1st:New Year's Day is the festival of festivals for the Japanese and is celebrated throughout the country. People in traditional Kimono pay homage at nearby shrines, offering visitors colorful photo opportunities. It is primarily an occasion for family reunions, just like Christmas in Western countries, and virtually all businesses are closed for the first two days of the new year.

6th:Dezomeshiki, or the New Year's Parade of Firemen, takes place in Tokyo and is a dazzling spectacle of agile firemen in traditional uniform performing acrobatic stunts on top of tall bamboo ladders.

7th: Usokae, the Bullfinch Exchange Festival of Dazaifu Temmangu Shrine, Dazaifu, Fukuoka Pref. Wooden bullfinches handed out by priests are said to bring good luck.

9th – 11th:Toka Ebisu Festival of Imamiya Ebisu Shrine, Osaka. Ebisu is the patron deity of business and good fortune, so people come here to pray for success in the new business year. The festival highlight is a procession of women in colorful kimono who are carried through the main streets on palanquins.

4th Saturday: Grass Fire Ceremony on Mt. Wakakusayama in Nara, with fireworks.

17th: Bonten Matsuri Festival of Miyoshi Shrine, Akita.

3rd or 4th: Setsubun, or Bean-Throwing Festival, is observed at leading temples across the country to chase away imaginary evil and welcome good luck.

3rd: Mantoro, or Lantern Festival of Kasuga Shrine, Nara. This is a beautiful sight, created by 3,000 lit lanterns.

Early February for 7 days: Snow Festival in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Huge, elaborate snow and ice sculptures erected on the Odori-Koen Promenade make this Japan's most spectacular winter festival.

3rd Saturday: Eyo or Hadaka Matsuri (naked festival) at Saidaiji Temple, Saidaiji, Okayama. A multitude of partially clad, young male devotees elbow and shoulder one another in an attempt to capture a pair of sacred wands tossed to them in the darkness in and around the temple.

15th – 16th: Kamakura in Yokote, Akita Pref., is a unique snow country event. Snow houses, enshrining the God of Water, are erected for children's parties.

1st – 14th: Omizutori, or Water-Drawing Festival, of Todaiji Temple, Nara, is solemnly observed at 2 a.m. on the 13th day to the accompaniment of ancient Japanese music. For many Japanese, this ritual signals the advent of a long-awaited spring.

3rd: Hinamatsuri, or Doll Festival, is celebrated throughout the country. A set of Hina-Ningyo dolls in traditional costume and miniature household articles are arranged on a tier of shelves and displayed in the living room of practically every home blessed with young daughters. Hotels may also display dolls in their lobby.

13th: Kasuga Festival of Kasuga Shrine in Nara features a staging of a 1,100-year-old classic dance.

8th: Hana Matsuri, or Buddha's Birthday, is celebrated at all Buddhist temples in commemoration of Buddha's birthday. A small image of Buddha is displayed before the public and sweet tea called Amacha is poured over the image as an expression of devotion.

14th – 15th: Takayama Matsuri Festival of Hie Shrine in Takayama, Gifu Pref., is known throughout Japan for its gala procession of gorgeously decorated floats.

13th – 17th: Yayoi Matsuri Festival of Futarasan Shrine, Nikko, features a parade of gaily-decorated floats.

3rd – 4th: Hakata Dontaku Festival in Fukuoka features a parade of citizens in colorful costumes, escorting masqueraders of legendary gods on horseback.

May 11th - October 15th: Nagaragawa Ukai & Seki-no-Oze-no Ukai (Cormorant Fishing) on the Nagara River, Gifu. This ancient method of catching Ayu, a trout-like fish, with trained cormorants takes place nightly under the light of blazing torches.

Mid-May: Kanda Matsuri Festival of Kanda Myojin Shrine, Tokyo (held every odd-numbered year). Dozens of Mikoshi portable shrines are paraded through the shrine's neighborhood. A gala tea ceremony is also offered.

