Many five-star inns are popular for the way they make your night of travel the most exciting one yet. Although not featured in this magazine, Musubi no Yado Airinkan in Shinnamari Onsen Prefecture, offers a limited-time event at the festival square Nanbu Bayashi, where you can enjoy the local performing art of Shika Odori, ancient Kagura dance, Tsugaru shamisen playing, and a Tohoku folk song show. Airinkan is an inn blessed with the natural beauty of the hometown upstream the Toyosawa River. Nanbuya Kaisenkaku and Hotel Grand Mer Sankaiso in Asamushi Onsen Onsen, Aomori Prefecture, hold powerful Tsugaru shamisen live performances every night.
The Nanbuya Kaisenkaku is an ocean view inn overlooking Mutsu Bay, and Hotel Grand Mer Sankaiso is known for its natural hot springs called "fossil seawater" and all-inclusive accommodation.
The Flower & Garden Hotel Mori no Kaze Kaze Oushuku-yado in Shizukuishi, Iwate Prefecture, excels at creating a nostalgic atmosphere for hospitality. Every night, the staff hold events in the festival plaza, which recreates the lively atmosphere of childhood festivals, and the fairground next to the stage is lined with stalls, shooting galleries, lotteries, and more. In the folk song show, the entertaining talk, which includes the regional Iwate accent, fills the entire plaza with laughter.

Also, Hotel Sakurai is the only hotel in Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture, the most popular hot spring resort, where you can enjoy the Yumomi Show inside the hotel. Everyone can try Yumomi to the tune of Kusatsu folk song "Come to Kusatsu at least once♪". Next comes the Sakura Taiko Show. The staff will play original music that evokes the image of spring in full bloom and cherry blossoms in full bloom, putting their heart and soul into every beat. It is a dynamic Japanese drum show that resonates, roars, and shakes the soul.
There is another inn where you can enjoy a taiko drum show performed by the staff. It is "Hanayagi no Yado Keizan " , located a 5-minute walk from Isawa Onsen Station in Yamanashi Prefecture. The " Keizan Taiko Show" is held on the stage at the back of the lobby. You are sure to be captivated by the taiko drums, which are unique to Kai Province and evoke the stillness and movement of Fuurinkazan.

When traveling, people want to experience the history and culture that lives on in the place they are visiting. In this age of inbound tourism, the motivation seems to be the same for foreign visitors to Japan, and in a survey on what they would like to experience in Japan, many cited "enjoying festivals and traditional events." There are said to be around 300,000 festivals in Japan. According to the Dictionary of Japanese Festival Culture (Tokyo Shoseki), there are 1,051 solar calendar festivals and 133 lunar calendar festivals, for a total of 1,184 festivals held nationwide.
Among Japan's intangible cultural heritage are various traditional events that can only be seen in a certain region at a certain time, such as Oku-Noto Ae-koto, Hayajimine Kagura, Akiu rice planting dance, Dainichido Bugaku, Daimokutate, Ainu traditional dance, Kumiodori, Mibu Hanataue, Sada Kamino, Yama, Hoko and Yatai events, Furyu dance, etc. Digressing from the subject, following on from "Traditional Japanese Food Culture" being registered as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, it seems that UNESCO has also begun deliberations to register "traditional sake brewing."
There are five-star inns located all over Japan. Enjoying festivals and traditional performing arts might be a motivating factor when choosing a place to stay. With that in mind, we have compiled the dates of some of the most well-known festivals in Japan in the table on the left. We hope you will find this useful.