What to do and see in Tokai, Chubu: The Best Events

The Atami Fireworks are unique in Japan, in that they take place once every season rather than once a year. Shot off over Atami Bay, spectators watch from the beachfront along the waterway, sharing picnics and marveling at the bursts of color. Especially lauded is Atami's aquatic themed rocket, used in the Grand Finale: the "Aerial Niagara Fall".

The Japanese Grand Prix is a Formula One World Championship car racing event. Top drivers from the world over come to compete in what is often a title-deciding race at the end of the sporting season. Adrenaline runs high as huge crowds are drawn to the stadiums to watch top-performing vehicles handle over 150 miles of looped driving, and the excellent motorists who control them at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour.

The Tetsuya Odori is the highlight of the Gujo Odori dance festival. Taking place in heat of late summer, locals and visitors alike dominate to the evening streets to learn and perform Japanese traditional folk dances. Taking place over four days, dancers remain on the street energetically whirling from 8:00pm until dawn the following day. While any form of dress is welcome, shops and stalls rent out patterned yukata, and many guests don wooden 'geta' shoes that help to keep the rhythm and add to the beat of the music. It's a whirlwind of spirit and zeal, where strangers become friends and hundreds of people enjoy dancing like no one is watching.

Takayama in Gifu Prefecture is where the Autumn Hachiman Festival is held at Hachiman Shrine (October 9-10). The traditions of the Edo period have been scrupulously maintained even as eras change. Several hundred paradegoers dressed in traditional clothing perform court music and traditional dance as they transport the local shrine to its resting place. There are also special parade floats seen only in autumn. At night, they are lit with lanterns and paraded back to their storehouses while traditional songs are sung -- this is a true picture of Japanese seasonal tradition. Like its autumn variant, the Spring Sanno Festival at Hie Shrine (April 14-15) is also called the "Takayama Festival (Spring)."

Held every year on August 15th during Obon, this festival was founded to comfort the souls of those who died in natural disasters, fell in battle, or drowned in the Yahagi River. As sutras are chanted and incense is burnt, approximately 2,000 Buddhist lanterns are floated on the river. The ensuing fireworks display lasts for an hour and features about 3,000 fireworks, lighting up the river together with the lanterns. The fireworks are set off from sandbars along the river, and watching the display at such close range-150 meters, soaring right up above you-makes for a spectacular visual and tactile experience.

This huge fireworks festival is held every summer in Toyota, Aichi as the finale to the Toyota Oiden Matsuri. Approximately 13,000 multicolored fireworks are launched from Shirahama Park along the banks of the Yahagi River, dazzling the sky in tune to music. The display features numerous high points, such as a "Niagara Falls" firework display and a spectacular display from the Japan Fireworks Artists Association. This extravaganza has received high marks and widespread popularity from locals, fireworks fans, and experts alike.

One of the classic hallmarks of summer in the city of Gamagori, the Gamagori Festival is held on a Saturday every July, attracting over 200,000 visitors a year to its wide variety of events. On Sunday, the festival concludes with a fireworks display in the cool of the evening. The show's biggest attractions are its giant "3-shakudama" fireworks, the largest class of fireworks on the Pacific Coast, which reach diameters of 650 meters-they leave the crowds truly awestruck when they light up the night sky.

The Kuwana Suigo Fireworks Display was initiated in 1934 to commemorate the completion of Ise Bridge. Although suspended for a time during the war, the display carries on a fireworks tradition right up to today. Held in late July on a sandbar in the middle of the Ibi River, the event features the launching of approximately 10,000 fireworks in roughly an hour and a half. Airborne star mines, waterfalls, and star mines emerging from the water follow one after another, and the climax is a No. 20 Ball firework that lights up the night sky with one of the most impressive bursts of the Tokai region.

This event is held in Shizuoka at the beginning of November every year and brings numerous artists from around the world together. It began in 1992 and has now became a signature Shizuoka event. Held principally at Sunpu Castle Park and sites around the city, various enchanting performances are put on. Performers are grouped into three categories: of those, the performer scoring the most points in the World Cup category is crowned as that year's champion.

Of the cherry blossom trees, the "kawa-zakura" is known as an early bloomer. Starting in late January, its rich pink petals can be enjoyed for close to a month. The Kawazakura Festival begins with the blooming of the trees, and close to 800 trees on a 4km stretch along the Kawazu River burst forth in pink. At night, the area along the banks of the river becomes a pedestrian paradise, with beautiful illuminations. This is also true at Mine Onsen, where the trees are lit up. Seeing the cherry trees emerge out of the darkness is mysterious and beautiful. There are foot baths along the road where you can take a soak, and local specialties are on sale, as well as stalls serving food and drink. There are also special performances on stage.