The Khajuraho Dance Festival celebrates the vast variety of India’s cultural heritage through traditional and modern dance performances. Its wide recognition manages to attract the best artists in the field. It is held in an open-air theater set inside the ancient site of Khajuraho temples (well known for their erotic sculptures).

The Mount Takao Fire Walking Festival (Hiwatari-sai) is an intense annual Buddhist ritual where Yamabushi monks (mountain ascetics) pray for world peace and purification. Its most spectacular feature is watching the monks walk barefoot across a long path of glowing, smoldering embers from a sacred bonfire. After the monks have completed the ceremony, the public is often allowed to walk across the cooled ashes, making it a unique, participatory spiritual event.

The Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the Steel Phallus) is an annual Japanese celebration rooted in centuries-old prayers for protection against diseases, fertility, and prosperity. This widely celebrated cultural event is known for its unapologetic focus on sexuality, with its most famous attraction being the parade of three main phallus-shaped mikoshi (portable shrines) and an array of phallus-themed merchandise sold throughout the shrine grounds.

Ayutthaya’s Songkran Festival uniquely combines UNESCO World Heritage traditions with local festivities. The celebration focuses on “Song Nam Phra,” the ritual bathing of Buddha statues at ancient temples, alongside merit-making ceremonies. A distinct regional highlight includes decorated elephants from the Royal Kraal participating in water play with the public. This event offers a significant cultural perspective on the Thai New Year within a historic setting.

The Fire Walk festival, also called Shirgao Lairai Jatra is a pilgrimage event dedicated in honor of goddess Lairai. It’s most famous attraction is the fire-walk ritual (called Igitun Chalne) performed by goddess devotees as penitence and also as proof of their true devotion.

The Aoi Matsuri is one of the three great annual festivals of Kyoto, famous for recreating the elegance of the Heian Period (794–1185). Its main attraction is the grand procession (Roto-no-gi), featuring over 500 participants dressed in period costumes and decorated with hollyhock leaves (aoi) as they parade through the city.