The Spectacular Sanja Matsuri

Every May, as the cherry blossoms bid farewell and the summer heat rolls in, Tokyo’s Asakusa district transforms into a veritable carnival of sights and sounds. The **Sanja Matsuri** is a celebration dedicated to the three founders of Senso-ji Temple, and it’s not just any old neighborhood gathering—this five-block party attracts over 2 million visitors each year!

The highlight of this festival is the parade of **mikoshi** (portable shrines), carried through the streets by enthusiastic locals in traditional attire. The joyful shouts of “Wasshoi!” ring through the air as the carriers, in their festival best, endure the sweltering heat. Pro tip: Skip the front row shock and bring a fan, because these processions can get pretty fiery, and I don’t just mean the spirit—Tokyo can really crank up that summer heat!

Each mikoshi, beautifully adorned and heavy with history, has its own personality, and they are a sight to behold. If you want a historical tidbit to impress your friends, the Senso-ji Temple was originally founded in 645 AD, making it one of the oldest temples in Tokyo. So, when you’re at Sanja Matsuri, you can boast that you’re partying with spirits over 1,300 years old!

The Colorful Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri

If glitter and wishes are more your vibe, prepare for the **Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri**, held annually in July at Asakusa and other various locations across Tokyo. This festival celebrates the ancient Japanese legend of two star-crossed lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi, who are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. Now that’s a love story to make even Romeo and Juliet envious!

As you wander through the festival, it’s hard not to get swept away by the kaleidoscope of decorations made from colorful **tanzaku** (striped paper) where visitors write their wishes. Whether you’re hoping for world peace or just a good parking spot, stick your wish on bamboo branches, and pray it comes true. Spoiler alert: Don’t forget to whisper the wish you like best loudly enough, or your dreams may end up drifting away!

There are also enchanting performances featuring traditional **folk dances**, stalls buzzing with tantalizing street food, and shouting vendors trying to sell you delicious takoyaki that are best handled with caution—those balls of octopus goodness can be molten hot!

The Enthralling Kanda Matsuri

Every two years, the **Kanda Matsuri** takes place in mid-May, and with roots dating back to the Edo period, it’s one festival that’s older than your grandmother’s collection of vintage kimonos! This festival celebrates the Kanda Myojin Shrine, with the city becoming a living canvas of **processions**, floats, and joyous merriment.

During Kanda Matsuri, you’re treated to an awe-inspiring spectacle as elaborately designed floats make their way through the streets of Tokyo. Be prepared for giant **tanuki** (raccoon dogs), colorful carp banners, and perhaps a mad dash to squeeze in some sushi on the way. The best part? The locals love to share their joyous spirits, often stopping at food stalls to participate in the animated **festivities** that erupt every few feet.

If you’re lucky enough to be there during the **main procession**, grab a front-row seat. You’ll witness an array of traditional performers, including **taiko drummers** and dancers, who will truly make you reconsider your own dance moves. Spoiler alert: unless you’re training for **Dancing with the Stars**, you might want to stick to clapping.

The Joyful Ueno Sakura Matsuri

When spring arrives and cherry blossoms bloom, the Ueno Park transforms into a breathtaking wonderland during the annual **Ueno Sakura Matsuri** in April. With over 1,000 cherry trees lined along the park, the pink and white hues will entice you to channel your inner **Hanami** (flower viewing) philosopher as you immerse yourself in this picturesque scene.

Visitors flock to this festival not just to appreciate the beauty of cherry blossoms, but to indulge in scrumptious “hanami bento” boxes filled with mouth-watering seasonal delicacies. Just remember, no one enjoys being the person who drops a bento box while trying to take the perfect selfie among the cherry blossoms, so proceed with caution.

As the sun sets, the park is illuminated, creating an enchanting atmosphere that even the real-life Mario can’t help but jump into the festivities. Music fills the air, and performances showcase traditional Japanese arts. Make sure to bring your “cool” factor and check out local talent—you might discover future J-Pop bands before they hit the big leagues!

