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A festival that takes place in the district between Naka River and Mikasa River of Hakata-ward, originally to worship 'Susanoh-no-mikoto', a famous Shinto 'god' and his children. Presently it is one of the two biggest festivals in Hakata Area, and famous for its unique 'Yamakasa' shout. Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival reaches its climax on the 15th of July, called 'Oiyama' when a fleet of giant floats topped by elaborate decorations are paraded through the streets at the fastest running speed possible by heroic men wearing 'mizu-happi' (traditional folk wear).

Tanabata Festival, on thefirst week-end of August, is one of the biggest, loudest, most fun parades anywhere in Japan. Friday night features brassy brass bands, perky cute majorettes, beautiful beauty queens and graceful dancers galore. Some 2,000 dancers perform the 'Samba Chikirin' preceding huge, glowing paper lantern-style floats. Saturday, a drum festival and 'O-mikoshi' (portable shrine) parade features 'Funai Pachin', the spinning and jostling of 'dashi' (floats) by enthusiastic participants. Sunday concludes with a bang and a boom with heart pounding fireworks.

Shan Shan Festival is a commemorative summer festival celebrated in Tottori City when the main street is clogged with citizens from all ages dancing with gorgeously decorated paper umbrellas. The attached tinkling bells happily resound throughout the area. No fewer than 4,000 participants celebrate the memory of Gorosaku, an old man who once upon a long time ago danced until he dropped dead in front of a guardian deity to rescue the local residents from a devastating drought.

Day and night the entire city resounds with the singing and dancing of traditional 'Awa-odori'; visitors are encouraged to take part in this joyful dancing parade. This folk dance attracts many people throughout Japan, because of its exciting rhythm and open-minded hospitality, so the foreign visitor might encounter this 'Awa-odori' dance festival in many different places in and even outside of Tokushima Prefecture throughout the country during summer time.

Summer's most effervescent event, the 'Gujo Odori' is a monthlong dancing festival organized annually in Gujo Hachiman from mid-July till the beginning of September. Hundreds of local residents and visitors perform traditional Japanese dances on ancient city streets doubling as center stage. The highpoint is reached with the 'Tetsuya Odori' (Aug.13-16) when determined dancers dance the night away until sunrise.

The Hyakumangoku Festival held the second Saturday of June, begins at dusk with 'Kaga Yuzen Toro-Nagashi', the floating of candle-lit lantern down the Asanogawa River. The main event is the magnificent 'Hyakumangoku' Parade, reenacting the triumphal entrance of Lord Toshiie into Kanazawa Castle in 1583, with hundreds of participants clad in period costumes and a famous actor invited for the leading role. At major intersections, spectators are entertained with varied performances such as 'shishimai' (lion dances), daring ladder-top acrobatics of the Kaga firemen and tea ceremonies. The festival concludes with a famous torch-lit, open air Noh performance and concert from Yasaka Shrine via Shijoh - Kawaramachi & Oike - Teramachi dori Street, hence return to Yasaka Shrine.

Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine, since 1627, has been central to Shinto worship in historic Edo. In mid-August, Fukagawa Hachiman Festival is so spectacular a celebration it is renowned as one of the three major festivals held annually in Tokyo. 'Hon-matsuri' occurs but once every third year and through five exciting days this year's fortunate spectators will be treated to the full, all-out version of the festivities. The festival features music, dance performances, lively parades, water splashing of the hardy bearers by spectators, activities born of Shinto traditions. The final climax comes with the all-day parading and exuberant jostling of 54 'mikoshi' (portable shrines) carrying part of the main shrine's 'kami' (deity) believed to bring happiness to the local residents.

This festival highlights a parade of strong and skillful men displaying their prowess in balancing 'kanto' long bamboo poles, each festooned with 46 lit lanterns in equilibrium on their palms, foreheads, shoulders and hips. The 'kanto' poles recall ears of rice, together with the 46 lanterns, imitating straw bags of rice and swinging at the slightest movement. To the accompaniment of rhythmic folk music and urged on by the cheers of fans, two hundred and thirty (230) 'kantos' will be raised aloft simultaneously at the same time for each evening's event.

The Morioka Sansa Odori Dance Parade is held early August with up to 20,000 participants clad in traditional 'yukata' (summer kimono) gathering to perform on the main street of Morioka to the joyous rhythm of flutes and the pounding beat of 'taiko' drums. A special feature of this colourful and festive event is the amazing number of drums, as many as 5,000 such instruments attached to the waists of dancers and beaten in cadence as they dance.

Enormous, illuminated papier-mache dummies set on floats that are so wide and tall they require great care as they have but inches to spare as they parade through Aomori's streets. 'Nebuta' in Aomori City is famous for its big paper doll shape light parade, and 'Neputa' in Hirosaki City, on the other hand, are doll paintings on illuminated huge fan shaped paper. This event is recognized as one of the finest such festival in the Tohoku Area (northern part of 'Honshu', Japan's main island).

The biggest and most exhilarating street party on the globe takes place during the Yosakoi Soran Festival in Hokkaido's sunny month of June. Based on traditional Japanese 'Obon' dancing, heeding a set of rules, each team designs its own colorful costumes and choreographs a distinctive and uniquely energetic dance set to lively music. Talented teams, amateur and professional, from all over Japan and increasingly from overseas participate in the fun-fest. First organized by a university student a short ten years ago it has so prospered to presently draw as many as 44,000 dancers with over 400 teams to provide an awesome, colorful spectacle witnessed by over 2 million delighted onlookers lining the streets of Sapporo.