Hiroshima marks the 65th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing on August 6, 2010. The
Peace Memorial Ceremony is held from 8 a.m. in
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. On the evening of August 6, thousands of paper lanterns are floated into the Motoyasu River next to the
Atomic Bomb Dome to pray for the souls of atomic bomb victims and to promote world peace. Also, peace candles (handmade candles with hand-written messages) illuminate the area around the Atomic Bomb Dome. Besides the annual atomic bomb memorial events, the
Hiroshima International Animation Festival has been held in August since 1985 once every two years. The 13th festival takes place at Aster Plaza in Hiroshima-city from August 7-11, 2010. The world's greatest animations will be screened at the event.
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River in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome at the Peace Memorial Park on August 6, 2009
Photo by Junko Kimura / Getty Images
Nara Tokae is an annual candle lighting event held around the city of Nara from August 5-14, 2010. The event venues include
Nara Park,
Nara National Museum,
Todaiji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, and more. Japan's ancient capital was located in
Nara from 710 to 784 and was called Heijo-kyo. Nara has been celebrating the
1300th anniversary of the relocation of Heijo-kyo capital with many commemorative events through November 7, 2010. Consider including Nara in your itinerary.
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Photo by (c) Tomo.Yun
There is nothing like a cold beer on a hot summer day. Open-air beer gardens are open during the summer on rooftops of department stores, hotels, and parks, and so on. They are nice places to stop for a drink after a long day spent sightseeing in Tokyo.
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Photo (c) Shizuko Mishima, licensed to About.com
It's summer festival season in Japan. Popular summer festivals in
Tohoku region take place in early August, including
Aomori Nebuta. The top 4 festivals attract millions of tourists from around the country to Tohoku region every year. Take a few days trip to northern Japan and experience four interesting summer festivals.
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Photo by Flickr User jenniferphoon via Flickr Commons 
