When reading Japanese stories or watching T.V. shows (or living in Japan!) I’m sure you have noticed that there seems to be a lot of festivals （祭り（まつり）） that take place in various prefectures.
（はだか祭） where thousands of men gather, usually in loincloths
（褌（ふんどし））, in hopes of gaining luck for the year.
An interesting festival, Hakata Gion Yamakasa (博多祇園山笠), that occurs in the middle of July in Fukuoka involves 7 neighborhoods competing in a race where they push festival floats along the city on a 3 mile course. One of the festival’s floats, the kazariyama （飾り山）, is over 32 feet tall and weighs 4,000 pounds! This particular float is no longer used in the festival since the introduction of power lines during the Meiji period, so they are now just purely decorative. There is also the kakiyama （舁き山）, at over 16 feet and 2,000 pounds. There are seven of these for each neighborhood which are are then carried, and people around them will splash them with water.
A well known dance festival held in Tokushima （徳島） is called Awa Odori （阿波踊り). 阿波 （あわ) is the former name of Tokushima, while 踊り（おどり） means dance. People from all over Japan (and other countries) gather to perform in this festival. The dances are performed by anyone from complete amateurs to people who have been practicing throughout the year.
A festival that requires a lot of skill held in Tanabata is called the Kanto Matsuri (竿燈まつり). It’s a pole lantern festival, where participants show off their skills by balancing long bamboo poles that have paper lanterns attached to them with various parts of their bodies. There are different sized poles, with the largest measuring in at 39 feet and weighing 110 pounds that carries 46 lanterns.
One of the most famous festivals, celebrated in different regions of Japan, is the Obon お盆(おぼん) festival and has been a tradition for over 500 years. Lanterns are hung in front of households to guide spirits of ancestors visiting their relatives. Graves are often visited, and food offerings are given at home altars and temples. Dances are performed as well （盆踊り（おぼんおどり））. The festival lasts three days, and on the last day floating lanterns are sent out into various bodies of water to guide the spirits. Since the introduction of the Gregorian calender in the Meiji period, different regions celebrate this festival either in mid July or August.
There are so many more awesome festivals, if you are ever in Japan it is a must to check one out!