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We have all the information and tips for planning an incredible experience for the upcoming Summer Obons events. During the summer months there will be so many festivals, so planning your upcoming weekends will be critical and necessary for you and your family.

Celebrate the thrilling sights, sounds and tastes of the Japanese summer Obon festivals

The Festivals feature delicious Japanese food-sushi, tempura, chicken & beef teriyaki and much more, Western food, Cultural Exhibits, Children & Adult Games and Food Booths, Bookstore, Flower Shop, Craft Booth, Children's Hands-on Cultural Activities and Entertainment by the Temple Taiko groups. Also at some of the local Obon Festivals, martial arts demonstrations, bingo and plants for sale. The "Bon Odori," Japanese Folk dancing with colorful kimono and happi coat-clad dancers, check date and times. Also listed are practice dates for all first timers who want to learn the dances. This is an event that will delight everyone and cannot be missed!

Japanese Summer Obon festivals feature delicious Japanese food like sushi, tempura, chicken & beef teriyaki, udon, noodles, corn, Okinawa dangos, Hawaiian shave-ice, spam musabi and much more, plus Western food, Japanese Cultural Exhibits, Children & Adult Games and Food Booths, Bookstore, Flower Shop, Craft Booth, Children's Hands-on Cultural Activities and Entertainment by the Temple Taiko groups. The "Bon Odori," Japanese Folk dancing with colorful kimono and happi coat-clad dancers, check date and times. This summer event is expected to be participated by everyone. The locations of the Summer Obon could be at a local Japanese Temple or church, to local Japanese Cultural Centers to the streets of Little Tokyo during Nisei Week.

Obon or Bon is an annual Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the deceased (departed) spirits of one's ancestors that have past away and to honor (remember) them. This Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.

Japan's Annual Obon Festival is held throughout Japan. This Japanese Buddhist custom is to honor the souls of one's ancestors and is celebrated as a reminder of the gratefulness one should feel toward one's ancestors.

Although this is not an official national holiday in Japan, most Japanese families will take it as a holiday. Obon is an event that goes on for a whole week and almost every family will honor it.

During Obon each year the Japanese believe that the spirits of their ancestors return. It's a time when those who are still living, can guide and help their ancestors' spirits to find peace and for themselves to find peace.

What to expect during a Japanese Obon Festival? The purpose of Obon is to remember one's deceased relatives, but it is also meant to be a joyful time to celebrate life. It is believed that the spirits of ones ancestors return to the world on the first day of Obon Week and leave again on the final day. For this reason, one Obon tradition is always carried out within the family and this is at the family altar, where dolls fashioned out of a cucumber and an eggplant are placed inside the altar.

During the summer Japanese Obon, people wear their summer kimonos known as Yukata, others wear their happi-coats representing and supporting their local temple, and everyone else wear casual clothing. The Yukata is a light cotton kimono for wearing in summer. Yukatas normally have bright colored designs printed on the material. Today these kimonos are mainly worn to the traditional Bon-Odori and summer festivals. The material is relatively lightweight and the design is simple enough to put on by oneself versus the more complicated kimono where you need someone's help.

The most popular of the Japanese festivals is Obon Week. Japanese Obon Week is held each year around the middle of August and is one of the most busiest travel season for families in Japan. Also expect the peak of the Obon travel season between August 8 and August 16 with Japanese families leaving to visit their families during the August August 8 time frame.

Bon Odori = Bon dance (dancing). Bon dance is held during the Obon Festival an annual event every year.

While Bon Odori music is playing, they perform dance routines that are traditional dances through all the obon festivals in Japan. The feeling of ancestors spirits are dancing with loved ones during the ceremony. The feeling of harmony is felt during each song and the spiritual nature of peace is felt with the dancers.

Bon-Odori (or folk dance (dancing), Bon dance), was once believed to give help to the spirit of the dead during the obon festival. During the Bon Odori, all people can participate during the dances including all men, women, seniors and the very youngest children. Some of the Bon dances use fans which are given out before the dance, others songs use small towels.

The Bon dance tradition is said to have started in the later years of the Muromachi period as a public entertainment. In the course of time, the original religious meaning has faded, and the dance has become associated with summer.

The music that is played during the Bon dance is not limited to Obon music; some pop songs like one of the Beach Boys songs have been added to the American Obon festivals.. with one to multiple Taiko drummers.

The festival of lanterns is held during the season of hanabi. The lights symbolize the souls of ancestors who have departed. The lanterns are placed on bays, rivers, lakes, or sea and allowed to drift away just as the ancestors return to their graves. This marks the end of the festivities with fireworks to scare away any spirits that might be around.

Also in Japan lanterns are hung in front of houses to guide the souls of ancestors spirits.

Japanese Festivals are held at a temple, shrine compounds, Japanese cultural centers or a open public place or public streets. There is usually multiple an oval or circular lines where people line up and dance. The larger attended Obon Festivals would have multiple inner oval lines to accommodate the many people.

Unusually a raised wooden platform, stage or tower stand is placed in the middle with a Taiko drummer pounding away to the beat of the music. Family and friends spectators will line the outside of the oval circle as people dance all night long. During the night Taiko drummers rotate throughout the nights music, sometimes representing different Temples or Taiko groups.

Most of the Japanese-American Obon Festivals are concentrated in California, were Northern California and Southern California hold a majority of all Japanese American Obon festivals. Nichi Bei Times (Obon & Bazaar Guide) and Southern District Obon Festival Schedule have a complete list of the Obon Festivals from California and Southern District Temples. Southern California has the largest amount of Japanese-American Obon Festivals in the United States. The California Obon festivals are the largest series of events that generate the largest amount of people during the summer months. These carnival type events happen week after week starting from June through the month of August . The locations of these Japanese-American events happen at Temples, Churches, Japanese Cultural Centers to the streets of Little Tokyo.

Obon Festival = Carnival, carnivals, Festivals type celebration, matsuri, festive bazaar, Obons Festivals Listings
Obon Dance = Odori Dancing, Obon Odori, Folk Dancing or Folk dance, Bon odori, o-bon, Bon dance
Japan Obon festivals or Japanese matsuri = information on festivals (matsuri) and description of Japanese festivals