Many of Japan's traditional events that bring color to long, hot summer days are coming back.
An NHK poll suggests roughly two-thirds of the biggest events will return after a roughly three-year hiatus.
That includes the Nebuta Festival. Streets in northern Aomori Prefecture will be filled with massive lantern floats illustrating famous legends.
The centuries-old Gion Festival is also back. The month-long event takes over the well-known district in the ancient capital of Kyoto.
The skies over Niigata, Akita, and other prefectures will be lit up as well, as fireworks make a reappearance.
Some festivals had a tentative return last year.
But people heading to Tokushima's Awa Odori dance festival or making a wish at the Sendai Tanabata star festival can expect to see things on a much grander scale.
Still, it's not all back to normal. Some of the fireworks events attract such massive crowds that organizers have decided to cancel them for a third straight year.
◆ hiatus 中断、休止、空白 a break in an activity, or a time during which something does not happen or exist
An NHK poll suggests roughly two-thirds of the biggest events will return after a roughly three-year hiatus.
That includes the Nebuta Festival. Streets in northern Aomori Prefecture will be filled with massive lantern floats illustrating famous legends.
The centuries-old Gion Festival is also back. The month-long event takes over the well-known district in the ancient capital of Kyoto.
The skies over Niigata, Akita, and other prefectures will be lit up as well, as fireworks make a reappearance.
Some festivals had a tentative return last year.
But people heading to Tokushima's Awa Odori dance festival or making a wish at the Sendai Tanabata star festival can expect to see things on a much grander scale.
Still, it's not all back to normal. Some of the fireworks events attract such massive crowds that organizers have decided to cancel them for a third straight year.
◆ hiatus 中断、休止、空白 a break in an activity, or a time during which something does not happen or exist
◆ tentative 暫定的な、一時的な、仮の not definite or certain, because you may want to change things SYN provisional OPP definite
◆ much grander scale もっと壮大なスケールで big and very impressive OPP humble