Ponpokoren – Awaodori

If you’re in Tokyo on the 28th of this month I really recommend the annual Kitamachi Awaodori festival up in Nerima ward! One of the teams that will perform is the local Ponpokoren, with their funky uniforms and fantastic energy they will be sure to put a smile on your face. I saw them the first time in the big Koenji Awaodori festival last year and they were great. Ponpokoren (ぽんぽこ連) have been around since 1993 and will be part of the 1600 strong dance performance on the Kitamachi Awaodori festival (link here). A must see!

Don’t miss the girl on the fourth to last photo – not a technically interesting picture perhaps, but during the awaodori dance routine, there’s a certain place where the dancers, all of them or in groups, will suddenly strike a pose and just hold it. I was kneeling down to get a good photo at just the moment when the whole group froze and this girl was just in front of me, so close that my camera couldn’t focus properly! You can see in her face just how hot it was that evening!