🌟Lead-in
Thank you for checking my Japanese Calendar.
The calendar is a simple monthly guide to the New Moon, Full Moon, Japanese lucky days, and national holidays.
→ 📅 Explore the Japanese Calendar
In this new Japanese Seasonal Living series, we’ll take a slightly closer look at each month — exploring seasonal traditions, food, and simple ideas for enjoying the rhythms of life in Japan.
August in Japan is a season of vibrant summer traditions, quiet moments of remembrance, and simple ways to stay cool.
From Obon and summer festivals to seasonal foods and small everyday customs, let’s take a look at how Japan embraces the rhythms of late summer.
📅 August Seasonal Highlights
🌾 Around August 7 │ Risshū (立秋) — The Beginning of Autumn
Risshū marks the beginning of autumn according to Japan’s traditional seasonal calendar, although August is still one of the hottest times of the year.
After Risshū, traditional summer greetings change from shochu mimai (暑中見舞い) to zansho mimai (残暑見舞い) — greetings for the lingering summer heat.
In Kyoto, I found “Chayori,” a unique tea package designed like a postcard that can be sent by mail. This summer, I bought one to send to a friend in place of a traditional summer greeting card.
🏮 August 13–16 │ Obon (お盆)
Obon is one of Japan’s most important traditions for welcoming and honoring the spirits of ancestors.
Families may visit graves, make offerings of flowers, incense, or food, and spend time together. It is also one of Japan’s major holiday and travel periods, so trains, roads, and popular destinations can become especially busy.
👘 Around Obon │ Bon Odori (盆踊り)
Bon Odori are traditional community dances associated with the Obon season.
With lanterns, music, taiko drums, and people dressed in yukata, Bon Odori remains one of the most familiar scenes of a Japanese summer evening. At many events, visitors can join the dancing too.
A small local Bon Odori gathering — a familiar summer scene in Japan.
🕊️ August 15 │ A Day of Remembrance
August 15 is officially observed in Japan as a day to remember those who died in the war and pray for peace.
Each year, a national memorial ceremony is held, including a moment of silence at noon.
🔥 August 16 │ Kyoto Gozan no Okuribi (五山送り火)
At the end of Obon, okuribi, or farewell fires, traditionally send ancestral spirits on their way.
In Kyoto, the famous Gozan no Okuribi will take place on Sunday, August 16, 2026, beginning with Daimonji at 8:00 p.m. Five large fire symbols are lit one after another on the mountains surrounding the city.
🌾 Around August 23 │ Shosho (処暑) — The Heat Begins to Ease
Shosho is a traditional seasonal marker representing the time when the intense summer heat begins to ease.
In modern Japan, the heat often continues well beyond this point, but Shosho reminds us to notice the first small signs of the approaching autumn.
🌿Seasonal Nourishment — Caring for the Body in Summer
The intense heat of August can sometimes leave us with less appetite and reaching for cold foods and drinks more often than usual.
In this section, I’ll share a simple seasonal dish or everyday food idea that anyone can easily try. These are not meant to be elaborate examples of Japanese cuisine — just small, approachable ways to bring the flavors of the Japanese season to your table.
For August, let’s start with a few familiar ingredients and dishes that are easy to enjoy during the hot summer months.
🍜 Somen — A Simple Japanese Summer Favorite
Somen (そうめん) are very thin wheat noodles and one of the familiar tastes of summer in Japan. They cook in just a few minutes and are commonly served chilled with a light dipping sauce.
Ready-made noodle sauces are widely available, making somen an especially easy meal when you do not feel like spending much time in a hot kitchen. There are also many simple recipes for making your own dipping sauce.
One of the pleasures of somen is choosing different yakumi (薬味) — small aromatic garnishes that add freshness and flavor. Shiso, umeboshi, and green onion make a refreshing combination, while ginger, myoga, sesame, and other toppings offer plenty of variations.
Somen does not always have to be cold, either. Nyūmen (にゅうめん) — somen served in a warm broth — is a delicious alternative when you feel like having something warm.
A meal I enjoyed in Miwa, Nara, including nyūmen — thin somen noodles served warm — alongside a variety of small dishes.
→ 🍜 Explore Japanese Sōmen & Nyūmen
Discover how the same delicate noodles are enjoyed cool in summer and warm as nyūmen, along with their connection to Miwa and Japanese seasonal food culture. Read The Spirit of Nature Lives in Traditional Noodles
→🌿 Explore Japanese Yakumi
Discover the small aromatic ingredients — from shiso and myoga to ginger and green onion — that bring fragrance, freshness, and seasonal character to Japanese meals. Read Yakumi: Small Flavors in Japanese Food
🥒 Easy Idea — Cucumber with Shio Kombu
Cucumbers are a refreshing summer staple, and one of the easiest ways to enjoy them is with shio kombu (塩昆布).