3rd Sun. & previous Fri. & Sat.: Sanja Matsuri Festival of Asakusa Shrine in Tokyo. One of Tokyo's most famous festivals features citizens carrying colorful portable shrines on their shoulders as they parade the streets.

15th: Aoi Matsuri, or Hollyhock Festival, of Shimogamo and Kamigamo Shrines in Kyoto. One of Kyoto's most well-known festivals re-creates the Imperial family's processional visits to shrines in the days of yore, with a parade of magnificently dressed participants.

17th - l8th: Grand Festival of Toshogu Shrine in Nikko. The highlight of this festival, commemorating shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa whose mausoleum is in Nikko, is a spectacular procession of over 1,000 armor-clad men escorting three sacred portable shrines through the streets.

3rd Sunday: Mifune Matsuri Festival on the Oi River, Kyoto, reproduces a graceful ancient boat festival.

14th: Otaue-Shinji, Rice-Planting Festival, of Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka. Young girls in traditional farmers' costumes ceremoniously transplant rice seedlings in the shrine's paddies, in hopes of a good harvest.

2nd Saturday: Chagu-Chagu Umakko, or Horse Festival, in Morioka. Colorfully decorated horses parade through the streets to Hachimangu Shrine.

Around 10th-l6th: Sanno Festival of Hie Shrine in Tokyo features a procession of portable shrines through the busy streets of the Akasaka district.

Mid-June: Hyakumangoku Matsuri, Kanazawa. Folk songs, traditional dances, tea ceremonies, a Noh performance and a parade are the highlights of this festival centering on Kanazawa's wealth, measured in rice, during the feudal era.

1st – 15th: Hakata Gion Yamagasa Festival in Fukuoka reaches its climax on the 15th with a fleet of giant floats, topped with elaborate decorations, which are paraded through the streets.

7th: Tanabata, or Star Festival, is celebrated nationwide. Legend has it that the stars Vega and Altair, separated lovers, can meet each other across the Milky Way only once a year on this day. Children set up bamboo branches hung with colorful paper strips on which poems and wishes are written.

13th-16th (August in some areas): Bon Festival. Religious rites are held throughout the country in memory of the dead who, according to Buddhist belief, revisit this world at this time of year. A Bon dance party is held nightly in practically every community, and visitors are encouraged to join the easy-to-learn folk dance.

14th: Nachi Himatsuri, or Fire Festival, of Nachi Shrine, Nachi-Katsuura, Wakayama. 12 giant torches are carried by white-robed priests.

July or August: Kangensai Music Festival of Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima. Classical court music and dances are performed on brightly decorated boats.

16th – 17th: Gion Matsuri. Kyoto's biggest festival dates back to the 9th century, when people tried to seek the protection of the gods against a pestilence that was then ravaging the city. Gorgeous floats are paraded through the main streets on the 17th.

23rd – 25th: Soma-nomaoi, or Horse-Chasing Festival, in Minamisoumashi, Fukushima Pref. This festival is a glorious sight, as a thousand contestants on horseback and wearing traditional samurai armor vie for three sacred flags in a dynamic contest.

24th – 25th: Tenjin Matsuri Festival of Temmangu Shrine in Osaka. This festival features a fleet of boats, bearing portable shrines and floating down the Dojima River, a parade of people dressed in traditional costume, and fireworks.

1st – 7th: Nebuta Matsuri Festival in Aomori from the 2nd to 7th noon, and Neputa Matsuri Festival in Hirosaki from the 1st to 7th. These spectacular summer festivals, televised nationwide, are popular for their enormous, illuminated papier-mache dummies set on floats and paraded through the streets in the evening.

Early August: Waraku Odori, Nikko, Tochigi. This is one of the most popular folk dances performed in Japan during the Bon season, with thousands of people dancing to the accompaniment of lively music.

