The Japan festival season reaches its height during the summer months of July and August. In July 2023 the Sisterhood will be sailing on the Diamond Princess where we’ll not only travel around Japan and South Korea, but we’ll also be participants in the Kyoto Gion Festival (on July 17 from Osaka and July 24 from Kobe) AND the Osaka Tenjin Festival on July 25th!
The Kyoto Gion Festival is Japan’s biggest festival with more than 1000 years of history, featuring massive “Yama” and “Hoko” floats weighing up to 12 tons and up to 80 feet high. The Osaka Tenjin Festival is one of Japan’s top three festivals and features processions through the streets of Osaka with an ornate portable shrine, ending in a parade of glowing boats and a spectacular fireworks display.
Closed to the world for over 200 years, today the ports of Japan glimmer with an otherworldly beauty. In Japan, you’ll find an explosion of culture in every city and no matter where you end up, be sure to take in the eclectic architecture along the way, as temples and shrines give way to apartment blocks and izakaya pubs specializing in sushi rolls and sake rice wine. Japan’s ancient culture will capture a piece of your soul. Old temples wafting with incense, impressive castles jutting into the sky and tatami-clad wooden homes await you with an air of magnificence.