What to do and see in Kanto, Japan: The Best Cultural Events

Celebrated for over 360 years, the Kawagoe Matsuri is a proud tradition celebrating the area's Edo culture. Held every 3rd weekend of October, brilliant, large-scale festival floats amass around the "old" part of town, where steeple-roofed temples, lively food stalls, and wide streets give off a historic charm. The floats, which crowd the area, are decorated with dolls and sets. The highlight of the festival is "Hikkawase", when these floats compete at "ohayashi", a type of dance accompanied by frenzied flues, handbells, and drums. The crowd joins in by hoisting up lanterns and chanting.

One of the finest sites to see cherry blossoms in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, this location was even listed in the "100 Best Cherry Blossom Sites in Japan." A road in the southern part of town spans 1.3Km and is lined with almost 1,000 large Yoshino cherry trees about sixty years old. In spring, this becomes a gorgeous "tunnel" of flowers. At night, paper lanterns are lit up, and you can see another face of the blossoms. During the event, there are street performances and traditional presentations, as well as exhibits of local food products available to purchase.

This festival, which has a history of over 230 years dating back to 1783, is held by the Yakumo Shrine, which is the patron shrine of the former Kuki City. The highlight of the festival is the seven large traditional Japanese floats held by each district that carry musicians as well dolls representing the gods out of the old myths across the city during the day. At night, the dolls are taken off the floats in exchange for some 500 paper lanterns. The sight of the 7.5M tall floats festooned with lights and gathered in the Kuki Station West Gate Plaza where they are made to spin around and collide with each other is awe-inspiring and justifies the festival's reputation as the premiere lantern festival of the Kansai region.

In Tamashiki Park, Kazo City, there is a large wisteria tree that is estimated to be about 400 years old, and it has been designated as a natural monument of the prefecture. About 30 wisteria trees make up five wisteria trellises, which bloom with stunning flowers from late April through early May. The flower cluster of the Great Wisteria is as large as 1m, and is spectacular. During the blooming period there are stage performances of taiko drumming and yosakoi, open-air tea ceremony and koto, children's shows and other events.

A festival held at Sakura Furusato Square in Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture every April. Against the background of the Dutch windmill standing in Lake Inbanuma, about 700,000 tulips of 70 species bloom in vivid colors. During the festival you can rent Dutch costumes and take commemorative photos against the background of the windmill and the tulip fields. In addition, you can pick tulips to buy, there are street organ performances that transport you to the Netherlands, and with such one-night-only events as an illumination and a mini fireworks display, the venue is crowded with many people every year.

Boasting over 1000 years of history, Yawatanmachi is seen as the biggest festival in Chiba prefecture's Awa region. Every year, crowds of spectators flock to the festival hoping to catch a glimpse of more than 10 portable shrines, festival cars, and boat floats from the surrounding shrines. All of the portable shrines come together at Tsurugaya Hachimangu Shrine on the evening of the final day. The sight of people shaking the portable shrines vigorously, over and over, is particularly intense. The festival is held in September, on the weekend before Respect for the Aged Day. In 2004, Yawatanmachi was designated an Intangible Cultural Property of Chiba prefecture, which seemed to make it all the livelier.

Held every spring during Golden Week since 1966, this ceramics market takes place in Mashiko, renowned as the home of Japanese earthenware pottery. During the fair, about 50 pottery shops and 500 tents sell traditional Mashiko ware, everyday necessities such as cups and plates, and pure works of art. Shoppers can chat with potters and ceramics artists as they browse. The market attracts pottery collectors from across Japan-and even bus tours from Tokyo.

Every year, area residents come together for a fall festival on 9/23 and 9/24 that prays for a bumper crop and a large catch of fish. Sacred palanquins from eighteen shrines in the Ohara, Tokai, and Namiha area of Chiba Prefecture are hoisted by local men into the sea -- this remarkable event is called the "Shio-fumi." The finale of the festival is held at the Ohagara Elementary School playground, with the "Farewell Rite," where the palanquins are held high aloft and the deities are bid off until the next year, held here. The event has been held in Ohara for over 300 years and in Tokai for over 200.

In early June, the lovely Itako Riverside Iris Park in Itako, Ibaraki sees about 1 million irises bloom in 500 varieties. To celebrate, the Suigo Itako Iris Festival has been held from late May to late June every year since 1952. During the festival, a variety of events unique to Itako are held, such as the Yomeiri-Bune ("Bride on a Boat"), mentioned in the 1960 hit song "Itako Hanayome-san," and the traditional Ayame Dance (Dance of the Irises). The festival also features the Ro-bune rowboats, used as transportation since ancient times, providing plenty of opportunities to sightsee along the Mae River.

The Ume Matsuri is held at the Mt. Tsukuba Plum Forest. The mountain is beautifully colored by the red and white blossoms of about 1,000 plum trees, including a variety that has white blossoms and a green center called ryokugakubai. The Plum Forest is at an altitude of 250 meters, offering a view of the Tsukuba skyline below. Mt. Fuji and Tokyo Skytree are visible in the distance on sunny days. During the event, there is complimentary plum tea, sales performances by Tsukuba's famous toad oil sellers, and gourmet foods made with plums and other local specialties are on sale, drawing large crowds of visitors.