Takao Wakaba Festival

A celebration of the young leaves, this spring event incorporates a series of performances, concerts and traditional events. Held as a kind of rival to the autumn leaves festival held in November, this is a lovely bonus if you’re planning to hike up Takao during the month-long event. With plenty of performances and concerts held at the Kiyotaki Cable Car station and in the grounds of Yakuoin temple, you can watch live music, enjoy tea ceremony and watch traditional and modern dance performances. You can see the events list (using Japanese or google translate) to make sure you don’t miss anything. The entertainment takes place on weekends, so while it will be busier, there won’t be much happening during the week unfortunately.

(Lily Crossley-Baxter)