Todaiji’s Omizutori festival set for March 1-15
Todaiji Temple in Nara Prefecture will hold its annual Omizutori festival from March 1 to 15. Torch-carrying, among the most well-known rituals during the festival, also referred to as the Shunie, will...
View ArticleSpecial education series for non-Japanese
The Osaka International House Foundation is seeking foreigners who have just started to learn Japanese and are interested in attending three sessions in March to learn more about Japan. Participants,...
View ArticleHarvest rain festival March 9 at Kifune Shrine
The annual festival to pray for the right amount of rain for a good harvest will take place March 9 at Kifune Shrine in Kyoto starting at 10 a.m. Admission is free. The shrine can be accessed by taking...
View ArticleKyoto temples plan services to mark nirvana
Some temples in Kyoto will hold an annual memorial service on March 15 to commemorate the Buddha’s achievement of nirvana. One of them, Seiryoji Temple, will start its service at 10 a.m., followed by a...
View ArticleHuge antique fair next weekend in Kyoto
The 58th Grand Antique Fair in Kyoto will run from March 28 to 30, with more than 350 shops from all over Japan displaying and selling their wares. Admission is free. The market will open at 10 a.m....
View ArticleCherry blossom promenade through Kyoto
The Kyoto City International Foundation is inviting foreign residents to join a walk on April 5 to take in the cherry blossoms. The promenade will start at 9:30 a.m. at the Kyoto International...
View ArticleImperial Palace in Kyoto drops reservations
The Imperial Palace in Kyoto, which usually requires reservations to visit, will be open to the public from Wednesday to April 13. The palace, a five-minute walk from Imadegawa Station on the Karasuma...
View ArticleTea ceremony at Nara’s Saidaiji Temple
People who attend the tea ceremony Saturday and Sunday at Saidaiji Temple in Nara can drink green tea from a huge bowl 30 cm in diameter. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The participation...
View ArticleHuge carp to stream between skyscrapers
It is a tradition for many Japanese families, especially those raising sons, to fly large carp streamers in front of their houses to celebrate the annual Children’s Day festival on May 5. Visitors to...
View ArticleReligious pantomimes set for Kyoto temple
“Mibu kyogen,” religious pantomimes that date back to the 14th century, will be performed at Mibudera Temple in Kyoto from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. between Tuesday and May 5. There will also be a night...
View ArticleKyoto shrine opens ceiling art for viewing
The Hiraoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kyoto allows its 44 colorful drawings of flowers on the ceiling of the building to be viewed by the public twice a year. This year, the spring exhibition will run until...
View ArticleKyoto’s famed Aoi Festival kicks off Thursday
The Aoi Festival, one of the three major annual festivals in Kyoto, will take place Thursday. A parade of people wearing traditional costumes leading and riding horses and oxen will start from Kyoto...
View ArticleWide-ranging traditional performance in Osaka
Traditional Japanese music, theater, dancing and comedic storytelling will be performed May 25 in Osaka. Admission is free for the Wakanagi Concert, which will start at 2 p.m. The venue is Creo Osaka...
View ArticleOvernight disaster prep for non-Japanese
Foreign residents can attend overnight training sessions from 4 p.m. June 7 to 10 a.m. the next day in Kyoto to learn how to reduce damage from disasters such as earthquakes. Participants will learn...
View ArticleNoh performance on torch-lit stage in Kyoto
Nighttime Takigi Noh will be performed on a torch-lit outdoor stage at Heian Jingu Shrine in Kyoto this Sunday and Monday. Admission for the play, which will start at 5:30 p.m. each day, is ¥4,000. The...
View ArticleInternational music and dance festival in Suita
The National Museum of Ethnology in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, will host the Fete de la Musique 2014 from 10:25 a.m. to 4:35 p.m. June 22. The festival will feature music and dancing from several...
View ArticleFree counseling for foreigners offered in Kyoto
The Kyoto City International Foundation will host a free counseling session for foreign residents from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. on June 21. Participants can ask experts about various issues such as laws,...
View ArticleKyoto shrines invite visitors to reflect on year
Shrines in Kyoto will hold the annual Nagoshi no Harae purification ritual on June 30. People walk through a huge wreath of elephant grass to atone for sins committed in the first half of the year and...
View ArticleForeigners invited to Yukata Day in Nishinomiya
The Nishinomiya City International Association in Hyogo Prefecture will hold a Yukata Day from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on July 5 in which foreigners can learn how to wear the summer kimono and enjoy a tea...
View Article‘Cosplay’ festival on tap in Izumisano, Osaka
“Cosplayers” dressed up as their favorite manga characters are gathering this weekend for a festival in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. Admission for the event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both...
View ArticleGion Festival to hold both parades this year
The Gion Festival in Kyoto, one of the three biggest festivals in Japan, will continue until the end of July. A change in this year’s version is a return to the tradition of holding two major parades,...
View ArticleMajor festival in Shiga due near Lake Biwa
Biwako Hall in Shiga Prefecture will hold its Summer Festa on Aug. 2 and 3, featuring concerts, art workshops, a play, a documentary, an exhibition and dancing. Some are free. The hall is a...
View ArticleOsaka gears up for Yodogawa River fireworks
The popular Yodogawa River fireworks display will be held Aug. 9 along the Yodogawa River in Osaka, drawing massive crowds from the surrounding areas to the city. The event, reportedly attended by...
View ArticleCeramic, pottery festivals; Nara Tokae Festival; children’s rights seminar
Kyoto Gojozaka Pottery Festival this weekend The Gojozaka Pottery Festival is running through Sunday in Kyoto, featuring around 400 stalls. The festival is open 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., although some of the...
View ArticleBon bonfires to be lit on five Kyoto mountains
Five mountains in Kyoto will be illuminated with huge bonfires on Saturday, the last day of the Bon festival, when ancestors’ spirits are welcomed back to the world of the living. The fires will be lit...
View ArticleKyoto temple event to pray for lonely souls
Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple in Kyoto will hold the Sento memorial service on Saturday and Sunday and light candles on thousands of gravestones of those who have no surviving relatives to pray for their...
View ArticleKyoto ready for Chrysanthemum Festivals
The Chrysanthemum Festival to celebrate the ninth day of the ninth month will be held at several temples and shrines in Kyoto. One event will start at 10 a.m. at Kamigamo Shrine...
View ArticleRequiem booklet to remember audience’s loved ones
Musica Poetica, a Tokyo-based music group specializing in the Protestant music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Heinrich Schuetz (1585-1672), will present a requiem concert Nov. 14 in Mitaka,...
View ArticleIrish eyes are smiling in Japan
The first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade in Tokyo made history for a number of reasons — least of all for the fact that it ...
View ArticleUyghurs living in Kansai try to deal with the stress of a crisis back home
With more and more news coming out about the situation in China's Xinjiang region, a group of Uighurs worried about relatives living there open up ...
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