★THE TRIP HYPE✦Japan’s now, delivered pop★MODERN VOYAGE & TECH✦Food · Shopping · Places · Know-How · Culture★THE TRIP HYPE✦Japan’s now, delivered pop★MODERN VOYAGE & TECH✦Food · Shopping · Places · Know-How · Culture

★THE TRIP HYPE✦Japan’s now, delivered pop★MODERN VOYAGE & TECH✦Food · Shopping · Places · Know-How · Culture★THE TRIP HYPE✦Japan’s now, delivered pop★MODERN VOYAGE & TECH✦Food · Shopping · Places · Know-How · Culture

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#Japanese Culture

Customs, etiquette, traditions, and cultural insights to help you get the most out of your trip to Japan.

36 articles

Crowds crossing the Shibuya Scramble Crossing at dusk, with Center Gai signage in view

Shibuya Halloween 2026: The Street-Drinking Ban, the ¥2,000 Litter Fine, and How to Spend the Night

Feathered samba dancers and a float parading down Umamichi-dori at the Asakusa Samba Carnival

Asakusa Samba Carnival 2026: Dates, Parade Route & Free Viewing Spots

A plate of ohagi, glutinous rice balls coated in sweet azuki red bean paste, a wagashi eaten around Japan's autumnal equinox

Ohagi and Japan's Autumnal Equinox 2026: What It Is and Where to Buy It

A tsukimi display of stacked rice dumplings and pampas grass with the near-full autumn moon rising in the east

Tsukimi 2026: Japan's Moon-Viewing Night Is Sept 25, Not the Full Moon

Dancers in low straw hats moving down a lantern-lit slope after dark at Owara Kaze no Bon in Yatsuo

Owara Kaze no Bon 2026: ¥4,000 Seats and Which Night to Pick

A danjiri float rounding a corner at a run, its crew hauling on the ropes, in Kishiwada

Kishiwada Danjiri Festival 2026: Sep 19–20, Seats from ¥3,300

Yosakoi dancers with naruko clappers at the Otesuji main venue in Kochi

Yosakoi Matsuri 2026, Kochi: Aug 9–12, Otesuji Seats from ¥1,000, Same-Day Only If Any Left

The character "dai" burning on the dark slope of Daimonji-yama above Kyoto

Kyoto Daimonji 2026: 4 Official Spots for the Aug 16 Okuribi Fires (8 p.m.)

A bronze statue of an Awa Odori dancer beside a bridge over the Shinmachi River in Tokushima, with strings of red and yellow lanterns hung along the street under a blue sky.

Awa Odori Tokushima 2026: Tickets, Dates, and Paid vs Free Viewing

Dancers (ren) performing at a Koenji Awa Odori stage as crowds line the street on a summer evening

Koenji Awa Odori 2026: August 29–30, Paid Seats, Free Viewing & Road Closures

Rows of glowing paper lanterns strung on bamboo poles against the night sky at the Akita Kanto Festival, each brushed with kanji and clustered like ears of rice.

Akita Kanto Festival 2026 (August 3–6): Which Night to Go — Tickets, Food Stalls, Drone Show

Several hands dropping plastic waste—water bottles and clear food containers—into a full trash bag against a green background, illustrating waste sorting and recycling.

No Trash Cans in Japan? Where to Throw Away Your Garbage (2026 Guide)

A yearly calendar on a wooden desk viewed through a black magnifying glass, with June and October dates enlarged under the lens, decorated with a small white flower and green ivy in the corner—evoking date-checking or trip planning.

Japan Public Holidays 2026 (Jul-Dec): Banks Close, Konbini Doesn't

A temple approach shopping street (Nakamise) decorated for a summer furin (wind chime) market: rows of colorful glass wind chimes with paper strips overhead, blue banners, five-color Buddhist flags, and senbei and other shops, with a temple gate in the distance. Signage reads "Kawasaki Daishi."

Kawasaki Daishi Wind Chime Festival 2026: 800+ Furin Near Tokyo, Dates & Daruma Charm

Unaju: tare-glazed grilled eel (unagi kabayaki) over white rice in a black lacquered box, garnished with a sprig of kinome (sansho leaf), with a piece being lifted on wooden chopsticks in the foreground.

Unagi Day 2026 (Doyo no Ushi no Hi): Why Japan Eats Eel on July 26

A staff member handing a mug of draft beer to a customer at an izakaya counter, with a second frothy beer and a small plate with chopsticks on the wooden countertop.

How to Order at a Japanese Restaurant in 2026: Ticket Machines, Otoshi & the Call Button

A summer night festival, rows of glowing paper lanterns lighting the path as crowds stroll beneath them

Mitama Matsuri 2026: 30,000 Lanterns at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine (July 13–16)

Red and green fireworks burst over a river at a Japanese summer festival, with lantern-decorated boats along the bank and illuminated trees and city lights reflected in the water.

Tenjin Matsuri 2026: The Complete Guide to Osaka's Boat Procession and Fireworks (July 24-25)

Gion Matsuri yoiyama in Kyoto, with the Minami Kannon Yama float lit by rows of paper lanterns — white lanterns bearing tomoe crests and red lanterns reading "Minami Kannon Yama" — glowing at dusk.

Gion Matsuri 2026: A First-Timer's Guide to Kyoto's Float Processions (July 17 & 24), Yoiyama Nights & Seats

Train

Japan Train Etiquette (2026): 8 Unwritten Rules Every Tourist Should Know

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