First of all, me and my team here at Japan Uptown wants to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and may you all be blessed with prosperous times ahead and all the best of luck!
Happy 2011 everyone!
New Year celebration is indeed a very big thing in Japan. The Japanese started to adopt the Gregorian calendar five years after the Meiji restoration in 1873. Before that, like all it’s other similar roots countries like Korea and China, they have been adopting the Chinese calendar. Therefore now, 1st of January marks …

It is summer again and it calls for the time of summer festivals in Japan, where there are various kinds of stalls (or yatai), hanabi (fireworks), yukata, beaches and watermelons!
July and August marks the peak of summer in Japan. And in these months Japanese people celebrate summer festivals which may vary from place to place. One such festival is called Obon or Bon Festival which is a Japanese custom festival celebrated as part to honor the deceased spirits of their ancestors. It is actually a customary tradition closely related to …

Akoh Gishi Sai or “The Forty-Seven Loyal Retainers in Akoh” is one of the many festivals in Japan, which is traditional in nature.
If you’ve heard of the samurai movie ‘Chushingura’, then you have all the reason to know about Akoh Gishi Sai. If you are a follower of the Japanese culture, history and lifestyle, you will probably have noticed the extent of loyalty in their lives. Being loyal to one’s Country, King, Lords, Masters and Parents is basic knowledge and ethic in the Japanese people since the ancient times. Although …

Are you wondering of how people in Japan celebrate Halloween? But the question is whether they do celebrate it or not, right?
Well, it’s really hard to say but the rising cosplay trends in Japan may have something to contribute to the celebration of Halloween in Japan. However, one of the common activities on the event are the ones usually held in Tokyo Disneyland and Osaka Universal Studio every year and there will always be a surprising number of people, usually young adults and teenagers who participated in the events.
In …

Fall season or autumn (or ‘Aki’) in Japan starts in the early September, and it is also the season of typhoon. This year Japan was visited by infamous Typhoon Melor in the near mid of autumn. Weather resembling that of the rainy season also occurs because of the autumnal rain fronts. The weather clears in mid-October, and the winter winds start to blow. If summer is a season of fun, festivals and holidays, autumn in Japan is more like a season of relaxing and pure enjoyment of nature and it …

Japan is a country with a multitude range of festivals, celebrations, holidays and traditional ceremonial occasions, be it of their own origin or those derives form other cultures and later integrated into theirs. For your information, in Japan, festivals falls into two main categories; which are matsuri (simply means festivals) and nenchu gyoji (meaning annual events). Nenchu gyoji is also pronounced as ‘nenju gyoji’. Matsuri are usually festivals of native Japanese and Shinto origin. It is held annually on established dates sometimes decided by the shrine. Festivals which fall under …

Summer in Japan is pretty much an anticipated season in Japan, next to Spring where they can see the blossoming of the beautiful Sakura trees. In Japan, summer can mean hot weather, lots of matsuri or festivals, cold drinks, beaches, open space concerts, fireworks! Holidays and vacations, and a whole lot of fun! Especially for teenagers and children. Summer holidays for school and university students can last up to more than a month. It’ll be less for the working class people which is only for about a week or so.
There …