Wrapping Up Your Festival Adventures

There you have it! Tokyo’s cultural calendar is packed with vibrant festivals that serve as the perfect backdrop for creating unforgettable memories. Whether you’re dancing with a portable shrine at **Sanja Matsuri**, crafting wishes at **Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri**, soaking in history at **Kanda Matsuri**, or indulging in cherry blossoms at **Ueno Sakura Matsuri**, each festival offers a slice of the **Japanese spirit** that is as lively as a Shibuya crossing at rush hour.

So pack your **sense of adventure**, grab your camera, and dive headfirst into the captivating world of Tokyo’s cultural festivals! Your taste buds, Instagram feed, and perhaps even your heart will thank you.

The post Must-See Cultural Festivals in Tokyo appeared first on 203Challenges.

#1 Bathe in a waterfall

Enjoy a free shower from Mother Nature while exploring unforgettable natural attractions.

Where: Havasu and Mooney Falls (Grand Canyon, USA). Twin Falls and The Seven Sacred Pools (Mawi, Hawaii). McWay Falls (Big Sur, California). Or just visit the nearest waterfall to you.

McWay Falls, California

>>> Read: 5 American waterfalls to bathe in this summer.

#2 Go white water rafting

Let the rapids boost your adrenaline as your inflatable boat bounces up and down along the river. Swimming is not a necessary skill – as long as you’re not afraid of water. 

Where: Along the Colorado River.

#3 Cross ‘via ferrata’

In Italian ‘via ferrata’ means “iron road”. If you are afraid of heights, you will need nerves of iron (pun intended) to cross this rocky route, although it’s completely safe and you will be secured the whole time. The system of ladders, metal ropes, suspension bridges and railings make the rock formation accessible to everyone, not just professional climbers. After this ‘appetizer’, you may want to try out actual rock climbing.

Where: Telluride (in San Juan Mountains, Colorado).

#4 Hug a very special tree

…and get fresh energy from nature.

Where: It won’t be so easy to hug the largest living tree on the planet – the giant sequoia General Sherman (which soars to 275 ft [84 m]) – because its circumference at ground-level is 102 ft (31 m) The tree is located in Sequoia National Park, California.

One more idea: In many cultures, trees are a symbol of family and kinship. Get the whole family together and plant a tree in a place where you all love going to. Then you’ll have a reason to go there even more often.

General Sherman Sequoia tree | Jim Bahn/Wikipedia

#5 Get close to an animal in its natural habitat

Our lives are so dominated by concrete and steel that an encounter with an animal in the wild is a rare and exciting experience. This challenge will push you to discover the natural habitats of your favorite animals and find a way to arrange a meeting with them.

Where: Take a whale-watching boat trip from Boston Harbor to catch a glimpse of a humpback whale or dolphins. Or just visit the nearest national park.

#6 Run a (crazy) marathon

There are marathons you run simply to prove that you can do it. Start with them. Then you can try your hand at a crazy marathon.

Where: Santa Speedo Run, in Boston or Atlanta. To run the annual Santa Speedo Runs across the USA you need a Speedo bathing suit (holiday colors are preferred). You will also need some Christmas flair (Santa hat, beard, Christmas socks, etc.). A warning: December weather in Boston is far from the ideal temperature for bathing suits. So runners are allowed (recommended even) to have a drink or two before the run.

Atlanta Speedo Run | TimotyJ/Wikipedia

#7 Drink whiskey straight from the source

Whiskey is a religion with its cults and rituals. If you also pray to this particular god, visit a distillery.

Where: Jack Daniel’s. Lynchburg, Tennessee is a legendary place to take a good walk while listening to stories about Jack and where, without any judgement whatsoever, you could share your very own personal encounters with him. If you don’t drink whiskey, you can join a ‘dry tour’ and delve into the distillery’s history fully sober.

#8 Ice skate at some of the world’s most beautiful ice rinks

Strap on your skates and show us a double axel (or triple fall on the ice – it depends on your skill level) at some of the most impressive ice rinks this planet has to offer.

Where: One of the world’s most famous ice rinks can be found just in front of the Rockefeller Center in New York.

#9 Discover a beach in the middle of the city

Life is better in flip-flops, they say. If the first thing that comes to your mind when someone mentions the beach is a solitary bungalow on a remote island, we challenge you to find some of the best city beaches in the world.

