Panel to seek UNESCO listing for 37 Japanese folk performance arts
The Council for Cultural Affairs decided Wednesday to recommend that 37 folk performance arts be added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The 37 traditional performing arts, including Bon odori dancing, that have been passed down for posterity in various parts in the country ...
Sapporo Snow Festival sees plunge in attendance amid coronavirus scare
The annual Sapporo Snow Festival drew 2.02 million visitors this year, down 716,000 from last year amid growing fears over the new coronavirus, the organizer said Tuesday. The number of visitors to the winter event marked a record 2.74 million last year, with Hokkaido gaining ...
Sapporo Snow Festival opens amid coronavirus fears and unusually warm winter
Sapporo's annual snow festival began in the city on Tuesday, amid fears over the outbreak of the coronavirus from China and soaring costs involved in transporting snow to the site amid an unusually warm winter. The number of visitors to the winter event in the ...
Stars throw soybeans in setsubun event at Naritasan Shinshoji temple
An annual bean-throwing event was held Monday at Naritasan Shinshoji, a major Buddhist temple in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, to mark setsubun, the day before the start of spring according to Japan's ancient calendar. On setsubun, people traditionally throw soybeans, chanting "oni wa soto" ("demons out") ...
A month of ice and fire: Japan's best winter festivals
Winter this year may have been relatively warm, but February brings a host of festive events across the country for snow-lovers and heat-seekers alike.
Swarms of barefoot believers thronged a revered icon of Jesus Christ on Thursday in Manila for a slow-moving and raucous procession that is considered one of the world's largest shows of Catholic fervor. As the sun rose, hundreds of thousands of faithful were packed along ...
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 ...
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.
