Railway Day (Tetsudou no Hi – 鉄道の日)

October 14th is a very special day in Japan for railway aficionados (or, less glamorously known, densha (train) otaku (nerds)). This is when, in 1911, the first stretch of railway connecting Yokohama to Tokyo officially opened. I figured this was a good opportunity to talk about all things trains and let everyone out there know […]

Silver Week

After a long hiatus, I’m back! And back just in time to take another holiday! Most people have heard of Golden Week, that glorious holiday in the Spring where you get one full week or as close to one full week as humanly possible to not work and just enjoy the beauty of Japan. Well, […]

Rooftop Amusement Parks (Okujo Yuenchi 屋上遊園地)

There isn’t much space in Japan, and what space is available is used to fit in as much as possible, given the high value of each meter. This has lead to some creative uses of roofs in the country. For a while, putting amusement parks on the top of department store roofs was wildly popular, […]

Coming of Age Day – Seijin no Hi (成人の日)

20. This is a most important number in Japan. This is the age at which you transition from childhood to adulthood, the age at which you leave behind childish things and begin to take control of your own destiny. But how do you do that? Well, put on your fanciest outfit and join us for […]

Osouji: New Year’s Big Cleaning

In America, we have Spring Cleaning, that magical time of year where we finally get up off of our lazy butts and clean everything we’d been meaning to for a long time. The techniques can vary, purging of goods is common, and in the end, we use it as a bit of a metaphor for […]

Sayama Tea Festival 2019

Out in Saitama Prefecture is Sayama City, a proud producer of tea for Japan. They’re pretty niche, though, producing less than 1% of all tea for the nation. Regardless, they have a strong tea tradition which is on display during the annual Sayama Tea Festival, which we were fortunate enough to take part in this […]

Kawasaki Warehouse and Arcade Culture in Japan

One of the legendary amusement parks has closed in Japan: Kawasaki Warehouse. It’s not like a Six Flags, but rather, a large entertainment complex with its main focus on electronic games. Walking through the warehouse before it closed gave me a peek into its past and also serves as a window into Japanese arcade culture […]

Namahage

If you think Krampus is the only tradition involving frightening figures teaching children to be good people, think again! On the peninsula of Oga on the main island of Honshu in Japan, there are the terrifying Namahage, who come in search of troublesome children and… uh… lazy wives to bring good fortune to the households […]

Sendai Tanabata Festival

Tanabata can fall on one of two sets of dates: Either July 7th or August 7th. One or the other depends on if you follow the solar calendar or the lunar festival. In the northern part of the main island of Japan, an area called Tohoku, there are three famous summer festivals that fall around […]

Akita Kanto Festival

Akita prefecture is known for its Akita dogs, Namahage, and the Kanto festival. Not to be confused with the Kanto Region (which encompasses Tokyo), these Kanto are large poles that carry a large number of lanterns. They require great balance and strength to handle, and when held expertly, provide a stunning sight for onlookers. Every […]