Tokyo Events

Expect a total sell-out for travel and lodging during Japan's biggest holidays, New Year (29 December to 6 January) and Golden Week (the lumping together of Green Day, Constitution Day and Children's Day from 27 April to 5 May). Other festivals include Coming-of-Age Day (2nd Monday in January), when ceremonies are held for boys and girls who have reached the age of majority (20). The Japanese celebrate the beginning of spring by throwing beans around their homes to chase away evil spirits, while chanting 'in with good fortune, out with the devils'. Hanami (Blossom Viewing) usually runs from February to April; the romantic Tanabata Matsuri (Star Festival) is on 7 July; and O Bon (Festival of the Dead), when lanterns are floated on rivers, lakes or the sea to signify the return of the departed to the underworld, takes place in mid-August.

Of the many festivals taking place in Tokyo year-round, special mention needs to be given to the typically quirky Japanese festival of Hari-kuyo. In early February women lay to rest the pins and needles that have broken throughout the previous year by 'burying' them in tofu and radishes.