Alternative attractions when you visit Japan.

Talking about Japan, it's not just the food and entertainment that are Noteworthy. As a country that is busy with tourism and also has a unique culture, Japan has a multitude of festivals in every season.

Those yearly festivals are being held as an attraction for tourists and also maintaining cultural events. For example, the Obon festival, which is usually held in August, is a festival that is held to commemorate the spirits of ancestors and pray for them according to Japanese beliefs.

Every season, you can find various festivals that you don’t want to miss. Here are some of the festivals you can visit in Japan during autumn.

Takayama Autumn Festival / Hachiman Festival

Considered one of the most beautiful festivals in Japan, you shouldn't miss this one. Takayama Autumn Festival is held in Takayama Old Town, Gifu Prefecture. During this festival, people parade a miniature Hachiman shrine on a float through the city streets.

If the weather is good, you can see the festival on the streets, otherwise, when the weather is not favorable, miniature shrines could be found in various storage places.

Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival

Lanterns hold an important cultural element in Japan. So it will be very easy for you to find lantern festivals there. One of the most beautiful is the Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival which is held every first Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of October every year. This festival was held around 370 years ago by the lord of Nihonmatsu Castle to encourage piety and goodness.

Tori-no-ichi

This festival was held since the Edo era at the Asakusa shrine in November to commemorate the "day of the rooster" on the lunar calendar. Various unique decorations will fill the shops. They will even compete to sell a kind of bamboo rake as a symbol of hope to get a good fortune. The Tori no Ichi celebration is synonymous with the time to ask for good luck.

Karatsu Kunchi Matsuri

The Karatsu Kunchi Matsuri is held in Saga Prefecture, every early November for 3 days. The main attraction of this festival features giant floats with shapes representing Japanese mythological animals. Karatsu Kunchi is a very lively and crowded festival because visitors to this festival can reach 500,000 people every year.

Jidai Festival

You can find this festival in the city of Kyoto at the end of October. During the festival, you will find a mikoshi parade displaying traditional Japanese costumes from every era.

Although autumn is almost over, you can use this list of festivals as a reference if you want to visit next autumn. 

However, if you prefer to stay at home and want to experience a signature Japanese sensation from home, you can do so by cooking various dishes from that country. One of the easiest foods to make is Japanese curry, especially if you use House Kari ala Jepang curry roux which has an authentic taste and you can create it with any dishes you want!