Simply cut a cucumber into bite-sized chunks, mix it with a small amount of shio kombu, and leave it for a few minutes. The cucumber gradually absorbs the salty, savory umami flavor of the kombu.
For a little variation, try adding toasted sesame seeds or a small drizzle of sesame oil.
⭐What is shio kombu?
Shio kombu is seasoned kombu cut into thin strips. It is a convenient ingredient commonly used in Japan with rice, vegetables, and other simple everyday dishes.
🫚 A Little Ginger for Late Summer
Ginger is another familiar ingredient in Japanese summer cooking. Freshly grated ginger can be added to somen, chilled tofu, soups, and many other simple dishes.
Although cold noodles, iced drinks, and summer treats are tempting in the August heat, sometimes a warm bowl of miso soup, nyūmen, or another simple soup makes a welcome change — especially toward the end of a long, hot summer.
🎐 Small Ways to Enjoy a Japanese Summer
Japanese summer traditions are not only about festivals and special events. Many small customs and everyday practices have developed over time to make the hot and humid season feel a little more comfortable — and to help us experience the season through sound, water, taste, scent, and atmosphere.
Here are a few simple ways to bring a touch of Japanese summer into everyday life.
🎐 Listen to a Fūrin Wind Chime
Fūrin (風鈴) have long been associated with summer in Japan. Their light, clear sound does not actually lower the temperature, but has traditionally been enjoyed as a way to create a refreshing sense of coolness.
During summer, fūrin can also be seen at many temples and shrines, sometimes filling the grounds with hundreds of colorful bells.
I have shared several summer fūrin scenes from Japanese temples and shrines on Instagram. You can also listen to the gentle sound of fūrin at Iwatsuhime Shrine in Hyogo and Yoshino Jingū in Nara on YouTube.
🎥 Summer at Ancient Iwatsuhime Shrine 🎐 │ Ako, Hyogo 🔗https://youtube.com/shorts/fvi3s2UZcOM
A gentle summer breeze, the sound of a wind chime, and a glimpse of the sea at this ancient shrine in Ako, Hyogo.
🎥Summer Fūrin at Yoshino Jingū🎐│Yoshino, Nara 🔗https://youtube.com/shorts/LUXYJvBN4KE
A peaceful shrine scene filled with the gentle sounds of many fūrin wind chimes swaying in the summer breeze at Yoshino Jingū, Nara.
💧 Try Uchimizu
Uchimizu (打ち水) is the traditional Japanese practice of sprinkling water on the ground outside a home, shop, or garden during summer.
It is traditionally done in the morning or evening rather than under the strong midday sun. As the water evaporates, it draws heat from the ground and helps create a cooler, more refreshing atmosphere.
But uchimizu was not only about staying cool. Sprinkling water also helped keep dust down and prepare the entrance of a home or shop to welcome visitors — a small everyday custom combining practicality with hospitality.
Today, uchimizu can still be seen during the Japanese summer, preserving a simple piece of seasonal wisdom in modern life.
🔗Learn more about Uchimizu from Kyoto City
🍵 Create a Cool Moment with Tea
On a hot summer afternoon, take a little time to slow down with a cold cup of tea. At home, you might enjoy it with a seasonal sweet, open a window in the evening, or simply sit somewhere quiet for a few minutes.
Or find a favorite café or tea room and enjoy a small, refreshing break away from the summer heat. Sometimes, simply sitting somewhere cool with a seasonal drink or sweet can become a little summer ritual of its own.
Cold matcha with Mimuro monaka — a refreshing little pause on a hot summer day in Nara.
🪷 Remember Someone Who Came Before You
Obon is a time in Japan to welcome and remember ancestors and loved ones who have passed away.
You might take a quiet moment to think of someone you miss, light a little incense, or place something they once enjoyed — perhaps a favorite food or sweet — as a small offering.
In Japanese tradition, food that has been offered may later be received as osagari (お下がり) and shared or eaten rather than simply discarded.
Enjoying that food afterward can be another way of remembering someone and maintaining a sense of connection across generations.
🌿 Explore the Season
Want to enjoy a little more of Japanese summer? Here are three ways to explore the season through taste, traditional cooling, and seasonal scenery.
🍧 A Taste of Kyoto Summer
Cool down with a playful goldfish-themed kakigōri, one of Japan’s favorite summer treats.
🪭 The Art of Staying Cool in Japan
Discover uchiwa and sensu, traditional Japanese fans that combine practical cooling with beautiful seasonal designs.
→ The Art of Staying Cool in Japan │ Uchiwa & Sensu
🪷 Seasonal Gallery │ Lotus & Water Lilies
Take a quiet visual journey through lotus flowers and water lilies from Japan and France, capturing another side of summer.
→ Explore the Seasonal Gallery
✨ August in a Few Words
Honor what came before.
Cool the body.
Enjoy the abundance of summer.
Notice the first signs of the coming season.
May your August be filled with fun and joyful moments, both for yourself and with your loved ones. 💛
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