The 33rd Chitose Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival opened this morning in Chitose, [W:Hokkaido]. Ice sculptures made by sprinkling water from lake are all differently formed. The visitors can get…

    Annually, the third Thursday of November is the day when Beaujolais Nouveau is officially released for sale. Beaujolais Nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced…

    In autumn, cosmoses bloom all over in Japan, and cosmos festivals are held in different parts of the country. Cosmos is called “aki-zakura” meaning “autumn cherry blossom”, and…

    On October 30th, the biggest hot-air balloon contest in Asia, “Saga International Balloon Fiesta 2009” was opened by the Kase River in [W:Saga Prefecture], Japan.   View Larger…

    During the first weekend of this month, Uzumasa Sengoku Matsuri 2009 was held in Kyoto. It’s an annual festival featuring Sengoku period (about the middle of the 15th…

Kyoto Cross Media Experience 2009 (Kyoto CMEX) was held September 26th to October 4th in Kyoto. This was the first regional program of Japan International Contents Festival (Japan CoFest). Japan…

Japanese cotton bands tied around one’s head are called hachimaki. They are worn for special events to raise one’s motivation and show determination. Hachimaki are used for agitate events, such…

Undou-kai (sports festival, sports day) is a cliché material in anime and manga. It’s a big event in Japanese school. Undou-kai are usually held in September or October. Students make…

Chouchin are Japanese paper lanterns hung outside of buildings or gates. They are made of thin bamboo frame and Japanese papers, which are foldable like bellows. Mostly, they are designed…

Kanamara Festival・かなまら祭り・Tengu・天狗 Originally uploaded by triplexpresso   Geta are Japanese traditional foot ware. They are worn with kimono or yukata. A geta has V-shaped toe thong on a wooden sole….

Photo-0077.jpg Originally uploaded by moondabor “Animelo Summer Live” is the biggest annual anime songs concert in Japan! This year, it was held on August 22-23 at Saitama super arena stadium,…