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July 05, 2025
 

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FESTIVALS

Koenji-based dance troupe Tengu-ren performs at an Awa odori event in Tokyo's Kagurazaka neighborhood a month before the Koenji Awa Odori.
CULTURE / Longform
Aug 26, 2023
The party returns to Koenji
While the COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary pause to one of Tokyo’s biggest festivals, its dancers never stopped practicing their steps.
Tomohiko Sato (center) wrote a book titled "Yamakei Shinsho Tokyo Bon Odori Tengoku Odoru Meguru Tanoshimu" ("Tokyo Bon Dance Heaven").
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 12, 2023
Tomohiko Sato: 'The only rule is to dance the way the locals do'
Tomohiko Sato may be Japan’s only “Bon-bassador,” and his love for the Bon dance makes him a true representative for this summer tradition.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2023
Scores of horses suffer sunstroke at samurai festival
Organizers may move the annual event — featuring over 400 participants dressed as samurai on horseback — to a cooler time of year.
Chihiro Okada (right), a representative of Animal Rights Center, during a news conference at the Okinawa Prefectural Government building on July 10
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Aug 7, 2023
Confrontations deepen over duck-catching event in Okinawa
Animal rights groups say the event constitutes animal abuse.
On July 17, Jiyugaoka in western Tokyo held its summer Bon Odori Festival for the first time in four years. While the pandemic spelled the end of the road for some longstanding local events, others weathered the storm.
CULTURE / Longform
Jul 24, 2023
Fate of the fete: Japan’s matsuri fight to survive
While COVID-19 was the final nail in the coffin for many of the country's smaller festivals, others have clung on and are making a determined comeback this year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Photo essay
May 28, 2023
Does the pure joy seen at this year's Sanja Matsuri hint at a summer of celebration?
After scaled-down celebrations became the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of Tokyo's biggest festivals returns in full form.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 10, 2023
Already at risk, performing arts in northern Okinawa dealt blow by pandemic
The local culture of the Yanbaru region is rich in variety, ranging from dance and theater to staff fighting and drum dancing, but relies on being handed down from generation to generation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 22, 2023
Celebrate Setsubun with a dish of demon-ousting beans
Don't believe in soybeans' exorcising qualities? Maybe this recipe will convince you of their culinary merit instead.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2022
Yamahoko float parade returns in Kyoto's Gion Festival
Twenty-three yamahoko floats paraded on major streets of the city, a highlight of the traditional festival, which is said to be one of the country's three largest.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2022
Japan looks to reboot summer festivals and fireworks after pandemic hiatus
Organizers across the country are preparing to implement infection prevention measures in order to relaunch the summer traditions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 30, 2022
Riding logs and tempting fate at the Onbashira festival
After deaths in 2010 and 2016, who would volunteer for the Onbashira festival? The locals.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Dec 31, 2020
Japan Times 1996: Murayama to step down
A prime minister steps aside after being blamed for a series of blunders related to the previous year's catastrophes.
MULTIMEDIA
Jul 15, 2020
[VIDE0] With festival canceled by coronavirus, fireflies dance alone
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jun 20, 2020
Rethinking summer in Japan amid a pandemic
Japan struggles to deal with the cancellation of annual seasonal events that serve as a lifeblood for local communities.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 11, 2020
An island off the coast of COVID-19 presses pause on tradition
Smaller towns in Japan aren't having to deal with the pandemic directly, but its effects are still being felt on lifestyles as festivals opt to cancel celebrations.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2020
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.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 1, 2020
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.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Sep 27, 2019
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 fell on Sept. 13.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Aug 27, 2019
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 famous shopping district.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 31, 2019
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.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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By Alex K.T. Martin

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