Koenji Awa odori festival part1

Koenji Awa odori festival part1

 

 

The fourth weekend of August marks the date for Koenji Awa Odori (高円寺阿波おどり), one of Tokyo's famous festivals. Koenji is close to my place, so I visit it several times a week. I previously went to the Asakusa Festival but was overwhelmed by the crowds, couldn't see anything properly, and didn't find it very enjoyable. I wonder how this one will be. Arriving at 5 PM, Koenji Station was already bustling with people, and hundreds of police officers were mobilized to manage traffic. Koenji Station and its surroundings are also the neighborhood featured in Haruki Murakami's novel 1Q84. Many young artists and aspiring entertainers live here.

 

 

The Awa Odori starts at 6 PM, but the crowds already began to swell at 5 PM. Koenji is a small station, so you don't usually see this many people around.

 

There were already many people gathered. As expected, it being summer and a festival, there were many people wearing yukata (traditional Japanese summer clothing).

 

I saw some elderly men wearing yukata with the name of their hometown embroidered on them. They were probably participants in the Awa Odori dance. In fact, you can easily see groups practicing the Awa Odori in local parks a month before the festival.

 

As time passed, more and more people began to gather. As always, women wearing yukata looked lovely.

 

 

By 5:45 PM, the first participating team arrived and began to wait.

 

the first participating team

 

 

The teams are typically organized with a person carrying the participating region's flag at the front, followed mainly by young women wearing geta (traditional Japanese wooden sandals) and kasa (straw hats) performing the women's dance. Then come the men (and sometimes women) dancing without geta, as shown in the picture above. The procession concludes with musicians playing instruments at the very end.

 

 

At the very front of the first team was an adorable child.

 

Finally, the Awa Odori began! Everyone cheered at the lively and energetic music.

 

Personally, I think the Awa Odori is about ten times more fun than the Asakusa Festival, where only omikoshi (portable shrines) pass by.