From firewalking to swooning over cars covered in bling, some of the most memorable reasons to come to Japan are the ones nobody knows about.
Yet.
Read on for fourteen of the best reasons to plan your trip so you don’t miss them!
1: The Midnight Fox Parade
What it is:
A festival that sees in the new year with a fox parade, food booths, fox merch, face painting and New Years’ sake galore.
When it is:
Midnight on Dec 31/Jan 1
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2: Tokyo Auto Salon
What it is:
A car show that caters to the crazy drift racers and auto fiends whose happy place is modding their rides in the most outrageous ways possible
When it is:
mid-January
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3: Setagaya Boroichi Flea Market
What it is:
A magnificent flea market stuffed with booths as far as the eye can see, with hundreds of vendors selling everything from Japanese antiques and kimonos to bird feeders handcrafted from rice straw
When it is:
Twice a year: mid-January and mid-December
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4: The Kimono Fabric Festival
What it is:
Miles of kimono fabric rippling in the wind over the canals that wend through a traditional dyeing neighborhood, with food booths, photo ops and special merch
When it is:
mid-February
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5: 40,000 Girls Day dolls take over a town
What it is:
A town near Tokyo that celebrates the month of March by displaying over 40,000 gorgeous Girls’ Day dolls all over town
When it is:
The entire month of March
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6: The Firewalking Festival
What it is:
Once a year, a stoic order of monks prove their devotion by building the most massive bonfire you’ve ever seen, then walking barefoot over the hot ashes. The best part? You can too.
When it is:
mid-March
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7: The Tokyo Kimono Show
What it is:
An event where kimono designers compete to display their most gorgeous creations, and the attendees really pull out the stops on their own ensembles, so watching the crowd is as much fun as ogling the exhibits
When it is:
mid-April
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8: Design Festa
What it is:
A massive maker show where crazy talented designers sell everything from handpainted zombie nesting dolls to eerily accurate felt replicas of your dear departed pet
When it is:
mid-May
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9: Edogawa Goldfish Festival
What it is:
A gleeful traditional festival where you can attempt to catch your own goldfish with one of those diabolical paper nets, admire exotic (and insanely expensive) goldfish varieties, and consume traditional summer treats
When it is:
mid-July
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10: Floating Lantern Festival
What it is:
Nighttime festivals where lots and lots of flickering lanterns are floated out onto lakes, rivers and streams
When it is:
Sprinkled throughout the months of July and August
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11: The Crazy Ghost Cat Parade
What it is:
A rollicking parade of people dressed as all manner of cat demons
When it is:
mid-October
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12: Festival of 10,000 Lanterns
What it is:
A nighttime parade of miniature golden pagodas festooned with flowers, accompanied by strong men twirling traditional firemen’s standards
When it is:
mid-October
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13: Chrysanthemum Competitions
What it is:
Festivals displaying chrysanthemum bonsais (yes, you heard right: chrysanthemum plants trained into unbelievable shapes) that will leave you speechless with wonder
When it is:
The entire month of November
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14: Yokohama World Quilt Festival
What it is:
Hundreds of insanely crafted, eye-popping quilts from all over the world gather to compete for top honors at this epic annual show
When it is:
mid-November
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And here are the other places I take my friends when they come to town
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 