Japanese Holidays and Their Cultural Significance

Golden Week, running from late April through early May, clusters four national holidays into Japan's longest holiday period. The holidays are Showa Day (April 29), Constitution Memorial Day (May 3), Greenery Day (May 4), and Children's Day (May 5). The week sees massive domestic travel, with trains and flights booked months in advance. Tokyo empties as residents head to the countryside and coastal areas. For overseas visitors, Golden Week brings crowds and premium prices — arriving just before or after is significantly more comfortable.

Obon (mid-August) is one of Japan's most spiritually significant periods — a Buddhist custom of honouring the spirits of deceased ancestors who are believed to return to the living world during this time. Families clean and decorate graves, light lanterns to guide spirits home, and perform traditional Bon Odori dances at local festivals. Many Japanese people return to their hometowns, making Obon one of the three peak travel seasons alongside New Year and Golden Week. The Awa Odori in Tokushima and the Nebuta Matsuri in Aomori are among Japan's most spectacular Obon celebrations.

Coming of Age Day (Seijin no Hi) falls on the second Monday of January and celebrates all those who have turned 20 in the past year (Japan recently changed the legal age of adulthood to 18, but the celebration continues at 20). Young people, particularly women, wear elaborate traditional furisode kimono — long-sleeved formal garments that can cost thousands of dollars. The ceremonies, held at local government offices, are both a cultural celebration and a rite of passage marking the transition to adult civic responsibility.

Setsubun (February 3–4) marks the day before the traditional start of spring in the old Japanese calendar. The main custom is mamemaki — throwing roasted soybeans while shouting 'Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!' ('Demons out! Good luck in!') to drive away evil spirits and invite good fortune. At home, one family member wears an oni (demon) mask and is pelted with beans. At temples and shrines across the country, celebrities and sumo wrestlers join priests to throw beans to crowds. Eating the number of beans corresponding to your age is believed to bring good health for the coming year.

Tanabata (July 7 in most regions, August 7 in others following the lunar calendar) celebrates the annual meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, represented by the stars Vega and Altair, who are separated by the Milky Way and permitted to meet only once per year. People write wishes on colourful tanzaku paper strips and hang them on bamboo branches, which are then set adrift in rivers or burned as offerings. The Sendai Tanabata, held in August, is Japan's largest Tanabata festival, drawing two million visitors with enormous paper streamers decorating the shopping arcades.