Celebrate the arrival of summer with a riverside fireworks festival, capoeira and churrasco, a grand parade and so much more this weekend in Tokyo.
Ease into your Saturday with brunch at the Brazilian Festival at Yoyogi Park (the festival will be held on Sunday too). There will be song, dance and gravity-defying capoeira, as well as grilled meat galore and of course the Soccer World Cup host country’s “national cocktail” – a sugar, lime and cachaca concoction better known as a caipirinha.
In the early part of Saturday evening, head over to Adachi-ku and find yourself a good spot along the Arakawa River to watch the Fireworks Festival there. A whopping 12 000 shots will be fired into the summer sky. Wear your yukata if you have one (summer kimono), bring a hand fan and camera, and prepare yourself for the quintessential Japanese summer experience.
Also happening on Saturday evening though is the Ueno Summer Festival‘s grand parade – an energetic procession that starts from Ueno Park and features samba, yosakoi and other types of dance. Deciding which event to go to can be tough – both are rather awesome!
If you’re in Yokohama, you can enjoy a small fireworks show (3 000 shots) near Yamashita Park, as well as various parades and live performances as part of the Yokohama Sparkling Twilight that’s going on.
Aspiring astronomers might want to check out the small Space Festival in Omotesando. Be sure to try a “space burger” if you go – and tell us what it’s like.
If you’re too hot and bothered to go to any events, you can always head to a beach or cheapo pool/water park – Tokyo’s pools and seas are almost all officially open now.
