Things that are both · Japanese festivals
Japanese festivals
Japan has festivals, or matsuri, all year round: shrine parades, lantern nights and snow sculptures. These all fit the Japan × Festival square from a past Overlaple puzzle.
This pair comes from a past Overlaple puzzle: Monday, 28 September 2026, where “Japan” and “Festival” met in one square. That page lists the best answers players gave.
Jev, the AI judge that scores Overlaple, says whether it fits both.
18 things that fit both
- Cherry blossom festivalHanami: picnics under the blossoming sakura in spring.
- Gion MatsuriKyoto’s month-long July festival with giant floats.
- TanabataThe star festival on 7 July: wishes on paper strips tied to bamboo.
- ObonSummer festival honouring ancestors, with Bon Odori dancing.
- Sapporo Snow FestivalHuge snow and ice sculptures every February.
- Awa OdoriTokushima’s summer dance festival.
- Nebuta MatsuriAomori’s parade of giant illuminated paper floats.
- Shichi-Go-SanChildren aged three, five and seven visit shrines in November.
- SetsubunBeans are thrown to chase away demons at the start of spring.
- HinamatsuriThe girls’ doll festival on 3 March.
- Kodomo no HiChildren’s Day on 5 May, with carp streamers.
- Kanda MatsuriOne of Tokyo’s three great festivals.
- Sanja MatsuriTokyo’s Asakusa festival with portable shrines.
- Jidai MatsuriKyoto’s parade of costumes from Japanese history.
- Aoi MatsuriKyoto’s hollyhock festival, with a Heian-era procession.
- Tenjin MatsuriOsaka’s river festival with boats and fireworks.
- Kishiwada Danjiri MatsuriTeams race huge wooden carts through the streets.
- Takayama FestivalOrnate floats in the mountain town of Takayama.
Like finding things that fit two categories? That is the whole idea of Overlaple, a free daily 3×3 word puzzle: each square is where a row category meets a column category, and you name one thing that fits both. An AI judge scores every answer.
Play today’s Overlaple