Discover The Festivals That Happen In Japan During July
Japan as we have talked about is a very beautiful country and it is definitely a country that you are going to fall in love with once you have visited the country. However we are continuing the series that we have had covering all the festivals that happen in Japan. This time we are going to get ahead of ourselves, which should make your travel plans a little bit easier by covering the festivals that happen in July. By trying to get the information out early enough to you, it will make it quite a bit easier for you to find the best time to travel and know which area you should be traveling to, which makes it easier for you to have a great vacation.
Does The List Cover All The Festivals In July?
No, this is not a complete list. This is a list that will have as much information as possible. However, we do recommend that you contact the organizers of the festivals directly or to check the local events calendars as well to make sure the festivals were not cancelled or rescheduled. So it is definitely an important thing to make sure you are checking with the organizers of the festivals to make sure they are still going on or you could make plans for the event only to find out after you have based your entire trip around the festivals and find out they are cancelled.
Tokyo Summer Festival
The Tokyo Summer Festival is one that you will have to attend when you are in Japan. This is a festival that you will love because it is a music type of festival that is going to go on all month long in Tokyo. The event typically will have several different venues all over the city and the interest are going to vary from the simple Japanese type of events that are traditional to the region, but also some of the other events are going to be more of an International type of music festival. So it will allow you to have a great time while you in Tokyo, but also have a chance to explore the new types of music you never thought you would be able to hear before.
Shounan Hiratsuka Tanabata Matsuri
When you are looking for some of the traditional Japanese festivals you will notice that the Shounana Hiratsuka Tanabata Matsuri is going to be one of those that you are going to fall in love with. This is a festival that is going to really connect the ancient Chinese traditions that are present in Japan as well as the other traditions between these two countries that are closely tied together for the most part. What is really cool is this is a festival that has some very beautiful decorations that are going to completely light up the city center and really makes the downtown area of Shounan City to look gorgeous. The festival is actually a celebration of the star festival that is going to be simply be one of the best celebrations you can partake in.
Iriya Asago-ichi
What this festival is, is nothing more than a festival of the morning glory flowers. This festival takes place in different parts of Tokyo, but it is definitely a festival that you are going to love because it will make it easier for you to see the beautiful flowers that are present. What is even better is this is a festival that takes place on the Kishimojin Temple grounds. So not only are you able to see the beautiful flowers that are meant to symbolize the good luck that is present in Japan, it also allows you to explore the temples that you may want to visit and learn about while you are in Japan.
Danjiri Festival
This is a festival that takes place in Osaka and it is a festival that has men on large colorful floats. The floats are festival in style so it definitely makes it easier for you to have a chance to see the beauty that is present with the festival and this makes it easier for you to have a great trip and see the men being pulled along the festival in a vigorous manner. However, what is really nice about this is they are paraded around on the floats through the Hirano area of Osaka and then they are taken back to the Kumata Shrine later on in the evening and this provides a very exciting time for everyone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l4agRIGtX0
Kuki Tennosama Chochin Festival
This is a festival that takes place in the middle of July and it is one of those festivals that happens in the area around Kuki Station. The festival takes place throughout the region and it is even more of the trades that are present with the lanterns as well. At night the lanterns are lit up and the festival parades are going to provide you with the great look that you would expect in Japan as the Kuki Station floats are the largest for the lantern festivals in Japan. During the day, the floats are still around, but they are also decorated with the dolls that are around.
Nachi Himatsuri
If you want to see some of the ancient Japanese festivals then you will have to go and see the Nachi Himatsuri that is being performed in the Kumano-Nachi Taisha region of Japan. This is a great festival that you are going to love because it will make it easier for you to see the ancient purification ritual that is going to take and get the priest who are wearing the white robes of purification going up and down the stone steps of the Nachi Falls while swinging the burning cypress logs around the land.
Hakata Gion Yamagasa
This is one of the scared Gion festivals that you are going to enjoy if you have a chance to go to Japan when this festival is going on. The festival has been going on since the 13th century and it is definitely one that has not had much in the way of change, except for some modernization of the way the festivals are being carried out and this will make it easier for you to see the festival is one of the best ones that you can follow. What is really cool is the races that are going to start out at 5 AM in the morning in Fukuoka. These races are going to be something that is going to take competitors in the races working in teams of 100s giving the 1 ton floats that they have made carried around a 5 KM circuit. With the teams competing to get the best times possible to get the prizes, but also to get the bragging rights over the other teams that are competing in this festival.
