Holidays & Observances – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

The Koubai (Red Plum Blossom) Festival at Ushi-Tenjin Kitano Shrine in Tokyo

Susan Spann Blog, Flowers in Japan, Holidays & Observances, Shrines and Temples February 11, 2024February 11, 2024Shinto, shrine, spring, sugiwara no michizane, Tokyo, ume, ume matsuri, Ushi-Tenjin Kitano

Every February, Ushi-Tenjin Kitano Jinja (shrine) holds a koubai (red plum blossom) festival to celebrate the blooming ume (Japanese plum) trees that grow around the shrine. Last weekend, a friend and I hopped a train to Bunkyo to check out the festival, and the early blooms.

Ringing in the New Year With Tokyo’s “Knotted Jizo”

Susan Spann Blog, Holidays & Observances, Shrines and Temples January 29, 2024January 27, 2024bells, Buddhist temples, Japan, Japanese holidays, Japanese traditions, joya no kane, Nanzoin, New Year, New Year's Eve, Shibarare Jizo, temple bells

The New Year holidays are a particularly important time in Japan. We observe a three-day New Year celebration, which officially starts on January 1.

Preparation for the holidays often starts well in advance; we give the house a thorough, deep cleaning, to ensure everything starts the new year fresh and clean. For me, that starts about a week before December 31. When I finish cleaning, I hang the New Year decorations.

Merry Christmas Tree

Susan Spann Blog, Holidays & Observances November 29, 2023November 25, 2023Christmas, Christmas tree

Christmas is a popular holiday in Japan, even though less than 1% of the population identifies as Christian. People here love holidays, lights, giving (and receiving) gifts, and special food, so Christmas is pretty much a lock on every level. Lots of the major buildings have Christmas trees (many of which are enormous, natural trees rather than artificial ones), but “at-home” trees–to the extent they exist–are usually very small (think table-top size) and artificial. While down in Meguro having my hair cut and having lunch with my friend Kaitlyn last month, I saw some living Christmas trees for sale at