Winter Awaodori Sneak Peak

In connection with the annual Furusato matsuri at Tokyo’s great arena, the Tokyo Dome the neighboring amusement park put on an Awaodori show with two of great Tokyo teams; the Hyottokoren and the Suikoren as well as a famous team from out of town, the Aifubukiren. It the second time I see Awaodori in the winter and it always feels strange to see this dance in the biting cold. Still, despite the cold and the rapidly falling daylight, the dancers did great! The musicians were a little bit separated from the dancers so I missed out on the deafening drums and successions of flutes and shamisen! I think the Furusato matsuri is still on tomorrow, so go have a look! It’s a great chance to learn more about food from around the country without leaving Tokyo!

Kagurazaka Awaodori Beauties

The start of the Awaodori festival season is still many months away but it’s never too early to start promoting some of the many teams that will brighten our festivals in the summer to come! Here’s a mix of beauties of different ages from three different dance teams, the Daikonren, the Koseinenkinbyouinren and the famous Tokyo Tensuiren.

Kyoudou Murasakiren – Shimokitazawa Awaodori

Winter is tough for us Awaodori lovers, there’s not a festival in sight, no drums to be heard, no cries of “Yatto yatto!” to announce the arrival of the Awaodori dancers. Here’s a team that I caught for the second time that year, here in the Shimokitazwa Awaodori festival, in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward. This team looks brand new but is in fact one of the old kids on the block, formed in 1973 to promote the shops at Nodai Street (農大通り), here they are performing to promote another shopping street not that far away from their home turf! The Kyoudou Murasakiren (経堂むらさき連) is really good fun to watch and I caught them right in the best spot to snap their photos. Enjoy!

Mitakaren – Kawasaki Awaodori Festival

I had a good place at this year’s Awaodori Festival in Kawasaki City, in Tokyo’s neighbor Kanagawa Prefecture. I was able to see the first team lining up for their first dance, the Mitakaren (みたか連). A great festival and a great performance from this gorgeous team based in western Tokyo’s Mitaka City (三鷹市). The city and dance team’s name is means three hawks in English, hence the birds and feather symbols on their wonderful uniforms. A lot of photos this time, I hope you don’t mind waiting for the load time!