The Sanja Festival, also known as Sanja Matsuri is an annual festival in the Asuka district that usually takes place over the third weekend in May. It is held in celebration of the three founders of Sensoji Temple, who are enshrined in the Asakusa Shrine next door to the temple. Nearly two million people visit. 

The Sanja Matsuri features about one hundred portable shrines (mikoshi). Shinto deities (kami) are symbolically placed into and paraded about the streets to bring good fortune to the local businesses and residents.

Setsubun, Japan's bean-throwing festival to celebrate the beginning of spring, is observed each year on February 3 during the Haru Matsuri (Spring Festival). Japanese believe that throwing roasted soybeans known as fuku mame (fortune beans) removes evil spirits that bring sickness and prevent good fortune.

Setsubun celebrations have become fun, chaotic affairs in some cities. Crowds jostle and surge for beans (eating them is good luck), prizes, and freebies tossed from public stages—often by celebrity hosts.

Hanami is one of the most famous events of Spring. Crowds of people - families, groups of friends, and companies- gather under the fully open cherry blossoms and have a picnic celebration ( a hanami party!). The picnic fare consists of various foods, snack foods, sake (alcoholic beverages including rice wine, Nihonshu), or other drinks.

The celebration often includes dancing and karaoke in addition to the cherry blossom viewing. In trendy places such as Ueno Park and Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, prime picnic spots are intense

New Year (正月, shōgatsu) is the most meaningful holiday in Japan. Most businesses shut down from January 1 to January 3, and families typically gather to spend the days together.

Homes and entrance gates are decorated with ornaments made of pine, bamboo, and plum trees, and clothes and houses are spotless. On New Year's eve, Toshi Koshi soba (buckwheat noodles), symbolizing longevity, are served. 

 The largest traditional dance festival in Japan and Tokushima's most famous attraction- Awa Odori, is held in Tokushima City in the secluded prefecture of Tokushima on Shikoku Island.

Celebrating for several days during mid-August, the Awa Odori boasts over 400 years of great history and is counted amongst Japan's Three Great Bon Odori festivals, all large-scale traditional dances occurring during the summertime holiday of Obon.

The Nagasaki Lantern Festival, originally started by Chinese residents living in Nagasaki Chinatown celebrating the Chinese New Year, is now a dreamlike display of over 15,000 lanterns transforming the city into a tapestry of fiery reds and lively yellows. Held during the Lunar New Year, the festival attracts over 1 million visitors to Nagasaki City’s Chinatown and nearby locations to witness the lanterns alongside fireworks, traditional dances, theatre performances, and more.

The festival runs for around two weeks during an ever-changing period around late January and early February. There are seven main areas decorated with lanterns, including the Nagasaki Chinatown, Central Park, the Chinese district of Tojinyashiki, Kofukuji Temple, and more.

The Tenjin Matsuri is a spectacular summer festival in Osaka that begins on July 24 with rituals at the shrine and river, a shishimai lion dance, and prayers for Osaka's safety and prosperity.  The celebrations are full of rituals, dance, and music featuring a procession of portable shrines and complete in a dazzling fireworks display that lasts for an hour and a half. 

 Way back a thousand years ago, Tenjin Matsuri festivals were held around the 25th each month at Tenmangu Shrines Japan-wide to honor the deity of scholarship Sugawara Michizane. 

Kinkaku-Ji also called the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, is the most famous tourist attraction in Japan and Kyoto. The pavilion was originally built as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in the late 14th century.

According to history, the pavilion was burnt down in 1950 by a young monk obsessed with it. Five years later, the temple was rebuilt as an exact copy of the original. The highlight is placed on the building and surrounding gardens being in harmony with one another. 

Tokyo's most famous landmark, the famous Imperial Palace, with its beautiful 17th-century parks surrounded by walls and moats- situated in the Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, is the home of the Emperor of Japan. 

 The palace is set on the ruins of older castles destroyed by fire or war, and architects have honored the past by incorporating design elements of the different eras into the modern palace. The new palace is surrounded by traditional Japanese gardens and has many reception and function rooms to receive guests and welcome the public.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as Genbaku Dome, Atomic Bomb Dome, or A-Bomb Dome, has been made to commemorate the many victims of the world's first nuclear attack. Hiroshima was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. 

Hiroshima Memorial has become a symbol of lasting peace to the over 140,000 people killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. More than a million people have visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park each year, many from overseas.

Tokyo Tower is an active broadcasting facility and a perfect spot for travelers to see the dazzling cityscape below. Patterned on the Eiffel Tower in design, Tokyo Tower was completed in 1958. At 333 meters tall, it became the second-tallest structure in Japan.

Its modernist charm can be appreciated from the outside as it lights up at night, but the real fun comes as you climb to the top to catch vibrant views of the city.

The Todaiji is an ancient temple complex situated in Nara. It is not only the world’s largest wooden building; it is home to its most giant bronze great Buddha statue.

Surrounded by beautiful gardens and wildlife, the Kegon school of Buddhism is centered here, and the grounds hold many artifacts of Japanese and Buddhist history.

Kamakura Daibutsu, also known as the Great Buddha of Kamakura, is an outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha sitting in the posture of meditation. It is situated in Kotokuin Temple in Kamakura, Japan- the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan, following its most giant bronze Buddha statue, Nara Daibutsu. The Kamakura Daibutsu stands at the height of 11.4 meters, weighing 121 tons.

The magical Itsukushima Shrine built on the water was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1996. The name Itsukushima means 'island of worship,' and the island itself was worshiped as a god from ancient times. A place where people have long carried out ancient rites, Itsukushima Shrine, has become world-renowned, attracting visitors from all over Japan and the rest of the world.

The brilliant composition and architecture of the shrine do not fail to enchant the thousands of visitors who travel to the shrine. Beautiful corridors connect the Main Shrine to the Marodo Shrine, Tenjin Shrine, and the Noh theatre stage perfectly balances its nature.

One of the country's most spectacular Park is Chūbu-Sangaku National Park in the center of Honshu. Located in the park's northern and central regions is the group of mountains collectively referred to as the Hida Mountains, or the Japanese Alps.

This region contains some of the highest peaks in the country, including Hotaka at 3,190 meters and Yari at 3,180 meters. The Japanese Alps entice large numbers of trekkers and climbers in summer and skiers in winter.