Koenji Awa Odori Matsuri 2010

Is it winter and snowing in new york now? If so then take a look at this last remnant of an awesome Tokyo summer and remember how sweaty you were, and then imagine adding 80% humidity to that like in Tokyo all summer long. This dance festival held in Koenji in Tokyo is the 2nd largest Awa Odori festival in Japan. Various dance teams comprised of people of all ages, all walks of life and even all mental capacities strut their stuff for all to see. This might be the coolest festival i've been to in Japan and THIS is a great example of how Japan has got it goin' on and you really need to see a summer festival sometime in your life here.


Ai lent me her brothers Yukata and this nice old lady who had an awesome slr cam helped me set up. Ai's Yukata is pretty awesome with that navy blue and neon green goin on.



Ai, me, marco - we had some good summertime times



we got so lucky and got a front row spot right when they blew the whistle that it was ok to start setting up. somehow we cut all the people that had been waiting for hours in the standby area to secure a sweet spot. It's all because Ai is ontop of her game. if it was'nt for her me and marco would still be wandering the back alleys of Koenji trying to find the parade route, yes even now in december 5 months later.



aw marco's poor lil' tootsies are feelin' all abrasiv-y. the old lady with awesome slr cam thought it was hilarious that marco's western toes couldn't take the rough fabric thongs on those geta and so she took a bunch of pics of his feet. hahahha, it is pretty funny



bam! drums! everyone is happy, drinking, clapping, and summer!





how much culture can get smashed onto one traditional outfit? a lot. i'm sure every detail here has it's own significance. this is part of the reason that seeing this event in person is beyond words. I know i sound like an old 60 yr old woman with Japan fever but it makes me feel in awe of this beautiful culture with centuries old traditions and customs.







some are more action packed than others



This feral wild-man drummer was crazy or good at acting crazy. check out the slow motion video of him wil'in out.









tons of super kawaii kids



i still think these woman's awa odori outfits are pretty hot



These fan gals were the best. high energy and it really looked like they were having fun. i mean everyone looked like they were having but but these girls especially. This Video is a MUST SEE!!!! it is the best example of what you are missing out on in Japan in the summer. This video is so awesome that watching it makes me sad that i have to leave this country soon.



This Video is a MUST SEE!!!! it's soooooo much fun









weirdo gramps for comedic effect. lots of groups have one of these kind of guys





they walk on the front part of their geta sandals all day. they have to do it for two days, saturday and sunday.







drinkin, snackin, they babies are happy, everyone is happy





circlin' the super old boss man. check the video for this dance.





different companies have dance groups, even the Japanese post office has one. they were the worst. that's a red post office box up on top.



psyche up time



what appeared to be the mentally handicapped group.



this praying mantis was ballsy and kept flying on to me and freaking me out! someone would shoo it to our side then we would shoo it back and eventually it disappeared but it probably hid in my bag and is hiding under my bed right now. it would freak you out too if you suddenly saw a huge praying mantis perched on your crotch, that is wide open with easy access because you're wearing a yukata.



aw the poor lil guy didn't even know where he was going.




a wall of 30 girls across the street. college club? swim team? what gives.




afterwards you could see various teams in various izakayas dancing some more. probably for drinks and laughs.



our team, me, marco, norina, and ai. we did a dance called "being super sweaty and destroyed and eating yakiniku".



this fan in jiyugaoka has water in the base and sprays a water mist



did i post about my national health insurance yet? you can just pay for 6 months at the conbini if you wanted to and its only $14 a month cuz im a student.

Ok now its time to go back to reality and go back to winter. but if this post could distract you from the realities of winter a minute then it was a success.