Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (Snow festival) Hokkaido

Every winter about 2 million people from Japan and abroad, visit one of the largest winter events, the Sapporo Snow Festival", where hundreds of beautiful snow statues and ice sculptures line Odori Park. For seven days in February, both small and large statues and sculptures turn Sapporo into a winter wonderland. The Snow Festival began in 1950, when local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park. In 1955, the Self-Defense Force joined in and built the very first massive snow sculpture, for which the Snow Festival has become famous. It is held between 2nd and 11th February of every year.

Dazaifu Gokusui no En (Fukuoka)

Dazaifu Tenmangu is known as the temple of the academic god, Mitchizane Sugawara. Students come to Dazaifu Tenmangu to pray for their academic success. Early every spring, there is the ceremony, "Gokusyui no En" at the Tenmangu. The ceremony originated with the competition of poetry reading that was done by the nobility of Heian period (8th- century). "Gokusui" means the curved stream in which players put a special cup with Sake and read their poem while the special cup passes by them. It is held in the first Sunday of March every year.

Takayama Matsuri (Gifu)

Takayamama Matsuri is one of Japan’s three largest and most beautiful festivals: twelve gorgeous decorative floats are pulled in a festival procession on the red-colored Nakabashi (Bridge) and Jinmei-dori (Street); in particular, venerated objects on the three floats (Sanba-so, Ryujin-tai, and Shakkyo-tai floats) are the highlight of the festival. In the evening, a night festival continues while festival floats are led by the festival procession, which visits every household. The festival is held on the April 14th and 15th every year.

Suwa Ombashira Matsuri (Sacred Post Festival) Nagano

Onbashira Matsuri at Suwataisha (Suwa shrine) in Nagano is held every six years. This festival is one of the most masculine spectacles. "Onbashira" is a large fir tree which length is about 40 feet, diameter is around 3.5 feet and weight is almost 2 tons!! At the festival, four "Onbashira" are dragged from Mt.Okuyama and made to stand on the four corners of Suwataisha's foundation by men's hands.