World's Largest Firework - 2018 Kounosu Fireworks Festival Finale (Guinness World Record) こうのす花火大会 "鳳凰乱舞" 日本一・世界最大の４尺玉花火 10-13-2018

Kounosu Fireworks Festival is an annual event organized by Kounosu Junior Chamber of Commerce, in Kounosu, Saitama, Japan. The festival’s ４尺玉/yonshakudama firework shell is recognized as the world’s largest aerial firework shell and became a new Guinness World Record in 2014. 

鳳凰乱舞(Ohtoriranbu) “Phoenix Dance” starmine firework for the finale is spectacular, which includes a series of 300 blasts with the Guinness World Record４尺玉/yonshakudama firework at the end. Ordinary shakudama (firework shell) is about 30cm in diameter and goes up 330 meters into the sky displaying a 300 meter bloom, whereas４尺玉/yonshakudama firework shell is over 1 meter in diameter reaching 800 meters into the sky displaying a 800 meter bloom across. 

Such a scale of spectacular fireworks not only illuminates the entire night sky breathtakingly, but also creates a dynamic sound and vibration that can be felt through your body and the ground. The experience is visually beautiful and physically sensational. It’s a must see and must feel. Two thumbs up!!

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石岡のおまつり Ishioka no Omatsuri 2018 - Ibaraki, Japan

Ishioka Festival 石岡のおまつり is the grand festival of the Hitachi no Kuni Sosha Gu Shrine 常陸国総社宮. It’s also one of the three great festivals in the Kanto region. The festival is formally called Hitachinokuni Soshagu Reitaisai (Hitachinokuni Grand Shrine’s Annual Festival), and the most important ceremonies at the shrine.

The gorgeous mikoshi portable shrine with a prestigious 16-pedal-chrysanthemum crest, the same as the imperial family's, 40 dashi floats and horo-shishi (lion head with a large cloth) parade through the city’s main streets. This three-day festival attracts more than 400,000 people every year.

Why does the shishi (lion) bite your head?  The purpose of "shishi-mai" (lion dance) is to drive away bad luck, evil spirits, famines and plagues. So, the shishi bites your head for a good luck.  To get a lucky bite, have the shishi bite your head. It will take your head in the mouth and bite you for a good luck!

Hitachi no Kuni Sosha Gu Shrine 常陸国総社宮 has a legendary connection to the Japanese mythology based on one of the old Japanese chronicles the Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki (常陸国風土記) (721). At the shrine there is a sacred stone which says that Yamato Takeru no Mikoto (日本武尊) seated. Yamato Takeru is a legendary Japanese hero and appears in Kojiki (712), Nihon Shoki (720), Kogo Shūi (807) and also the Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki (常陸国風土記). According to the legend, he was one of the sons of Emperor Keiko, who was the 12th Emperor of Japan and reigned from 71 to 130 AD.

Interestingly, the godfather of manga Osamu Tezuka has an ancestral connection with Ishioka. Tezuka's life's work Phoenix (火の鳥 Hi no Tori) and Yamato Takeru one of the main characters in Phoenix are illustrated beside the sacred stone at the shrine. Also, Leo the white lion in Tezuka's Jungle Emperor (ジャングル大帝 Janguru Taitei) is the shrine's iconic character because the shrine's guardian deity is a pair of white lions (白獅子 shiro shishi).

For info about Hitachi no Kuni Sosha Gu Shrine 常陸国総社宮:
http://sosyagu.jp/about/

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Yasukuni Shrine Mitama Matsuri 靖国神社みたま祭り - Tokyo, Japan

Yasukuni Shrine Mitama Matsuri is one of the most popular (300,000 visitors!) and biggest summer festivals in Tokyo. 

First held in 1947, the festival lights up the path to the shrine with more than 30,000 lanterns each evening during the festival. There are mikoshi parades, taiko drum performance, concerts and Bon Odori (traditional matsuri dance) as well as food and drink stalls. 

Mitama Matsuri ("soul festival") was founded in 1947 based on a Japanese traditional ancestral ceremony practiced in mid-summer, known as Obon. It's a beautiful summer festival you can experience in Tokyo! Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社/Yasukuni Jinja), is a Shinto shrine. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those Japanese who died in the wars from the Meiji era through part of the Shōwa period.

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Matsuri Tsukuba 2018 - Ibaraki, Japan

A spectacular summer festival in Tsukuba Science City! 

This year's Matsuri Tsukuba (Festival Tsukuba) illustrated the charm of Tsukuba city - nature · history · science · diverse culture. Festival Tsukuba’s biggest attraction is the grand parade that takes place around Tsukuba Station. Japan's largest "Mikoshi", "Expo floats", "Aomori Nebuta" and “Akita Kanto lanterns”, etc. walk through the parade venue! 

Tsukuba City is best known as the science and research center of Japan, but it certainly knows how to party! Matsuri Tsukuba, with traditional and modern entertainment and a huge array of vendors, attracts 500,000 people every August.

Video by Lifeisamt