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July 05, 2025
 

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FESTIVALS

LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Dec 12, 2016
Let's discuss Japanese festivals joining UNESCO's heritage list
Thirty-three traditional festivals from across Japan have been added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Nov 7, 2016
Let's discuss Halloween in Shibuya
To avoid turmoil near JR Shibuya Station over Halloween, the police planned to dedicate two nearby streets to pedestrians only.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Aug 25, 2016
Koenji's Awa Odori festival celebrates 60 years
For the past few weeks, visitors and residents in Koenji have been haunted by a song — a plaintive, pentatonic melody that seems to circle endlessly, never quite resolving. You can hear it playing over speakers on the station platform just before the train doors close. It's there again as you walk...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2016
Norwegian woman picked to lead cherry blossom festival featuring Edo Period costumes
A 27-year-old Norwegian national has become the first Western female ever to be chosen to play a leading role at a cherry blossom festival in the city of Tsubame, Niigata Prefecture, which features women dressed as high-class Edo Period (1603-1868) courtesans.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 23, 2015
On a Christmas visit, expat thoughts turn to 'going home'
Reconnecting with home can be a cause for reflection: Where have I been, and where am I going? Is there another life to return to?
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Nov 9, 2015
Let's discuss Halloween in Japan
Retailers are hoping to further capitalize on an event that by one estimate will generate ¥122 billion in Japan.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Sep 28, 2015
Santa Claus is spared bankruptcy
Finland's Santa Claus Office avoided bankruptcy thanks to the help of a new owner.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 16, 2015
Weary of refugees, Munich to find release in Oktoberfest
Germany's decision to restore border controls to stem a tide of refugees may have stunned Europe but is being cheered in Munich as it gears up for a far bigger influx of 6 million beer-swigging visitors to the 182nd Oktoberfest.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2015
Annual Roppongi Hills Bon festival features original 'Ropponjin Ondo' music
The annual Roppongi Hills Bon-Odori kicked off Saturday, giving visitors to the festival a chance to experience a Japanese summer tradition.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 17, 2015
Farewell until next year, heat, humidity and o-haka-mairi
Summer is when the Japanese commune with family, ghosts and an ignoble wartime past.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Aug 10, 2015
Aomori is Japan's top tourist destination for festivals
Aomori in northeastern Japan is the most popular prefecture for festivals, surpassing Kyoto, a survey by a major travel agency showed.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Aug 10, 2015
Let's discuss 'Star Wars ' floats at the Aomori Nebuta festival
Organizers of the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri will not allow much-awaited floats based on 'Star Wars' characters to parade on the city's streets.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 26, 2015
Even the departed are abandoning Japan's countryside
At a time when Japan is trying to revitalize the countryside, the dead are being relocated to the big cities.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jun 22, 2015
Nebuta float heads to Milan Expo
A Nebuta Festival float from Aomori is heading to Italy to participate in a 'Japan Day' parade at the 2015 Milan Expo.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jun 18, 2015
A festival for every weekend of your summer
Festivals (matsuri) of all kinds are a staple of Japanese culture and summer is the premier season to experience them. In recent years, the country has seen a bit of a boom in cultural festivals, to the point that it's possible to book every weekend of your summer around them. We're here to help by highlighting...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 9, 2015
Yokohama: Who would be your ultimate date for Valentine's Day?
Love is in the air as couples celebrate their relationship and singles search for their soul mates. Who would be your ultimate Valentine's Day date?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 22, 2014
Tokyo: What's your worst Christmas memory?
An unscientific selection of views from around the capital suggests that Americans have more fun than Japanese at Christmas.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 1, 2014
Yokohama: How can you make your Christmas in Japan more ... Christmassy?
Many foreigners will spend the Christmas holiday in Japan away from family. So how do they attempt to create the feeling of a Western Christmas like those they knew back home?
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Aug 26, 2014
[SLIDESHOW] Street dancing at Super Yosakoi 2014
This year, the Super Yosakoi event attracted 98 dance teams from all across Japan. Over the weekend of Aug .23-24, approximately 6,000 team members of all ages strutted their stuff on stages and boulevards in Tokyo's Harajuku and Omotesando area. Here are highlights from the festival's climax: a continuous four-hour parade of dance, song and smiles.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Aug 13, 2014
Lighting the way for o-Bon
Toro nagashi is a long-held Japanese tradition where candle-lit lanterns are released into rivers to guide the spirits of ancestors back to the other world during the o-Bon season.
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’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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