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August 14, 2026
 

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O-BON

Japan Times
CULTURE
Aug 28, 2025
In pictures: Koenji Awa Odori 2025
At Koenji Awa Odori, performers and crowds blur together in sound, sweat and laughter ¡ª a summer festival that thrives on shared energy and joy.
A total of 13,179,000 passengers used these services on 46 major routes between Aug. 8 and Sunday, the Japan Railways Group companies said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2025
JR train demand strong during Bon holiday
A total of 13,179,000 passengers used these services on 46 major routes between Aug. 8 and Sunday.
Heavy traffic on the nation's highways is just as much a part of the Bon holiday period as visiting ancestral graves.
LIFE / Bilingual
Aug 7, 2025
Brave the Bon holiday traffic to discover tourism gems off the beaten path
Learn how to ask about secret spots, regional dishes and specialty gifts using natural Japanese structures on your summer travels.
Bullet trains at Tokyo Station earlier this year
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2025
Summer vacation budget for Japanese hits record high
The average budget grew 26.4% to mark an increase for the fourth straight year.
People wait to board a Tokaido Shinkansen train at Tokyo Station on Aug. 10.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024
Bon holiday train passengers up 7% despite quake and typhoon worries
The possibility of a megaquake and news that a powerful typhoon was approaching Japan did not dissuade people from traveling for the holidays.
The entrance to the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen ticket gates at JR Tokyo Station are closed Friday morning as as Typhoon Ampil hit the area. Normal operations resumed on Saturday morning.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2024
Tokaido Shinkansen services resume after Typhoon Ampil
Due to an expected influx of passengers, several extra trains were also operating on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line on Saturday.
Waves crash ashore amid Typhoon Ampil on Tokyo's Hachijojima Island on Friday. The dangerous storm is brushing by the Kanto region but will not make landfall.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2024
Typhoon Ampil lashes eastern Japan with heavy rain and wind
On Friday morning, Ampil had prompted storm and heavy rain warnings across the Kanto region as its outer bands moved over land.
For centuries, Japanese people have been scaring themselves with horror stories as a way of cooling down during the stifling summer months.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 16, 2024
New tales in translation to give you chills and thrills this summer
Recent fright-filled releases with supernatural creatures, shrewd sleuths and creepy killers provide welcome relief from the sweltering heat.
A satellite image shows Typhoon Ampil south of Japan on Thursday afternoon.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2024
¡®Very strong¡¯ Typhoon Ampil set to approach eastern Japan on Friday
While the storm is not likely to make landfall, the Izu Islands and the Kanto and Tohoku regions will see its impacts from Thursday to Saturday.
A satellite image from Wednesday afternoon shows Tropical Storm Ampil south of Japan
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2024
Typhoon to force railway closures as it nears Kanto on Friday
The storm is expected to peak in intensity between Friday and Saturday, prompting the closure of the Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Nagoya.
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2024
Â鶹´«Ã½ tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
Concerns over a potential disaster have prompted many visitors to cancel their plans and city¡¯s to cancel events.
High water levels in the Nagauchi River in the city of Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, on Monday¡¡
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2024
Tohoku on alert as Tropical Storm Maria moves over region
Level 5 is the highest alert level, indicating a life-threatening situation and that residents should take immediate action to protect their lives.
The platforms at Tokyo Station were packed with passengers on Saturday morning.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2024
Bon holiday visits in full swing amid increased quake fears
Train stations have been crowded with passengers, with some travelers aiming to take extra precautions.
A boy skateboards past Yanaka Cemetery in Tokyo¡¯s Taito Ward. A perfectly peaceful spot the rest of the year, it becomes a place children may test their courage during the Bon holidays.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 8, 2024
Japanese cities turn into ghost towns during the Bon holiday period
As people return to their hometowns to pay their respects to their ancestors, children may try to test their nerves with a ¡°kimodameshi.¡±
Visitors enter a haunted house at the Namjatown indoor theme park in Tokyo on July 30.
LIFE / Travel
Aug 7, 2024
Japanese beat the heat in ¡®liver-chilling¡¯ haunted houses
A visit to a haunted house is seen as a refreshing respite in Japan from the summer¡¯s heat and humidity.
The Torchin series of table lamps, made by Yame 'ch¨­chin' (paper lantern) artisans Shiraki Kougei and produced in collaboration with Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten and design unit Tent, combine contemporary design with traditional lantern-making techniques.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 20, 2024
Celebrate o-Bon in style with these elegant crafts
As o-Bon approaches, On: Design looks at industry mainstay Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten¡¯s latest initiatives to honor the dearly departed.
Passengers queue to board a shinkansen bullet train at Tokyo Station in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2023
Typhoon Lan set to crash Japan holiday week
Typhoon Lan is expected to make landfall Tuesday in central Japan, with warnings of heavy rain and flooding during the annual Bon summer holidays.
Tomohiko Sato (center) wrote a book titled "Yamakei Shinsho Tokyo Bon Odori Tengoku Odoru Meguru Tanoshimu" ("Tokyo Bon Dance Heaven").
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 12, 2023
Tomohiko Sato: ¡®The only rule is to dance the way the locals do¡¯
Tomohiko Sato may be Â鶹´«Ã½ only ¡°Bon-bassador,¡± and his love for the Bon dance makes him a true representative for this summer tradition.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 10, 2023
Strong storms likely to affect Bon holiday plans
Plans to travel or meet with friends or family may need a rethink as strong storms approach Japan.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
New ¡®Katsu Curry Index¡¯ aims to show how weak the yen really is
A CoCo Ichibanya curry house in Tokyo.
Mexican man arrested over attempt to smuggle some 200 lizards into Japan
Mexican alligator lizards seized by Tokyo Customs from a Mexican man who attempted to smuggle them into Japan on Saturday through Haneda Airport
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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