| Festival Name: Cherry Blossom Festival |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Floral, Local, Traditional |
| Visitors come from all over the island, from mainland Japan, and even from other countries to see the earliest sign of the approaching spring. |
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| Festival Name: Coming of Age Day - Seijin No Hi |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Cultural, Traditional |
| Seijin No Hi was declared a national holiday in Japan in 1948 and in Okinawa in 1961. It is a day of tradition, but also of fun. In addition, it is a day of advice and wise words and a day to begin exercising the rights of adulthood. |
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| Festival Name: Doll Festival |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Cultural, Traditional |
| Hina Matsuri translates into “doll festival” but this fun holiday is more commonly known as Girls Day and is celebrated every March 3rd. |
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| Festival Name: Dragon Boat Races |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Sport - Water, Sport - Bizarre |
| Throughout the spring and early summer an annual tradition is carried out in many of the fishing ports around Okinawa. This colorful event is called the Haari or Dragon Boat Races. |
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| Festival Name: Eisa Festival |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Cultural, Traditional |
| The Eisa festival, held at the conclusion of Obon in late August, marks the end of summer and is the last big festival of the year. It is a time of great celebration and the time to bid farewell to the spirits of ancestors who have come back to earth for Obon. |
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| Festival Name: Full Moon Party |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Traditional, Cultural |
| A popular legend tells a very sad tale. It seems Gosamaru was the lord of the Village of Yamada in Yomitan. He built Zakimi Castle, took part in foreign trade and became very rich and powerful. |
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| Festival Name: Golden Week - Green Day, Constitution Day, The People's Holiday, Children's Day |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Cultural, Traditional |
| Golden Week is one of the happiest times in Okinawa. With four holidays occurring within the week, many businesses are closed and schools are out. Those businesses that have to remain open can count on increased revenues as people celebrate the different holidays. |
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| Festival Name: Hamauri - Beach Visiting Day |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Traditional, Cultural |
| In early April you may be surprised to see more people than usual at the beaches. April 2nd (or March 3rd on the lunar calendar) is the day Hamauri or Beach Visiting is celebrated. This tradition all began with a very strange legend. |
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| Festival Name: Hounen Matsuri |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Bizarre, Cultural, Adult |
| Not to be outdone, every March 15th, the small town of Komaki, Japan celebrates Hounen Matsuri. Matsuri means festival and Hounen, I'm fairly sure, means Big Wooden Penis. Okay, actually it means something much less interesting, but it SHOULD mean Big Wooden Penis, because there is, in fact, a Big Wooden Penis featured prominently throughout the festival. |
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| Festival Name: Kanamara Matsuri Festival - Festival of the Steel Phallus |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Bizarre, Traditional, Adult |
| A large, pink phallus turns the corner and heads down the street. Sitting atop the shoulders of 10-12 men in bandanas, it bobs up and down to their rhythmic chants. Locals carve white radishes into images of the male reproductive system, preparing to auction them off at an afternoon banquet. Transvestites line the street; their red lipstick and hairy legs are no less a contrast than the grandmother who's licking on a lollypop that's in the shape of a....well, you can probably guess by now. |
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| Festival Name: Obon |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Cultural, Traditional |
| The Japanese have long respected their elders who are held in high esteem for their wisdom. They bestow many honors upon them both before and after death. Okinawans return to their family homes for obon, some of them traveling thousands of miles. |
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| Festival Name: Tanabata Festival |
| Festival Country: Japan |
| Festival Type(s): Cultural, Traditional |
| If you love romance this is the festival for you! On the seventh night of the seventh moon, or July 7th, Tanabata is celebrated. Tanabata is also known as the Star Festival or the Festival of the Star-Crossed Lovers. First celebrated in 755, this festival as well as many others began with a popular legend. |
Festivals
