One of Tokyo’s Biggest Summer Festivals
The Koenji Awa-Odori Festival has been a beloved local tradition since 1957. The 66th annual festival will take place from August 23 to August 24 around the Koenji shopping district.
Awa-Odori is originally from the Japanese island of Shikoku and happens around obon, the Japanese summer holiday. Koenji hosts Tokyo’s version of the traditional festival, where odori — traditional Japanese dance and musicians with shamisen, flutes and taiko drums — will parade through Koenji.
Over 12,000 dancers cover the streets, usually attracting over a million spectators throughout the weekend.
With such large and passionate crowds, the festival will have eight dance areas flowing between JR Koenji Station and Tokyo Metro Shin-Koenji Station in a figure eight.
Various event booths will be scattered across the area selling food and drinks. By Koenji Station’s South Exit, stalls will be selling sudachi beer. Koenji Station’s North Exit will feature gyoza with sudachi sauce, yakisoba, meat skewers and grilled squid, along with other Tokushima specialties. Here, you can also find Koenji Awa-Odori official merchandise.
Koenji Chuo Park will have a lineup of street food options and neighborhood restaurants serving a variety of menus, including kebabs, churros, frankfurters and fried chicken.
