🏮 Koenji Awa Odori

高円寺阿波踊り

Suginami, Tokyo · Every year on 31 August

Bon odori

351 days to go
Rooms around Suginami, Tokyo fill up while the festival is on.

The Tokyo Koenji Awa Odori is a summer festival held every year on the last Saturday and Sunday of August around Koenji Station in Suginami Ward, Tokyo. About 10,000 dancers gather from all over Japan, and the streets bustle with about 1 million spectators. Its predecessor was the "Koenji Baka Odori," started in 1957 (Showa 32) to revitalize the local area; it developed after local young people at the time, not knowing Awa Odori, went to learn Japanese traditional dance. The festival is divided into the "main competition" and "stage dancing." In the main competition, about 160 "ren" (dance troupes) parade along a figure-eight route through eight outdoor performance areas, including around Kohnan Street and Junjo Shopping Street. The call of "Yattosa" and festival music echo everywhere, and dancers in colorful costumes perform powerful dances. In the stage dancing held at halls such as Sesion Suginami Hall, you can also enjoy highly artistic performances that make use of lighting and sound.

Getting there

Just a short walk from the south exit of Koenji Station on the JR Chuo Line. It is also within walking distance from Shin-Koenji Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line. On the day, there are traffic restrictions and the surrounding area is very crowded, so the use of public transportation is recommended.