japanese festivals

Many of Japanese festivals come from Chinese festivals but most had undergone dramatic changes as they mixed with local customs. Some are so different that they are not even remotely resembling the original festival. There are also various local festivals that are mostly unknown outside a given prefecture. It is commonly said that you will always find a festival somewhere in Japan. Unlike Chinese, Japanese people generally do not celebrate Chinese New Year (it having been supplanted by the Western New Year's Day in the late 1800s), while Chinese residents in Japan do. In Yokohama's Chinatown, Japan's biggest Chinatown, tourists from all over Japan come to enjoy the festival. See: Japanese New Year.

See

Fixed days

Seijin Shiki : Coming of Age Day (second Monday of January)
Hinamatsuri : Doll Festival (3rd of March)
Hanami : Flower Viewing (late March to early April)
Tanabata : star festival (7th of July)
Shichigosan: festival day for children aged three, five and seven (15th of November)
Obon (13th to 16th of July)
Omisoka : New Year's Eve (31st of December)

Multiple days

Setsubun : division of season (beginning of each season (spring, summer, autumn, winter))
Ennichi : temple fair (holy days related to Kami and/or Buddha)

Not fixed

Japanese Cultural Festival