The 53rd Tokyo Koenji Awaodori

The Tokyo Koenji Awaodori is the second largest Awa-dance festival in the nation next to the one in Tokushima, where the dance festival is originally from. The festival in Koenji began in 1957 as a new event by a youth group that the local business association had just established. As volunteer members visited Tokushima and learned authentic Awa dance, local dance groups began to form and the level of dancers dramatically improved. The event has continued to grow and today attracts 1.2 million visitors every year, known as one of three major summer festivals in Tokyo along with the Sumida River Fireworks Festival and Asakusa Samba Carnival. 12 performance areas are established from the north side of Koenji Station to the south side along the Konan Dori Avenue to provide over 10,000 dancers from 70 teams with a stage on which to perform their dance. A combination of elegant female dancers, dynamic male dancers, and the swinging rhythms of noisemakers will captivate many first-time visitors with heat and passion.

Asakusa Samba Carnival

As one of the largest local events, Asakusa Samba Carnival attracts approximately 500,000 people to Asakusa every year to mark the end of summer. The event started in 1981 based on the idea of then mayor Eiji Uchiyama and a local comedian Junzaburo Ban. While participating dance groups are divided into four leagues to present their samba, the highlight of the parade comes when the experienced teams in league S1 and S2 compete for the best performance. Often referred to as "moving opera," the samba parade requires perfection from the participating teams in their performance and expression based on a theme of their choice. Each team takes time and effort to create their original costumes as well as a float called alegoria. Enjoy the unique theme and high-level presentation by passionate dancers and musicians.

Harajuku-Omotesando Genki Matsuri (Festival): Super Yosakoi 2009

Super Yosakoi is a popular dance festival that started in 2001 to inspire a world shadowed by bleak news. While the festival is based on the traditional Yosakoi dance originally from Kochi Prefecture, dancers entertain spectators of Harajuku, Japan's fashion center, with unique and colorful costumes and makeup along with their energetic performance. About 6,000 dancers of 92 teams from Tokyo, Kochi, and other parts of Japan will participate in the festival. In addition to the popular Lotte Ghana Yosakoi-ren (5th year of participation), a new group from Hanoi, Vietnam will join the event to celebrate the festival with an international atmosphere. Many visitors also stop by nearby Yoyogi Park and enjoy strolling through various vendors selling specialty products and local gourmet foods at "Jiman-ichi" local product fair.