourned as the centuries-old tradition faded away. "The kids disappeared, the young people disappeared. We had to give it up," Sato, 78, said of ...
Coming-of-age ceremonies in areas of Japan devastated by last year's disasters hold extra poignancy
Those who were born in 1998 and became 20 years old in the last year number 1.25 million — about half of the national record of 2.46 million set in 1970.
More than 70 percent of youths and young adults prefer to celebrate their coming-of-age at 20, even though the age of legal adulthood in Japan will be lowered to 18 in April 2022, according to a recent online survey by a Japanese think tank. The ...
