Namaste India – one of the biggest Indian festivals in Japan – comes to the Yoyogi Park event square this weekend. The festival will feature 32 stalls serving a range of delicious Indian food and drinks. More details here.
Just down the road in Yokohama is another major ethnic festival. The annual Philippines Barrio Fiesta invades the waterfront Yamashita Park for two days of Filipino music, culture and food. Filipinos make up Japan’s third largest foreign community so you should expect a lively, bustling atmosphere. More details here.
Although traditional festivals in Tokyo usually involve an element of dress-up, including yukata, happi and the infamous fundoshi, the Shinagawa Shukuba festival is a little different. Shinagawa was the last stop on the Tokaido – a road on which Edo era travelers journeyed on foot from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo). As a tribute to this time, the Shinagawa Shukuba festival was created. Instead of being focused around religious rituals, the festival is basically just a big period costume party featuring the typical characters and dress of the day. Look out for lots of fake chon-mage (the distinctive male hairstyle of the time) as well as an array of samurai, noblemen and women, courtiers and humble porters. More details here.
The Fukuro Festival is a more conventional traditional festival (although on quite a large scale) in the vicinity of Ikebukuro Station. More details on the Fukuro Festival here.
