Japan Festivals: Festivals

• Sapporo Snow Festival (One week in early February)
  The main site is the Odori Site in Sapporo's centrally located 1.5 kilometer long Odori Park. The festival's famous large snow sculptures, some more than 15 meters tall and 25 meters wide, are exhibited there. They are lit up daily until 22:00.
  
  Besides about a dozen large snow sculptures, the Odori Site exhibits more than one hundred smaller snow and ice statues and hosts several concerts and events, many of which use the sculptures as their stage.



• Takayama Matsuri (April 14-15 and October 9-10)
  Large and elaborately decorated floats are pulled through the old town of Takayama. Held in spring and autumn.
  
  The Takayama Festival (Takayama Matsuri) is ranked as one of Japan's three most beautiful festivals. It is held twice a year in spring and autumn in the old town of Takayama and attracts large numbers of spectators.



• Sanja Matsuri (Weekend in mid May)
  The Sanja Matsuri, or the Sanja Festival, is one of the three great Shinto festivals in Tokyo, along with the Kanda Matsuri and Sanno Matsuri, and it is considered one of the wildest and largest. Its purpose is to honor Hinokuma Hamanari, Hinokuma Takenari and Hajino Nakatomo, the three men who established and founded Senso-ji. The festival is held on the third weekend of every May at Asakusa Shrine. Its prominent parades revolve around three mikoshi (the three shrines referenced in the name Sanja), as well as traditional music and dancing.



• Kyoto Gion Matsuri (July)
  The festival of Yasaka Shrine, Gion Matsuri is ranked as one of Japan's three best festivals, featuring six meter tall festival floats. The highlight of the festival takes place on July 17.




• Nebuta Matsuri (August 2-7) Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture.
  The Nebuta Matsuri features festival floats with huge lanterns, some measuring more than 10 meters. The festival attracts several million visitors every year.




• Awaodori (August 12-15) Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture This is the most famous of many traditional dancing festivals held across Japan during obon.





• Nagasaki Kunchi (October 7-9) Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture The festival of Nagasaki's Suwa Shrine, the Nagasaki Kunchi features Chinese style dragons and floats shaped like ships.





• Chichibu Yomatsuri (December 2-3) Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture The Chichibu Night Festival is considered one of Japan's three best festivals featuring large festival floats (yatai). The festival's highlight takes place in the evening of December 3.