Where: Venice Beach, Los Angeles, is perfect not only for sunbathing but also for renting roller skates or a bike and going down a seven-mile bike alley to Will Rogers State Beach.

>>> Read 5 beaches in the middle of busy cities

#10 Sweat in a valley of geysers

There are slightly more than 1,000 geysers on Earth, many of which form boiling valleys. As it seems, the influence of hot water over the human mind hasn’t been well studied yet, because people tend to think of weird stuff to do when they see a geyser. Like boiling eggs (there are hundreds of videos of that; check them out if you plan to conduct a experiment).

Where: Yellowstone National Park houses thousands of hot springs, mud pots and at least 300 geysers – one-third of the planet’s total.

Yellowstone National Park | Ashley Knedler/Unsplash

Fun fact… Geysers exist on other planets. If you’re planning a trip to outer space, you can stop by Saturn’s moon Enceladus for a water vapor eruption or go to Neptune’s moon Triton for nitrogen eruptions.

#11 See the Northern Lights

Unsurprisingly, catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights is a dream experience for millions of travelers around the world. If the aurora is also on your list, here’s how you can see it:

When can you see the Northern Lights? Unfortunately, you’re at nature’s mercy. The Northern Lights like to play hide and seek, so you’d better stick around the observation area for at least a week, at best – two weeks at worst. Your best chance is from late August until late November and in February and March. However, the truth is, no one can guarantee when the lights will appear.

Where: The best places in the world to observe the Northern Lights are Alaska, Norway, Canada, Greenland, Lapland, Iceland, and Sweden.

#12 Drive along picturesque winding roads

Some of the most picturesque roads in the world are, unfortunately, some of the most unbearable for your inner ear. But, oh, they’re worth it!

Where: Big Sur, California, or Interstate 1, is one of the best-known roads in the States. You’ll see why when it leads you to the breathtaking viewpoint over the Pacific Ocean. The Interstate spans 90 mi (145 km) from San Simeon to Carmel and offers wild nature and steep rocks, overlooking the waves crashing against the shore.

Drive on! | adrian/Unsplash

#13 Have a drink at an ice bar

Put on your snow boots and fluffy headphones and order a drink at a bar where you won’t need any extra ice…

Where: Some of the world’s best ice bars are in the USA – like Bar Minus 5 (New York) and Aurora Ice Bar (Alaska).

#14 You want a raise? Take a holiday!

It’s proven that employees who use more of their vacation days achieve better results at work and have a higher chance of being promoted. Many people don’t use all of their vacation days as they fear that their long absence might show their bosses that the work can be managed without them. However, statistics in the USA and Canada reveal that for every 10 days off from work, employees’ results improve by an average of 8%.

How to do it (if your boss won’t give you a holiday): Show this article to your boss (or an employee who urgently needs to take a break)…

#15 Spend 45 minutes in a soundproof room

Imagine a room that isolates 99.9% of sound. Imagine you’re in that room, alone. You can hear your heartbeat and, after a few minutes in the room, even your lungs! In the soundproof room you become the sound. According to Guinness World Records this is the quietest place on Earth.

Where: This is a really serious challenge. Such rooms can be found in the USA, and more and more are opening in different places around the world. Usually, they announce several visiting days throughout the year, as the main purpose of these rooms is to test technological products. Google “anechoic chamber” + the country or town closest to you.

Could you spend 45 minutes in a soundproof room? | Malte Wingen/Unsplash

#16 Join some of the craziest festivals in the world

If you feel like doing something really crazy, there are hundreds of festivals around the world created just for people like you.

Where: Burning Man – this festival is a must for every free spirit. It’s hard to put the experience into words; you have to be there to understand it. For two weeks every year, tens of thousands of people gather in the desert near the city of Reno, to create a temporary metropolis dedicated to exchanging knowledge, skills, creativity and art. Nothing is sold; there are only acts of gift giving. The culmination of the event is the symbolic ritual burning of a large wooden effigy – “the Man”, which lends its name to the festival.

Source: the book 203 Travel Challenges. Travel the World. Explore Your Inner Self. 

