* Sanja Matsuri, one of the three great festivals of Tokyo

Yakuza often take part in local festivals such as Sanja Matsuri where they often carry the shrine through the streets proudly showing off their elaborate tattoos.

* Photos, report and advice about Nebuta Matsuri, Aomori's famous festival ( one of the most famous festivals in Japan )

Various festivals feature Heian dress – most notably Hinamatsuri ( doll festival ), where the dolls wear Heian dress, but also numerous other festivals, such as Aoi Matsuri in Kyoto ( May ) and Saiō Matsuri in Meiwa, Mie ( June ), both of which feature the jūnihitoe 12-layer dress.

Although navel exposure has become a recent trend in fashion in Japan, annual belly button festivals ( Heso Matsuri ) have been held in Japan since the late 1960s.

However, Heso Matsuri has become one of the most famous summer festivals in Hokkaido over the years, drawing people from around Japan and the world.

One of the premier festivals of Yamagata Prefecture, Shinjō Matsuri ( or Shinjō Festival ) is a Summertime celebration held on August 24 – 26 annually.

Sayama is host to one of Japan's best known Tanabata ( Star ) festivals each August, the Irumagawa Tanabata Matsuri.

Other festivals include the Sengoku Noroshi Matsuri ( 戦国のろし祭り ) in May, and the Hachiman Mikoshi Matsuri ( 八幡社みこし祭り ) in September.

One of the city's largest festivals is the Ringon Matsuri ( Apple Festival ), held every year in early August, and Iida's Ringo Namiki-dori ( a street lined with apple trees ) is tended by students of the city's Higashi Middle School.

Takayama holds two festivals every year, Sannō Matsuri ( 山王祭り ) in Spring and Hachiman Matsuri ( 八幡祭り ) in Autumn.

It is one of Kyoto's renowned three great festivals, with the other two being the Aoi Matsuri, held annually on May 15, and the Gion Matsuri, which is held annually from 17 to July 24.

Karakuri ningyō, puppets or dolls are mechanical ; they include the large figures on festival floats, for festivals like Kyoto's Gion Matsuri and smaller entertaining scenes, often with a musical element accompanying the movement.

On October 22nd, Heian-jingū hosts the Jidai Matsuri, which is one of the most important festivals of Kyoto.

The Aoi Matsuri ( Hollyhock festival ) is one of the three main festivals of the city of Kyoto.

The, or " Hollyhock Festival ," is one of the three main annual festivals held in Kyoto, Japan, the other two being the Festival of the Ages ( Jidai Matsuri ) and the Gion Festival.

Major festivals are Obon ( every July ), Nikkei Matsuri ( every spring ) and Aki Matsuri ( every fall ) and a newer festival, The Spirit of Japantown Festival ( also in the fall ).

Each year Broome celebrates this fusion of different cultures in an annual cultural festival called Shinju Matsuri ( Japanese for festival of the pearl ), it looks to celebrate the Asian influenced culture brought here by the pearling industry.

Some are based around temples or shrines, others hanabi ( Fireworks ), and still others around contests where the participants sport loin cloths ( see: Hadaka Matsuri ).

Festivals held in Shirakawa include " Daruma Ichi ", celebrating the traditional Daruma doll, wherein the city streets are packed with stalls selling Daruma, a variety of festival foods and charms, and " Chōchin Matsuri " ( Lantern Festival ), which is held each summer, with a special three-day celebration held once every three years.

The Tokorozawa Matsuri is a festival held each year in October and features traditional Japanese parade floats ( mikoshi ), taiko drums, and samba dancers.

Other US cities have an annual Cherry Blossom Festival ( or Sakura Matsuri ), including the International Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, Georgia, which features over 300, 000 cherry trees.

Another important festival in Iida is Oneri Matsuri, which is held every seventh year ( the last being 2004, the next in March, 2010 ), a massive four-day event, most famous for the shi-shi lion dance.

A long-standing tradition, the Ishidori Matsuri ( 石取祭 ), is held every August in Kuwana.

* Ya-Ya Matsuri ( August 8 Festival ), a festival held to promote local shopping districts in downtown Tanabe City in August.

The Kamo Festival ( Aoi Matsuri ), occurring in the middle of the fourth month, was considered the most important Shinto event and is vividly depicted in literature of the time, most notably in Chapter Nine of The Tale of Genji.

Sensō-ji is the focus of Tokyo's largest and most popular matsuri ( Shinto festival ), Sanja Matsuri.

* The Outsiders ( 1958 film ) ( Mori to Mizuumi no Matsuri ), a Japanese film directed by Tomu Uchida

Asada's comments, however, are peculiar as the very first Cave Matsuri ( Cave Festival ), held at the HEY!

Miu likes to say random things out of the blue and often plays pranks on Matsuri and Ana, but is most of the time interrupted by Nobue ( and sometimes by Chika ), ending up lying face-down on the floor.

Chika is also targeted by Miu more often in the manga as compared to the anime ( but not as much as Matsuri is ), resulting in more outbursts of anger from her in the manga.

* Earliest day on which the first day of Sanja Matsuri can fall, while May 20 is the latest ; celebrated on the third weekend of May.

One of Hanamaki's most notable events is the Hanamaki Matsuri, an annual festival which takes place the second weekend of September and dates back to 1593.

* The Fujioka Matsuri is a two-day Summer festival which is typically held on a weekend in late July.

* The Fuji Matsuri ( Wisteria Festival ) is a Spring festival which takes place at Koshinyama Park every year in late April / early May, to celebrate the blooming of the wisteria flowers.

On November 3, the Sougawa Matsuri is held at Sougawa Shrine, which was built by the Sougawa Chogen in 1204.

* Hana Matsuri is an annual festival held from November through March, in which over 40 performers with wooden masks perform dances and rituals.

The most famous festival is the aptly named Misakubo Matsuri ( Misakubo Festival ) which takes place in mid-September.

March 13 is the Kasuga Matsuri (" Monkey Festival "), which features gagaku and bugaku dance performances.

The group, still in high school at the time, recorded and released their first EP After School, which they quickly followed up with several singles, all original material with the exception of their fourth, a cover of the Jitterin ' Jinn hit " Natsu Matsuri ".

* September, Sai Matsuri with floats pulled by the locals, during which Kagura is performed and Shinto priests bless the village houses

On February 6, 2008, their first live DVD which includes this ' Onna Matsuri ' was released.

This was the beginning of the Gion Matsuri, an annual festival which has become world famous.

They also did a special " Bye-bye Matsuri " performance on July 26, 2010, a month after their supposed final show, in which members of the Osaka underground music scene appeared with them onstage.

Azabu Jūban also hosts the popular annual Azabu Jūban Matsuri, a food festival with a variety of local vendor stalls and carnival games which attract large crowds every summer.

In addition, some of the girls ' personalities are slightly different in each media: Matsuri is shown to be a little more defensive in the manga than her anime counterpart, which was demonstrated by her slapping or shoving Miu away when the latter got overboard with her pranks, while she never ( deliberately ) laid a finger on Miu in the anime.