3 of Japan's best Summer music festivals

Summertime in many places around the world means one thing in particular - great outdoor music festivals. Japan is no exception to this, hosting a number of awesome events with some pretty epic lineups. Here's a bit of a rundown of three of this summer's best events!

(image credit: Flickr User Takashi Arima)

The Fuji Rock Festival is held annually at the Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture. It's a three day event, this year being held from the 28th to the 30th of July. There's some big name headline acts, such as the Gorillaz, Aphex Twin, Queens of the Stone Age, Bjork, Lorde and LCD Soundsystem.
You're able to get either a one, two, or three day ticket, and you can also get a camping pass to camp at the site if you're planning on being there for more than just one day.
For further information about ticketing, lineup information and how to get there, check out the Fuji Rock Festival website here.

(Image Credit: Flickr User Yewko Kootnikoff)

Summersonic is a dual-location event, being held in both Tokyo and Osaka. The event is held over two days (this year it's the 19th and 20th of August), and the artists playing the event do both locations, just on separate days!
This years headliners include household names like the Foo Fighters, Calvin Harris, Black Eyed Peas, Kesha and Good Charlotte - as well as plenty more. One act that people might want to see is Pikotaro - possibly better known to a lot of people as the "pen pineapple apple pen" guy!
Ticket information and more details about the lineups for both the Tokyo and Osaka event can be found on the Summersonic website here. Like Fuji Rock, you can just get a one day pass, or you might want the two day pass if you're interested in bands and artists from both days lineups.

(Image Credit: Flickr User Chrystal Hooi)

Rock in Japan is a  multi-day music festival, and it's held at the Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki Prefecture (which is a beautiful place to visit year round - there are some amazing seasonal flower displays there if you're into that sort of thing!)
This festival has a lot more Japanese based artists on the lineup. which might interest some of you - a couple of the big names this year include Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and Dragon Ash.
The festival is being held across 4 days this year - August 5th and 6th, and the following week on August 11th and 12th. You're able to buy a one, two, or four day pass depending on what artists you want to see and what dates you can make it to the festival.
The website for Rock in Japan can be found here, however it is in Japanese! Tickets can be purchased through this website, but if you don't read Japanese it might prove a little tricky.

(Image Credit: Flickr User Atsuko G)