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Japan has tons of amazing festivals, but three stand out as the country’s “Big 3 Festivals”. One stands out as a Kyoto original festival that attracts tons of people every year and has its own regional variations. That festival is Gion Matsuri, and we’ve put together an in-depth guide this amazing, culture-filled festival.

In Japan, there are holiday seasons that everyone looks forward to, both for a break and to enjoy different festivities. New Years comes in winter, Golden Week in spring, and Silver Week in fall.

Tokyo is famous these days as one of the world’s international food capital, with many foods from all over Japan and the world collecting there. However, only one city has the nickname of ‘Japan’s Kitchen’, and that city is Osaka. People in Osaka are serious about their food, with there even being a phrase called kui-daore, which means ‘to eat yourself broke’.

Japan has plenty of foods that seem to be fun for adventurous foodies. For some, it’s yakiniku, with its unique cuts of beef and pork. For others, the adventure may be hakozushi with its unique take on sushi. However, for many daring foodies, fugu is the ultimate test of courage.

Japan loves to adopt fun things from other countries and make them their own. We see it most commonly in food, with examples like ramen and castella going from a foreign creation to a Japanese classic. We also see it in holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

Have you ever been to a Japanese ramen shop or beef bowl shop and seen those reddish-pinkish pickles? Have you ever thought, “What is that?” Well, we’ve got an answer for you. That is beni shoga, a Kansai creation that is all over Japanese cuisine as both a topping and as a fried treat.