Tanabata
The list includes some traditional favorites, but the number-one wish is for something very timely.
Secular summer festival’s wishing tree gets taken down, clever complaints from students go up instead.
Mr. Sato takes a stroll through the shopping arcade of Asagaya Station in Tokyo for this year’s Tanabata festival and bumps into none other than The Donald himself!
The huge streamer decorations that draw crowds from all around Japan will now feature adorable cat characters created by an anime artist.
Around the beginning of July in Japan, you’ll start to see shops, stations, streets, and homes being decorated for the Tanabata festival (in English often referred to as the Star Festival), which happens on the seventh of July (or, depending on who you ask, the around the seventh of August)each year. Most typically you’ll find large branches of bamboo leaves, called sasa, hung with colorful origami decorations, and wishes written on strips of paper by people hopeful that they will be granted when star-crossed lovers Altair and Vega meet.
Generally you’ll find typical wishes for happiness, good health, getting into a good school or finding a good job… At times, you’ll also see some witty ones that will give you a good chuckle. Or, you know, ones that invoke pity for the wisher whose parents named them Elmo.
Recently we talked about a shop in Kanagawa Prefecture that sells styish kamaboko fish cakes decorated to look like the beautiful hydrangeas that bloom during Japan’s rainy season. But what if your palate runs more towards the sweet than the fishy, or your ideal of natural beauty isn’t the flowers growing from the soil, but the stars above?
In that case, one Kyoto confectioner has just the thing: sweet bean gelatin modeled after the Milky Way.
Since the opening of the Tokyo Skytree in 2012, Tokyo Tower is no longer the tallest or most fashionable structure in Tokyo. Still, the 56-year-old steel giant has managed to hang onto its reputation as one of the city’s most romantic locales, thanks in part to its location in quiet, sophisticated Shiba-koen as opposed to the boisterous Shitamachi district where the Skytree stands.
This month, Tokyo Tower is doing a little more to set the mood, with a beautiful light display that ties in with Japan’s Tanabata star festival.
Kyoto, Osaka, Nara…southern Japan seems to get all the love from both international and Japanese tourists alike. But what about the rest of the country, like the six northern prefectures? Northern Japan, known as Tohoku in Japanese (東北, “the northeast”), is a hidden gem full of unique cultural traditions, unspoiled natural scenery, and some of the warmest people you’ll ever meet, despite the chilling winters.
This weekend is a better time than ever to hop on the bullet train up north to take part in the Tohoku Rokkonsai “mega-festival”. The festival began in 2011 to lift the spirits of the people of Tohoku after the deadly earthquake and tsunami just months earlier. The highlight of the festivities is a massive parade composed of segments from all six of Tohoku’s major summer festivals. Where else can you experience the excitement of SIX major festivals all at once FOR FREE??
Held each year on July 7, the Tanabata festival has its roots in the folktale of a young married couple, symbolized by two stars in the night sky, who toil away at their trades separately, able to meet just once a year. It’s a little like the situation in many Japanese families where the husband gets transferred by his company to another prefecture and his wife stays behind to continue her own career or look after the kids. Just replace “office workers” with “cowherd and daughter of the king of heaven” and “prefectural border” with “the Milky Way,” and you’ve got a close approximation.
The story of the two lovers finally being able to see each other has taken on a broader connotation of wishes coming true, and Tanabata is commonly celebrated by writing a wish down on strip of paper, then tying it to a stalk of bamboo.
Department stores and shopping centers usually have displays where visitors post their wishes. Since they’re then on display for others to see, you can get a glimpse of current trends by checking them out. “My family’s safety,” “success in business,” and “health” are three old-standbys of Tanabata wishes, but what else were people hoping for this year?
On 7 July, Tanabata kicks off in many parts of Japan. It’s an annual festival season which celebrates the stars Orihime and Hikoboshi, two lovers who are separated by the Milky Way except for this brief moment on the seventh day of the seventh month.
A popular custom during this time for young and old is to write down a wish on a strip of paper and hang it from a bamboo plant. However, as the years go by it seems that fewer and fewer people are going out to make wishes. This is why Calpis Co. Ltd. has decided to spark up interest in bamboo wishes by launching a study of their effectiveness.
MOST POPULAR
Today
Japanese toilet aims to attract foreign tourists but not everybody is happy about it
New Japanese vending machine at Shinkansen station sells cups of ice on platform
Beautiful Totoro bonsai figure needs no watering, makes soothing rain showers whenever you want
Anime fan in Japan arrested for ordering and cancelling over 4.3 billion yen in anime merch
End of a manga era as Weekly Shonen Jump’s circulation drops under one million
This Japanese chopping board sanitising bag might be the handy kitchen gadget we never knew we needed
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store drinks with new Grilled Corn Chilled Soup Smoothie
Tired of city life? Try out Japanese rural life for a few days on an active volcano in Kagoshima
Studio Ghibli unveils new finger puppets featuring anime characters from My Neighbour Totoro
Starbucks Japan teams up with Traveler’s Company for new stationery and goods collection
Weekly
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
Japanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]- Japanese toilet aims to attract foreign tourists but not everybody is happy about it
7-Eleven Japan adds new chocolate fruit gummies to its sweets range, but are they worth the hype?- Starbucks Japan teams up with Traveler’s Company for new stationery and goods collection
Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box- Anime fan in Japan arrested for ordering and cancelling over 4.3 billion yen in anime merch
Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters
Monthly
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction- Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo- Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]- Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
RECOMMENDED STORIES
This Japanese chopping board sanitising bag might be the handy kitchen gadget we never knew we needed
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store drinks with new Grilled Corn Chilled Soup Smoothie
Tired of city life? Try out Japanese rural life for a few days on an active volcano in Kagoshima
Studio Ghibli unveils new finger puppets featuring anime characters from My Neighbour Totoro
Starbucks Japan teams up with Traveler’s Company for new stationery and goods collection
Bandai looking to introduce Japanese government ID checks for admission to card game events
Japanese convenience store Lawson now has stir-fried noodle-cooking robot chefs
Kochia calling: Right now is a great off-season season to visit this beautiful Japanese park
Over 400 titles of free translated manga from publisher Shueisha available for a limited time
Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters
Resident Evil’s terrifying Licker becomes a bag in Japan that wants to feed you
Weekly Shonen Jump cancels manga after creator admits to schoolgirl groping
Japan’s largest online flea market reminds users that selling used school swimsuits is prohibited
-
