Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages)

Kyoto's Jidai Matsuri is a glorious opportunity to see the history of the country brought to life. Some 2,000 people wear authentic costumes from each period in Japanese history and walk in a 3.2km-long (2 miles) parade. The festival only began in 1895, but it commemorates Kyoto's position as the capital of Japan and residence of successive emperors from 781 to 1868. The procession is led by a band impersonating the fife and drum corps of the Meiji Restoration Royal Army and takes spectators from the grandeur of the Meiji era, through the fierce samurai and elegant geisha of the shogunate, to the elegant costumes of the Heian period when Kyoto was first established.