Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine in Kyoto will hold a rice seedling festival Monday in which women in traditional clothing from the Heian Period will dance and other women in farming outfits and hats will plant shoots in the shrine's sacred rice field.

Admission is free. The festival starts at 1 p.m.

The shrine is near Inari Station on the JR Nara Line and Fushimi Inari Station on the Keihan Line.

For further info, visit inari.jp/rite/?month=6%E6%9C%88 (in Japanese) or call (075) 641-7331.

Share the things about Japan you find strange

The Minoh Association for Global Awareness in Osaka Prefecture is looking for foreign students and residents who would like to speak in public about the culture shock they have experienced and things they find interesting or strange in Japan.

The event will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. July 6.

Those who are interested need to call the association at 072-727-6912 by June 14.

The association can be accessed by taking Hankyu bus 30, 51, 55, 56, 58, 59, 66, or 79 from Senri Chuo Station on the Osaka Monorail or the Kitaosaka Kyuko Line and getting off at the Onohara or Onohara Nishi stops.

More information is available at mafga.or.jp/en/ (in English).

Major music festival on tap in Nara this month

Musik Fest Nara 2013 will take place from June 14 through June 30 with concerts performed in various sites around the ancient capital, including temples, shrines, community halls and restaurants.

Admission to many of the concerts will be free, but there are some where a fee will be charged or reservations will be required.

Many of the shows will be held near Kintetsu Nara Station or JR Nara Station.

For more information, go to www.naraken.com/musik/ (in Japanese) or call 0742-27-6751.

Traditional umbrellas at Tokugawaen Garden

Visitors to the Tokugawaen Garden in Nagoya during the rainy season can borrow traditional Japanese bamboo and paper umbrellas.

The umbrellas are ready to be used for free between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. from June 11 to 16, and for ¥100 between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. from June 18 through July 15.

Admission to the garden is ¥300 for adults and college and high school students. The garden is closed Mondays except for national holidays.

It is located 10 minutes on foot from Ozone Station on the JR Chuo Line.

More information can be found at www.tokugawaen.city.nagoya.jp/01_event/index.html (in Japanese) or by calling 052-935-8988.

Numerous firefly-viewing opportunities in Aichi

The light of fireflies can be enjoyed in various sites in Aichi Prefecture this month.

Those who are interested should visit Denpark in Anjo (denpark.jp/index.html,) 0566-92-7111, Jokoji Hotarunosato in Seto (www.seto-marutto.info/cgi-bin/data/miru/030.html,) 0561-48-0489, Hirahara Genjibotarunosato in Nishio (www.city.nishio.aichi.jp/index.cfm/9,2252,94,430,html,) 090-7616-8186, and Shimodaira area in Toyota (asuke.info/modules/pico/index.php?content_id=17), 0565-63-2811.