Gion Matsuri
This is a festival that a lot of people are going to find as being one of the most popular in Japan. However, what else is great about this is the festival floats that are simply amazing. These floats are going to take and make your eyes go all over the place as they have a couple of different sizes for the floats and this is going to make it easier for you to get the enjoyment and experience of a lifetime that is going to make it easier for you to enjoy the beauty that is present in the region. This festival takes place in Kyoto and it is going to make it easier for you to see this is one of those festivals that has a strong history that is going to take you back into the beauty that is Japan.
Toyohashi Gion Matsuri
The Toyohashi Gion Matsuri is a great festival you will enjoy because of the handmade pistol fireworks. These are devices that the people make and then they will fire them off holding onto the pistols while they are still spewing out the flames from the barrel. What is nice about this is the owner and producer of the pistols are holding onto them, but they are going to have already doused themselves in water and this will help to protect them.
Toyohashi Gion Matsuri (festival)
A few clips from the annual Gion festival fireworks display in Toyohashi City, Aichi.
Kokura Gion Taiko
This is a festival that takes place at one of the shrines that you are going to enjoy visiting. However, during the festival one of the main draws is going to be the drumming corporation. This is going to make it easier for you to get the drumming that you want to have in a festival like atmosphere, but unlike some of the drumming contest you may have been to this is a place that will have a lot of the traditional drumming contests that you are going to want to know about.
Mushi Okuri Festival
The Mushi Okuri Festival is one that allows you to enjoy seeing a great dance that is ancient and hardly performed anymore. However, what is very nice about the festival is it is a marching festival that is going to allow you to catch the festival all throughout the day and even if you miss some of it you will notice that you have some chances to get the festival later on in the day if you find the marching musical group and dancers.
Osorezan Taisai
This is a festival that is going to take you out of your normal areas of Japan because it is going to allow you to travel to the Northern reaches of Japan. What else you will notice about the festival is this is one of those festivals that is believed that you can speak to the dead. You do have to use the female shamans at the top of the hike to do this, but you will love the fact this is a festival that a lot of Japanese people tend to keep with them.
Nagasaki Peiron Senshukan
If you have ever heard of the dragon boat racing you will love this festival. This festival is going to make it easier for you to get the right feel for the dragon boats that have been around. The best part is the festival is one that you will love because it allows you to have the right feel for the ancient boat races around Japan, but also this is a chance to see the long wooden boats that were used in Japan for all the ships for a long period of time to get the great boats back out on the water.
Soma Nomaoi
Now this is a festival that will allow you to see over 600 feudal warriors dressed the part to kick off the festival. However, this festival is one that is going to extend over a three day period and it is going to make it easier for you to enjoy the trip that you are going to be taking. The horsemen that you see at the start of the festival will take part in different competitions during the festival, but they are also going to make a horse race. To end the festival you will enjoy seeing the chase after the wild horses that would have been used as an offer to the Japanese ancient gods that were present in the tradition.
Tenjin Matsuri
This is one of the bigger festivals that happens in Japan and is sometimes referred to as one of the big 3 festivals. This is a festival that is going to go over three different days and the festival will make it easier for you to enjoy the Japanese culture more than what you would assume. The first day of the festival is going to be full of parades, floats, and music. The second day will take you to the Tenjin bridge and this is going to make it easier for you to overlook the river and watch the lantern lit boats be floated down the middle of the river.
Sumida River Fireworks Display
If you want to see a great fireworks display then you will need to go and see the Sumida River Fireworks Display. This is one of the biggest displays of fireworks in the country. So this is definitely one of those places that you need to go to because it allows you to enjoy the fireworks from a country that was close to the developing country of the gun powder that would be used to make the fireworks. So this display is one you will definitely enjoy seeing time and time again.
Other Notable Festivals That Happen In Japan During July
Shiman Rokusen-nichi
Kiyoku Chochin Festival
Nankai Jinja Natsu no Reitaisai
Shiogama Minato Matsuri
Samukawa Jinja Hamaorisai
Yamaguchi Gion Festival
Yasaka Jinja Festival
Uchiwa Matsuri
Kurosaki Gion Festival
Sapporo Summer Festival
Aizu Tajima Gion Festival
Warei Shrine Summer Festival
Honmyo-ji Tonshae
Kangensai
Kuromatsu Festival
Otaru Tide Festival
Owari Tsushima Tenno Festival
Tai Festival
Tanukidani Fudoin Fire Festival
Sumiyoshi Matsuri
Hachinohe Sansha Taisai
Shimodate Gion Matsuri
Yokohama Summer Night Festival
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