Why we love summer in Tokyo

Forget New Year’s Eve; Tokyo prefers to light up the night sky in summer instead. Fireworks festivals are usually held by the water, where people gather to cool down from the heat, and there are lots of them, happening almost every weekend through August. If you only experience one, mark August 3 (7.15pm-8.30pm) in your calendar, when the Edogawa Fireworks Festival takes over the area along the Edo River. Otherwise, pick something from our list of fireworks festivals in and around Tokyo.

Some dishes appear more frequently over the summer, popping up at food stalls across the city before being replaced by more hearty fare as the weather cools. Be sure to try the ubiquitous chocolate banana, kakigori (shaved ice with syrup), candied apples, baby castella (small sponge cakes in different shapes), cotton candy and the four yaki – yakisoba (fried noodles with cabbage and beef or pork), okonomiyaki (savoury pancake), yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) and takoyaki (octopus dumplings).

Obon, the three-day festival in mid-August to honour the ancestral spirits in the Japanese Buddhist tradition, is full of religious and spiritual acts, one of which is the Bon-Odori (Bon dance). The dance varies across the country, but Tokyo’s version centres around a large yagura (a raised wooden platform with a tower-like structure) housing the main dancers accompanied by a taiko drummer. All you have to do to join in is mimic the moves of the yukata-clad dancers around you, and circle the stage. Easy peasy.

Dress up like the locals do – a unisex casual kimono known as yukata, or a two-piece jinbei consisting of a short-sleeved shirt and short pants usually worn by men and children. Made from light, airy and breathable fabric, these are the outfits you’ll be admiring at summer festivals. The yukata for women feature bright colours and often have floral motifs, while the men’s are more muted.

A summer festival is not complete without some games. The most popular ones are kingyo-sukui and yoyo-tsuri. The former lets you catch goldfish using paper scoops – yes, you can take home your new pet – while at the latter, you fish for small water-filled balloons using a string made of paper with a hook attached to its end. Often enough, you’ll also find a shooting game (with kid-friendly cork bullets) and a ring toss challenge, both of which require you to aim at the prize you want to win.