10 Events in Kanto That You Shouldn't Miss

Celebrated for over 360 years, the Kawagoe Matsuri is a proud tradition celebrating the area's Edo culture. Held every 3rd weekend of October, brilliant, large-scale festival floats amass around the "old" part of town, where steeple-roofed temples, lively food stalls, and wide streets give off a historic charm. The floats, which crowd the area, are decorated with dolls and sets. The highlight of the festival is "Hikkawase", when these floats compete at "ohayashi", a type of dance accompanied by frenzied flues, handbells, and drums. The crowd joins in by hoisting up lanterns and chanting.

One of the finest sites to see cherry blossoms in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, this location was even listed in the "100 Best Cherry Blossom Sites in Japan." A road in the southern part of town spans 1.3Km and is lined with almost 1,000 large Yoshino cherry trees about sixty years old. In spring, this becomes a gorgeous "tunnel" of flowers. At night, paper lanterns are lit up, and you can see another face of the blossoms. During the event, there are street performances and traditional presentations, as well as exhibits of local food products available to purchase.

This fireworks festival is held each summer in Toda City in the southeastern region of Saitama Prefecture. Located upstream of the Toda Bridge along the Ara River that flows through the city, visitors will be able to enjoy a total of 12,000 fireworks when combined with the Itabashi Fireworks Festival that will be held at the same time on the opposite shore. One feature of the Todabashi Fireworks Festival is the closeness between the place where the fireworks will be set off and the viewing area, allowing visitors to experience the full scale and sound of the pyrotechnics. The combination of large fireworks and star mines makes for a compelling program, and the giant star mines that constitute the finale are especially impressive.

This festival, which has a history of over 230 years dating back to 1783, is held by the Yakumo Shrine, which is the patron shrine of the former Kuki City. The highlight of the festival is the seven large traditional Japanese floats held by each district that carry musicians as well dolls representing the gods out of the old myths across the city during the day. At night, the dolls are taken off the floats in exchange for some 500 paper lanterns. The sight of the 7.5M tall floats festooned with lights and gathered in the Kuki Station West Gate Plaza where they are made to spin around and collide with each other is awe-inspiring and justifies the festival's reputation as the premiere lantern festival of the Kansai region.

In Tamashiki Park, Kazo City, there is a large wisteria tree that is estimated to be about 400 years old, and it has been designated as a natural monument of the prefecture. About 30 wisteria trees make up five wisteria trellises, which bloom with stunning flowers from late April through early May. The flower cluster of the Great Wisteria is as large as 1m, and is spectacular. During the blooming period there are stage performances of taiko drumming and yosakoi, open-air tea ceremony and koto, children's shows and other events.

A fireworks display that draws crowds of 410,000 or more people every year and is known as the tradition that decorates the summer night sky of Kashiwa and Abiko in Chiba Prefecture. At three venues in Kashiwa and Abiko, which surround Lake Teganuma, fantastic underwater fireworks, powerful Ultra-Jumbo Star Mines, and popular children's character fireworks are among the approximately 13,500 fireworks launched. Since the firework preferences vary at each launch venue, the unique fun of the "Teganuma Fireworks Display" is being able to sample the differences by moving from one location to another. There are also many stalls opened, centered around cheap and popular dishes.

This firework display takes place every August in Tateyama city, Chiba prefecture. Tateyama Bay is also known as Kagami ga Ura ("Mirror Inlet" in Japanese) because, with its gentle waves, it looks just like a mirror. The event sees 10,000 fireworks set off across the Hojo Coast on Tateyama Bay. The highlight is when number eight water fireworks, which are the biggest in the Kanto area, are set off over the surface of the water. You cannot miss the extra-large star mine, which appears within a sequence of 100 star mines large and small. On the day, there is a flamenco stage organized by students. As the fireworks begin, people at the venue simultaneously erupt into even greater excitement.

Held every spring during Golden Week since 1966, this ceramics market takes place in Mashiko, renowned as the home of Japanese earthenware pottery. During the fair, about 50 pottery shops and 500 tents sell traditional Mashiko ware, everyday necessities such as cups and plates, and pure works of art. Shoppers can chat with potters and ceramics artists as they browse. The market attracts pottery collectors from across Japan-and even bus tours from Tokyo.

This fireworks show is held every summer downstream from the Kanko Bridge on the Omoi River-in Oyama in Tochigi Prefecture, a place with deep ties to the Tokugawa Shogunate. About 2,000 fireworks are launched to bloom beautifully in the night sky, including extra-large starmines and flurries of "shakudama"-style fireworks, and a "Niagara Falls"-style cascade display. The launch site is very close to the viewing area, making the combination of sound, light, and water even more impressive and delighting spectators. The day before the festival features an opening carnival with a variety of events.