Category

Culture

Culture Deck

Etiquette, customs, religion, onsen manners and dining rules.

38 articles
Decorated oshie hagoita paddles on display at Senso-ji's Hagoita-ichi year-end market
Culture

Hagoita-ichi 2026 at Senso-ji: Dec 17–19, Market Till 7:30, Hall Till 5

Nov 9, 2026
A masked performer dancing the night kagura in the kagura hall at Takachiho Shrine, Miyazaki
Culture

Takachiho Night Kagura: Book the 8 p.m. Show or Catch the Winter Village Rite

Oct 26, 2026
Visitors ringing a temple bell, the Joya no Kane, at midnight on New Year's Eve in Japan
Culture

Joya no Kane: Which Temples Let You Ring Japan's New Year's Eve Bell (and How to Get Home)

Oct 19, 2026
The stone bridge in front of the Imperial Palace Main Gate, with Nijubashi behind it on a clear winter day
Culture

Imperial Palace New Year Greeting 2027: Which Gate, When to Arrive, What to Bring

Oct 13, 2026
Maneki name boards on the facade of Kyoto's Minamiza theater during the December Kaomise kabuki run
Culture

Minamiza Kaomise 2026: Kyoto Kabuki Tickets, Prices & Dates

Oct 6, 2026
A tall hikiyama float of Otsu Matsuri rolling through the old streets of Otsu, Shiga, near Kyoto
Culture

Otsu Matsuri 2026: UNESCO Float Festival Near Kyoto, Eve or Main Day?

Oct 3, 2026
Bettara-ichi night market by Takarada Ebisu Shrine in Nihonbashi, with paper lanterns and vendors selling sweet bettara-zuke pickles
Culture

Bettara-ichi 2026: Nihonbashi Pickle Fair — Dates, Hours & How to Buy

Oct 3, 2026
The Hibiya-Yurakucho streetscape and cinemas where Tokyo International Film Festival venues cluster
Culture

Tokyo International Film Festival 2026: Tickets, Prices, and English Subtitles

Sep 29, 2026
A mounted archer in hunting costume shoots at a wooden target during yabusame at Meiji Jingu's Autumn Grand Festival.
Culture

Meiji Jingu Yabusame 2026: When and Where to See the Nov 3 Horseback Archery

Sep 29, 2026
Three Warlords float on display at Hisaya-odori Park during Nagoya Matsuri
Culture

Nagoya Matsuri 2026: No Warlord Parade This Year — What's On Instead

Sep 26, 2026
A towering wooden float topped with a giant doll being pulled through the old Little Edo streets of Sawara at the autumn Sawara Grand Festival
Culture

Sawara Grand Festival 2026: Dates, the Saturday 14-Float Lineup & Getting There from Narita

Sep 25, 2026
A lantern-lit float and winter fireworks at the Chichibu Night Festival
Culture

Chichibu Night Festival 2026: Dec 2 or 3? Fireworks, Seats & Last Train

Sep 25, 2026
Bearers hoisting a yatai float at Nada no Kenka Matsuri, Matsubara Hachiman Shrine, Himeji
Culture

Nada no Kenka Matsuri 2026: Which Day to Go, October 14 or 15

Sep 19, 2026
Exterior of the Nara National Museum during the autumn Shosoin Exhibition in Nara Park
Culture

Shosoin Exhibition 2026: How to Book Timed Tickets & the Cheaper Evening "Late" Ticket

Sep 17, 2026
A lantern-lit ornate festival float rolling through old streets on an autumn evening in Japan
Culture

Autumn Festivals in Japan 2026: Which to See, and Which Day to Go

Sep 14, 2026
A Jusanya display of moon-viewing dumplings, chestnuts, edamame, and pampas grass beneath the slightly imperfect thirteenth-night moon
Culture

Jusanya 2026: Japan's Second Moon-Viewing Night Is Oct 23

Sep 11, 2026
Giant flaming torches and bearers lighting up the stone temple steps at Kurama Fire Festival after dark
Culture

Kurama Fire Festival 2026: Access, Road Closures, and the Last Train Out (October 22)

Sep 9, 2026
New Year worshippers filling the approach to Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo on January 1
Culture

Hatsumode in Tokyo 2027: Which Shrine, When to Go & What to Wear for the New Year Crowds

Sep 5, 2026
The giant shimenawa rope at the Kagura-den hall of Izumo Taisha, with worshippers during the Kamiarisai
Culture

Kamiarizuki 2026 at Izumo Taisha: Dates & How to Attend

Sep 5, 2026
A family in formal kimono walking a shrine approach in November for Shichi-Go-San, a child holding a chitose-ame candy bag, seen from behind
Culture

Shichi-Go-San 2026: Dates, Tokyo Shrines to See It & Photo Etiquette

Sep 3, 2026
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