3rd – 6th: Kanto Matsuri Festival in Akita features a parade of men demonstrating their skill at balancing Kanto (long bamboo poles hung with many lighted lanterns) on their shoulders, foreheads, chins or hips.

5th – 7th: Hanagasa Festival in Yamagata Pref. features a dance parade through the streets by more than 10,000 townspeople wearing Hanagasa, a round straw hat adorned with brightly colored artificial flowers.

6th – 8th: Tanabata, or Star Festival, in Sendai is the largest and most famous Tanabata Festival in Japan. The main streets are decorated with numerous colored paper streamers and banners.

12th – 15th: Awa Odori Folk Dance Festival in Tokushima. The entire city resounds with singing and dancing day and night; visitors are encouraged to join this joyful dancing parade.

16th: Daimonji Bonfire on Mt. Nyoigatake in Kyoto. A spectacular bonfire in the shape of the Chinese ideograph meaning "big" is the highlight of Kyoto's Bon Festival and can be viewed even from downtown Kyoto.

16th: Yabusame, or Horseback Archery, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura. This festival harks back to the days of the samurai as skilled archers display their agility atop galloping horses.

7th - 9th: Kunchi Festival, Suwa Shrine in Nagasaki. One of Kyushu's most famous festivals features a dragon dance of Chinese origin and floats with umbrella-shaped decorations.

9th – 10th: Takayama Matsuri Festival of Hachimangu Shrine in Takayama. This autumn festival is noted for its gala procession of ornate floats.

11th – 13th: Oeshiki Festival of Hommonji Temple, Tokyo, is celebrated in commemoration of the Buddhist leader, Nichiren (1222-1282), by devotees who march toward the temple carrying large lanterns decorated with paper flowers.

14th – 15th: Kenka Matsuri Festival of Matsubara Shrine in Himeji reaches its climax on the 15th when half-naked youths shouldering portable shrines jostle each other as they test their skills at balancing the heavy shrines.

17th: Autumn Festival of Toshogu Shrine in Nikko features a colorful procession of armor-clad parishioners escorting a sacred portable shrine.

22nd: Jidai Matsuri, or Festival of the Ages, Heian Shrine, Kyoto. This is one of the three grandest festivals of Kyoto. Its highlight is a procession of citizens in colorful costumes representing various epochs of Kyoto's 1,200 years of history.

22nd: Fire Festival of Yuki Shrine, Kurama, Kyoto. Long rows of torches, imbedded along the approach to the shrine, make a grand entryway for children bearing torches.

3rd: Daimyo Gyoretsu in Hakone is a faithful reproduction of a feudal lord's procession, once a familiar scene along the old Tokaido Road.

2nd – 4th: Okunchi Festival of Karatsu Shrine in Karatsu is known for its parade of huge, colorful floats.

Mid-November: Tori-no-ichi, or Rake Fair, of Otori Shrine in Tokyo. Dozens of makeshift stalls sell Kumade (ornate bamboo rakes), thought to bring good luck.

15th: Shichi-go-san is the shrine-visiting day for children aged 3, 5 and 7, in appreciation of the good health given them by the guardian gods. The Kimono-clad children make good photographic subjects.

15th – 18th: On-Matsuri Festival of Kasuga Shrine in Nara features a procession of people masquerading as courtiers, retainers and wrestlers of ancient times.

17th – 19th: Hagoita-Ichi (Toshi-no-ichi), or Battledore Fair, of Asakusa Kannon Temple in Tokyo. This year-end mart has been popular since feudal days for its battledores and various New Year decorations.

31st: Namahage in Oga Peninsula, Akita Pref. is a unique annual event in which groups of grotesquely masked men, disguised as devils, go door-to-door and growl in Japanese, "Is there a good-for-nothing kid here?"

31st: Okera Mairi Ceremony of Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto. A sacred fire is kindled on the shrine's precincts, in the belief that all who cook their first meal with the embers of the fire will achieve happiness. Visitors are encouraged to take some of the embers of the sacred fire home.