The post 16 fun travel challenges to experience the USA in a unique way appeared first on 203Challenges.

La Tomatina (Spain)

This is the biggest tomato fight. Every year, thousands of tomato fans arrive in the village of Buñol, close to Valencia, Spain to take part in the epic tomato fight – La Tomatina. More than 30,000 people wait impatiently for the flare signalling the start the fight, and several trucks haul the tomatoes used in the fight. It takes place on the last Wednesday in August.

Burning Man (USA)

This festival is a must for every free spirit. It’s hard to put into words, so you have to be there to understand what exactly this event is all about. For two weeks each year, tens of thousands of people gather in the desert near the city of Reno, USA, to create a temporary metropolis dedicated to exchanging knowledge, skills, creativity and art. Nothing is sold, there are only acts of gift giving. The culmination of the event is the symbolic ritual burning of a large wooden effigy – “the Man”, from whence comes the name of the festival.

Holi (India) 

Holi, the colorful Indian festival

Every year during this joyful festival, the streets of Indian towns fill with people who throw colored powder and colored water at each other. No one gets out dry and uncolored! The holiday is dedicated to fertility. The date varies, it’s usually in March.

Songkran (Thailand)

Songkran, the Thai New Year

The New Year in Thailand, celebrated on 13th April, has turned into great fun for locals and visitors. The Thai people pay reverence to Buddha, clean their houses and pour water over elders as a way to show respect. Over the past years, though, the tradition has become a bit wilder – whether you’re an elder or not, expect water gun shoot-outs in the streets, whole buckets of water to be amicably poured over you or water balloons to be thrown at you.

READ MORE: Where to see Rafflesia in Thailand – the biggest flower in the world

Up Helly Aa (Scotland)

Up Helly Aa Festival in Sctoland

This is the name of the biggest fire-Viking creation of Scotland. A festival where every year a whole galley (Viking long ship) is burnt down. In the Scottish town of Lerwick there is a procession of burning torches and the term “Viking drinking spree” acquires whole new dimensions. It’s always held on the last Tuesday of January.

Menton Lemon Festival (France)

The Lemon Festival in Menton

In February the French Riviera will surprise you with a refreshing dose of vitamin C – a three-week, open-air festival, where scantily-clad dancers move to the rhythm of Brazilian music among huge sculptures of oranges and lemons. Each statue takes weeks to make, and the theme is different every year – from an round-the-world trip to Disneyland to antique heroes.

The post In for a thrill: six of the craziest festivals in the world appeared first on 203Challenges.

India is a country of deep spirituality and colourful festivals. You might have heard about the spectacular Holi and Diwali festivals but there are many more worth the trip. Although the Ganesh Chaturthi festival is not so popular among foreigners, it is one of the best ways to experience the authentic Indian culture and get blessing for your safe travels.

Here is what Mariellen Ward, a blogger and a well-known expert on travel in India, says about it:

Who is god Ganesha

Ganesha is the beloved elephant-headed god, a favourite throughout India, and Ganesh Chaturthi is the festival that honours him. It runs for 11 days in late August or September, depending on the cycle of the moon. This year (2017) it starts on August 25.

Images of Ganesh are made throughout the year and displayed during the 10-day festival. On the 11th day, called Anant Chaturdasi, the images are paraded through the streets, accompanied by singing and dancing, and finally immersed in the sea.

How to celebrate it

During the festival, Ganesha statues are displayed all over the city, with communities competing with each other. The displays feature music, dancing and feasting.

Top tip

The size of the crowds make Ganesh Chaturthi a daunting undertaking. Visit the 2017 Ganesh Chaturthi Festival Guide and consider taking a tour.

Where to celebrate

While Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in about five states, Mumbai is probably the best place to experience it. Thousands of statues are displayed around the city, and devotees gather at Siddhivinayak Temple. The procession to the sea for immersion — called Visarjan — is truly a spectacle to behold.

*Mariellen Ward is an award-winning professional travel writer. She owns one of the world’s leading independent travel blogs about India – Breathedreamgo, where you can read the whole article about Top 5 festivals of India for foreign visitors.

The post Ganesh Chaturthi festival – honour the Indian god of safe travels appeared first on 203Challenges.