Author: japanup_akane

For most Angelenos, fireworks mean exactly one night a year. Consumer fireworks are illegal in the City of Los Angeles, so the Fourth of July show is it: one evening of color, then eleven months of waiting. However, in Japan, fireworks season is just getting started in mid-July, and it will not stop until November. This year roughly 900 fireworks festivals, called hanabi taikai, will light up the country, and a single viral post listing this summer’s schedule has racked up over 3.4 million views. Quick Answer: Japan holds hundreds of major fireworks festivals every summer, with the biggest concentrated…

For decades, Shibuya has been shorthand for everything new in Japan: the scramble crossing, youth fashion, neon-soaked nightlife. However, on the evening of August 8, the district will do something radically old. The streets around SHIBUYA109 will close to traffic, a wooden yagura tower will rise in the middle of the road, and thousands of people in yukata will dance in circles to songs their great-grandparents knew. This is Bon Odori, and it is one of Japan’s oldest living traditions. Quick Answer: Bon Odori is the traditional circle dance of Obon, Japan’s midsummer festival honoring ancestral spirits. Shibuya Bon Odori…

For years, Japanese pop culture fans in America have recreated a little piece of Japan at home, from ramen nights to anime conventions. However, this summer the tables have turned completely: Japan is building a full-scale replica of Santa Monica, palm trees, pier, white sand and all, right on the Yokohama waterfront. It is called Red Brick Sunset 2026, and it might be Japan’s most American event ever. Quick Answer: Red Brick Sunset 2026 runs August 1 to 30 at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, one of Japan’s most popular waterfront venues. This year’s theme is Santa Monica, complete with a…