events and holidays
Japanese annual events and holidays.
Art Aquarium 2019 Nihonbashi
ECO EDO NIHONBASHI Art Aquarium 2019 at Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall in Tokyo. Until Sep 23, 2019. This special exhibition is featuring mixture of aquarium and digital art, held annually as summer event for Japanese people to get cool air. Goldfish bowls have been enjoyed at home to get cool feeling during hot humid summer in […]
Respect for the Aged Day
Respect for the Aged Days is one of national holidays in Japan, held on the third Monday of September. It is held to honor and show respect to the elderly. It used to be cerebrated on September 15 until 2002. As the Japanese government adopted the Happy Monday System to give us the longer weekends, […]
Obon week Aug 13-16
Obon is the Buddhist annual custom held in Aug 13-16（in some areas July）honoring the spirits of one’s ancestors. Though not designated as national holidays, most companies set as company holidays, making one of the long holidays in Japan. Many people go back hometown or travel, causing traffic congestion. Our ancestors’ spirits coming back to family. […]
Marine Day
The third Monday of July is cerebrated as Marine Day in Japan. Marine Day is a national holiday which is relatively new to us. Being established in 1996, originally held on July 20. As Japan adopted Happy Monday System by the revision of the National Holidays Law, Marine Day has moved to the third Monday […]
Tanabata Festival on July 7th
Tanabata is the Star Festival. Tanabata is an annual festival held on July 7th (some are on Aug). It cerebrates the two star-crossed deities meet each other once a year in the heavens. Often translated to Star Festival or The Festival of the Weaver. According to the legend, on the seventh day of the seventh […]
Children's Day
Children's Day is former Boys' Day May 5th is celebrated as Children's day in Japan. It used to be Boys’ Festival. As it is designated as a national holiday, it turned to “Children’s Day” for both boys and girls, because we have Girls’ Festival known as Doll Festival on March 3rd but not registered as a […]
Golden Week
Golden Week is one of three annual holiday seasons in Japan. Golden Week is a week with many national holidays which starts on April 29th. How long we have as Golden Week depends on the year calendar. Many people travel during this period, therefore everywhere gets packed with people including accommodations and transportations. It's better to consider […]
Equinox Day and Higan week (Eqinoctial week)
Higan is a week centering around the Equinox day. There are two Equinox days in a year, vernal and autumnal, so we have 2 Higan weeks in a year, Haru-Higan（vernal higan) and Aki-Higan（autumnal higan). Each Equinox day is designated as a National Holiday. During this period Buddhist temples hold special memorial services and we have the custom of visiting our […]
"Hina-matsuri" Doll Festival on March 3rd.
March 3rd is cerebrated as Girl’s Festival called “Hina-matsuri” in Japan. Although it is not designated as a national holiday, it is commonly cerebrated for the family with girls.Hina-maturi is translated to “Dolls Festival”, because families with girls display Hina-ningyo, or Hina-dolls, at their homes to pray for girls’ healthy growth and happiness. Hina-dolls are […]
Valentine’s Day in Japan
How it goes with Valentine’s Day in Japan ? Saint Valentine's Day on Feb. 14th is cerebrated around the world. Each country has its own custom how to cerebrate this day. How it goes in Japan? The day for women give Chocolates to men. Rather than couples exchanging cards or gifts each other, only women give […]