{"id":174,"date":"2010-01-31T06:58:48","date_gmt":"2010-01-31T10:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=174"},"modified":"2018-07-27T15:06:32","modified_gmt":"2018-07-27T15:06:32","slug":"winter-festivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/winter-festivals\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who said that you have to stay inside for the winter? Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean it has to be boring! Around late January and February, winter festivals are all the rage in Japan. You’ve probably heard of the famous Sapporo\u00a0Snow Festival<\/a>, but did you know that there\u00a0were other\u00a0winter festivals in Japan?\u00a0Every region has a distinct festival different from other regions. Let’s take a look at some of those festivals.<\/p>\n

\"\"The\u00a0Yokote Kamakura\u00a0Snow Hut\u00a0Festival is located\u00a0in Akita Prefecture (\u79cb\u7530\u770c<\/strong><\/span>,<\/span>). It’s famous for the various igloos that can serve as bars, small museums or a cozy place to take pictures. The igloos are compact and store heat, making it surprisely warm for visitors. The festival was first held to honor Suijin (\u6c34\u795e<\/strong><\/span>) or the water god. Visitors can sample some sweet sake and rice cakes; which were originally offerings to the water god.<\/p>\n

Lake\u00a0Shikotsu Ice Festival begins in late January and is located in Hokkaido (\u307b\u3063\u304b\u3044\u3069\u3046<\/strong>). Admission is free of charge, but the food and drinks are unfortunately not free. At night the whole place is a sea of color. Ice sculptures both big and small, simple and detailed, are lit up at night. This is further\u00a0intensified by the fireworks display. There’s also an area where you can enjoy the hot springs.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Hachinohe Enburi\u00a0Festival is located in Aomori Prefecture (\u9752\u68ee\u770c<\/strong>). The festival showcases a traditional harvest dance. The dance mimics the movements of harvesting crops. The locals perform this dance to\u00a0usher in the arrival of spring. The locals visit a shrine and make offerings to the gods for a speedy spring season. Visitors can view\u00a0a parade full of people in colorful costums holding various harvest tools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who said that you have to stay inside for the winter? Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean it has to be boring! Around late January and February, winter festivals are all the rage in Japan. You’ve probably heard of the famous Sapporo\u00a0Snow Festival, but did you know that there\u00a0were other\u00a0winter festivals in Japan?\u00a0Every region has…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2855],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-winter-festivals"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t