A million and a half people between Tokyo and Yokohama, and almost nobody stops. What is actually in Kawasaki, and why it is worth getting off the train for.
Featured Post ・ 2026/08/04
Visitors release up to 3,500 LED sky lanterns carrying handwritten wishes into the night sky, accompanied by stage performances and festival activities.
Joyo · 7–16 Aug 2026
A three-floor aquarium inside a Sapporo shopping complex, open until ten at night, with rockhopper penguins, planted tanks, and immersive digital art.
Sapporo
A rare Yamaguchi ritual festival said to date back over 1,800 years, with seven nights of dances around the Oni-ishi stone, towering banners, and lantern-topped poles.
Shimonoseki · 7–13 Aug 2026
04:5618:37Tokyo
Reference rates · 2026/08/07
A summer fireworks festival in the coastal town of Mikuni, Fukui, where hanabi are launched over the sea, alongside food stalls, festival games, and traditional performances.
11 Aug 2026Fukui · ChubuEvery August, Kochi erupts into dance: thousands of performers surging through the streets with clacking naruko, in a carnival that reinvents itself year after year.
9–12 Aug 2026Kochi · ShikokuA summer festival where 4,000 decorated goldfish lanterns cast a spellbinding glow over the town, alongside a spirited Goldfish Nebuta procession.
13 Aug 2026Yamaguchi · ChugokuA major August fireworks festival over the Kanmon Straits, jointly staged by Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki, with over 15,000 fireworks visible from both shores.
13 Aug 2026Yamaguchi · ChugokuA rare Yamaguchi ritual festival said to date back over 1,800 years, with seven nights of dances around the Oni-ishi stone, towering banners, and lantern-topped poles.
7–13 Aug 2026Yamaguchi · ChugokuJapan's most famous traditional dance festival, held annually in Tokushima City, where dancers form groups with distinctive choreography and costumes.
12–15 Aug 2026Tokushima · ShikokuMount Koya is a sacred temple complex where the entire mountain is treated as one unified holy domain dedicated to Shingon Esoteric Buddhism.
Koya · WakayamaA five-span wooden bridge over the Nishiki River at Iwakuni, its three middle spans arched, rebuilt in the same form since 1673.
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Mine · YamaguchiA 620-metre beach of fine white quartz sand in Shirahama, Wakayama, and the first place on Honshu to open for swimming each year.
Shirahama · WakayamaThe innermost sanctuary of Koyasan, where a two-kilometre path through ancient cedars and 200,000 graves leads to the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi.
Koya · WakayamaA million and a half people between Tokyo and Yokohama, and almost nobody stops. What is actually in Kawasaki, and why it is worth getting off the train for.
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