2027 Obon

Obon, held from August 13 to 16 in most of Japan, is the Buddhist festival in which families welcome the spirits of their ancestors back home; some areas, including parts of Tokyo, observe it in mid-July instead. People clean family graves, light small welcoming fires (mukaebi) on the 13th and send the spirits off with okuribi fires or floating lanterns on the 16th, with Kyoto's Gozan no Okuribi bonfires blazing on the hillsides the best-known farewell. Neighbourhoods hold Bon Odori dance evenings around a raised stage with taiko drums, food stalls and yukata-clad dancers. Obon is not a legal public holiday, but most companies close for several days, making it one of Japan's three great travel peaks alongside New Year and Golden Week: Shinkansen trains and expressways are jammed as people return to their home towns, and reservations open a month ahead. This countdown ticks to midnight Tokyo time on August 13, the first day of Obon.