Tokyo events for Monday, August 21 to Sunday, August 27, 2023.
Not confident in your dancing ability? Well, you don’t need to be at this week’s dance festivals. Participation is even encouraged during Bon Odori dances and at the tail end of Awa Odori parades.
Events will be held all over Tokyo and nearby — with dance parades taking over the city (Kōenji Awa Odori being the largest) and the beach welcoming music parties and fireworks.
Free Japanese Language Meetup in Akihabara
The WeLearn Community makes learning a new language fun and inexpensive. This event is completely free, but you will need to register for a free trial on the WeLearn website to join. You’ll only need to input your email and you can quit at any time.
Kōenji Awa Odori Festival
Kōenji Awa Odori Festival is back. Two days will be filled with shedloads of dancing and kicks off during the cool of the vening. Organizers tout 10,000 dancers and musicians and an expected 1 million people turning up to watch.
Harajuku Omotesando Super Yosakoi
This event sees dance teams descend on the Harajuku/Omotesando area in late August. The two days of the festival see a huge dance contest between these teams taking over the area. The dance festival is on a massive scale and sees 6,000 performers in dance groups from throughout Japan competing for the top spot.
Akishima Citizen Whale Festival
Highlights include a giant whale being pushed through the streets and a fireworks display. The fireworks will take place on Saturday, August 26 from 8 to 8:30 p.m. and the whale parade will take place on Sunday, August 27 from 4 p.m.
Hibiya Park Bon Odori Festival
Taking place at the very central Hibiya Park, this is one of Tokyo’s most accessible and largest Bon Odori (Bon dance) festivals. The Bon Odori happens over the weekend (Aug. 25 to 26) from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.
Summer Breeze: More Than Music Beach Event
More Than Music hits the beach! Join the party at Surfers in Zushi. Wine and dine on their fantastic food, enjoy the sunset at their private beach, and all while listening to incredible live music to set the mood.
| Advance sales: ¥5,000 | ||
Azabu Jūban Festival
This festival is held during the heat of the last weekend of August in the fashionable Azabu-Jūban neighborhood and it’s all about the food.
Chōfu Yosakoi
The Chōfu Yosakoi festival puts on a wonderful display of high-energy dances. Aside from plenty of dancing, there is usually lots of festival food on offer including oden, shaved ice, barbecued squid, yakisoba, and candy floss, as well as soft drinks and beer.
49th Kanazawa Fireworks
Held in the southern part of Yokohama, this event sees 3,500 fireworks launched into the skies above the only swimming beach in the city. Marine Park (Umi no Koen) is a great location as there is plenty of space to settle in with a picnic and wait for the show.
Tokyo Otsuka Awa Odori
Over 1,000 performers dance through Minami-Otsuka Street. As the main festival commences, enjoy watching several talented dance troupes enthusiastically chant, sing, and dance their way down Minami-Otsuka Street in their traditional Obon outfits.
RAGTAG’s Malibu Dream
With events focusing on music, art, and fashion, RAGTAG’s themed parties are all about expressing yourself, and this time it’s in Barbie’s Malibu Mansion. Come dressed in iconic bright colors and get ready to see RAGTAG’s handpicked talent on display.
| At the door: ¥3,000 | ||
More Tokyo Music: Afrodyty, Konnichiwa Typhoon, Yasu Cub
This show is the core of what More Than Music stands for: the best of underground bands that inhabit basement live houses. They’ll serve you up the finest course of music, whether it is rock, R&B, hip-hop, electro, swing, grunge, or industrial.
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