May 6-28

Facetnate! - Flights into Foreign is the third in a series of art exhibitions held by the Japan Foundation. Peter Humble shows artistic video projections of his travels in Japan.

Japan Foundation Gallery, Sydney
Details: www.jpf.org.au

May 11

Mother's Day

Photo courtesy of the Osaka Museum of History

May 15

Aoi Matsuri, also known as the Hollyhock Festival, is a beautiful parade in Kyoto featuring over five hundred participants dressed in Heian-era costume.

Details: www.kyotojoho.co.jp/English

May 15 - September 14

KIMONO - Osaka's Golden Age is an exhibition celebrating the Melbourne-Osaka sister city relationship. It features displays of kimonos and other artefacts from Edo and Meiji Japan (1850-1900).

Immigration Museum, Melbourne
Details: www.museumvictoria.com.au/ImmigrationMuseum

Asakusa Sanja Festival, Tokyo JNTO

May 16-18

Sanja Matsuri is a festival of the famous Asakusa Shrine and one of Tokyo's biggest festivals. Visitors can witness mikoshi (portable shrines) being carried through the streets of Asakusa.

Taisho Chic is an exhibition featuring over 80 works from Japan's tumultuous Greater Taisho period (1900-1930).

Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Details: www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/coming/ taisho_chic

Emily Kngwarreye (Photograph by Greg Weight)

May 28 - July 28

Utopia: the genius of Emily Kngwarreye is an exhibition of the amazing works created by Aboriginal artist Emily Kngwarreye.

The National Art Centre, Tokyo
Details: www.emily2008.jp

June 5-25

Facetnate! - Neosydney+Neotokyo is an exhibition of pop street photography by Sydney design duo Kevin Vo and Haline Ly, which depict life in Tokyo and Sydney.

Japan Foundation Gallery, Sydney
Details: www.jpf.org.au

June 9

Queen's Birthday Holiday

June 18 - September 7

Biennale of Sydney is a prestigious event showcasing Australian and international contemporary art that has been held since 1973. Several Japanese artists are exhibiting, including Atelier Bow-Wow and Dan Graham, Jin Kurashige, Saburo Murakami, Atsuko Tanaka and Yoko Ono.

Details: www.biennaleofsydney.com

July 1-29

Gion Matsuri, one of Japan's three biggest festivals, is held at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto. The highlight is the magnificent pageant of around 30 floats through the main streets of Kyoto on July 17.

Details:www.kyotojoho.co.jp/english

Facetnate! - The Garden of Love is an exhibition by emerging artist Ben Ernst that will feature an interactive life-size Zen garden. Made from recycled materials, the artwork touches on issues such as the urban environment and consumer society.

Japan Foundation Gallery, Sydney
Details: www.jpf.org.au

Kaijo Tanabata Festival, Iwate cIwate Prefecture/cJNTO

Tanabata is also known as the Star Festival. It is customary to write poems or wishes on strips of paper and tie them to bamboo trees.

G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit official website

Japan hosts the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, the annual meeting of G8 nations.

Details: www.g8summit.go.jp

July 15-20

World Youth Day is to be hosted in Sydney and is the biggest event ever to be held in Australia.

Details:www.wyd2008.org

July 17-27

Melbourne International Design Festival features an impressive collection of Australian and international designs as well as events and forums.

Federation Square, Melbourne
Details:www.nationaldesigncentre.com

July 24-25

Tenjin Matsuri is a summer festival that has been held in Osaka for over one thousand years. It features a magnificent boat procession and fireworks display.

Details: www.osaka-info.jp/tenjin_matsuri

July 25 - August 10

Melbourne International Film Festival features an innovative array of documentaries, short films, animations, and music videos.

Details: www.melbournefilmfestival.com.au

July 30 - August 3

Melbourne Art Fair is the leading trade fair and contemporary art exposition in the Asia-Pacific region. This biennial event will feature over 80 galleries from Australia and around the world.

Details: www.artfair.com.au

Aomori Nebuta Festival, Aomori cAomori Prefecture/cJNTO

August 2-7

Aomori Nebuta Festival is a festival in Aomori Prefecture that draws millions of people each year to see the parades of colourful floats with huge lanterns.

Detail: www.nebuta.or.jp/english/index_e.htm

Anniversary commemorating the end of World War II.

Anniversary commemorating the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

The Sun Herald City2Surf
Entries open June 1

Details: city2surf.sunherald.com.au

Facetnate! - An Architecture of Thread and Gesture is an installation piece by Ainslie Murray that expresses human influences in architectural space. Japanese art, architecture and textiles influence this work.

Japan Foundation Gallery, Sydney
Details: www.jpf.org.au

Beijing Summer Olympics Softball - Japan vs. Australia is one of the opening games of the summer Olympics.

Fengtai Sports Centre, Beijing
Details: en.beijing2008.cn/cptvenues/sports/softball/

Awa Odori, Tokushima cTokushima Prefecture JNTO

Nishi-monai Bon Dance, Akita cAkita Prefecture/JNTO

Awa-Odori is a famous dance and music festival in Japan that features hundreds of people performing the traditional Awa dance through the streets of Tokushima.

Details: www.city.tokushima.tokushima.jp/english/awaodori.html

Obon, an important tradition in Japan, is a Buddhist festival that welcomes the spirits of ancestors back to this world for a brief reunion.

Anniversary commemorating the end of World War II.

AUTUMN 2008

SUMMER 2007/2008

SPRING 2007

WINTER 2007

AUTUMN 2007

SUMMER 2006/2007