Festivals in May

A wooden boat carrying a mikoshi is hauled through Otsu to pray for fishing and maritime safety.

Festival in Yamagata featuring a grand procession and traditional performances.

Kobe's biggest spring festival with samba parades and multicultural performances.

Grand festival at Nikko Toshogu with a 'Thousand Warrior' samurai procession.

A portable shrine and a procession of traditional performers bring pageantry to Wakanoura.

One of Kyoto's three great festivals with a Heian-era imperial procession.

Fushiki's festival floats parade by day and meet in dramatic lantern-lit clashes after dark.

Tokyo's wildest festival at Asakusa Shrine with over 100 portable shrines.

Festival floats present mechanical puppets and dances around the former castle town of Ogaki.

Six shrines associated with historic Sagami gather in Oiso to pray for peace and a good harvest.

Boys' Day with carp streamers and samurai helmet displays.

Jinku dancing and deer-dance performances fill the streets of Esashi in spring.

Warrior processions celebrating the Hojo clan bring historical pageantry to Odawara.

Decorated floats and a shrine procession pass through the historic streets of Hino.

Towering lanterns light Fukuno's streets to the sound of drums and festival calls.

A historical procession retraces Minamoto no Yoshitsune's arrival in Hiraizumi.

Local kilns and merchants gather at Ceramics Park for a spring market celebrating Hasami ware.

Italian-style flower petal art festival with floral carpet displays.