Pinta Flores Festival

Start:	Nov 3, '10
End:	Nov 5, '10
Location:	San Carlos City, Negros, Philippines

This city in the sugar-producing island of Negros Occidental honors its patron saint, San Carlos Borromeo, with a pageant where participants with floral painted bodies dance in rhythmic beat as they wind through the major streets.



It features street dancing by "tribes" dressed in colorful ethnic-inspired costumes, their bodies painted with flower designs reminiscent of the tattoed Visayans of the Pre Spanish Negros.



pictures from the internet.

Karatsu Kunchi

Start:	Nov 2, '10
End:	Nov 4, '10
Location:	Kyushu, Japan

Celebrated at the Karatsu Shrine and known for its colorful parade of floats.

The festival, which begins on the evening of November 2 and concludes on the 4th, features daily parades of fourteen hikiyama. These are massive floats in the form of dragons, samurai helmets, sea bream, and other supercalifragilistic creatures, all constructed from lacquer, wood and other materials.

It is designated as part of Japan's important intangible ethnic and cultural heritage. Every year, over 150,000 (sometimes reaching 500,000) spectators crowd both sides of the street and give thanks for the year's harvest. After the festival, the floats are exhibited in the float museum behind Karatsu Shrine.





pictures from the internet

Feudal Lord's Procession (Hakone, Japan)

Start:	Nov 3, '10
Location:	Yumoto Hot Spring Town City:Hakone-machi, Ashigara-Shimo-gun, Kanagawa, Japan

Daimyo Gyoretsu

The old Tokaido Highway that used to link Tokyo and Kyoto comes alive again with a faithful reproduction of the olden days' feudal lord's procession.

Picture from the net:


"The Daimyo Gyoretsu (feudal lord’s procession) brings to life the experience of traveling the Tokaido road with a total of 170 people dressed up as samurai warriors and princesses. The suite of retainers, each assigned with his role, and armed with spear, bow and arrow, or gun, march on as they carry their lord in the palanquin. The festival is made all the more merry by the performances of the marching bands at the front and at the very end of the daimyo procession, and the dance performances of the Geigi (women who entertain guests at sake parties with song and dance). Once the festival is over enjoy a relaxing bathing session at an onsen hot spring."

*thinks of only the onsen, never mind the Daimyo ..hehehe*

Rake Fair (Japan)

Start:	Nov 7, '10
End:	Nov 19, '10
Location:	Otori-jinja Shrine and other shrines City: 3-18-7, Senzoku, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Tori-no-Ichi

This fair in Asakusa features stalls selling lavishly-decorated RAKES (yes, rakes!).

The "kumade" rakes are thought to bring good luck and fortune. The good-luck rake is made of bamboo and is festooned and decorated with masks and koban (old gold coins), paper etc.

This famous annual event is held on the day of the Tori (Rooster) in Chinese calendar. Days of the rooster occur every 12 days in November, which means that the month of November has at least 2 or even 3 days of the rooster, depending on the year. The date changes every year as it is based on the lunar calendar.

This year, the day of the rooster seems to fall on 7th and 19th.

From the internet:

Btw, this is a woodblock print by Koizumi Kishio featuring the Asakusa Tori-no-Ichi Festival, September 1940.


Here's a link explaining about the fair's origins etc.
http://www.torinoichi.jp/english/index.htm

Seven-Five-Three Festival (Japan)

Start:	Nov 15, '10
Location:	Japan

Shichi-Go-San

This celebrates children of these ages (who were once thought of be in danger of imminent misfortune). Parents dress their children aged 3 or 7 (for girls) and boys aged 5 in miniature versions of kimonos, haoris and hakamas and go to the Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Because the date is not a national holiday, most families pay their Shichi-go-san respects on the weekend just prior to or after November 15.

A good photo opportunity!

Photo below from wikipedia:

Festival of the Ages (Tokyo, Japan)

Start:	Nov 3, '10
Location:	Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo Jidai Matsuri

This festival takes after the much bigger and older one held in Kyoto a few weeks earlier (October 22).

On National Culture Day, locals dress in their colorful costumes to represent historic figures from their history and parade around the Sensō-ji temple (this is Tokyo's oldest temple) precincts in Asakusa.

Sample photo taken from wikipedia: