tokyo

The awa odori matsuri is part of the Obon (including bon odoris) festival season which celebrates the spirits of the dead (similar to Halloween in the west) and dates back to the twelfth century and is famed in the Tokushima prefecture, where the biggest awa odori festivals are held. Koenji has its own spectacular take on the festival, with over a hundred groups of dancers and musicians playing the lute, drums (taiko), flute (shinobue), and cymbals or the kane bell while dancing in a parade. The music of the drums is epic and you feel it like standing next to the speaker at a wompy dub show [recording]. It’s pretty hard to resist the urge to join in the dance yourself! The food consists of typical festival fare, with most of it sold by locals or stalls operating from restaurants or conbinis.

Each group does their own dance in various styles, including the ‘dance of fools’ which involves some graceful handwaving and big smiles all around. The dance originates from a large 16th century castle opening where everyone drank copious amounts of sake and started staggering about while friends joined in with instruments. I had a bit of sake myself as the festival wound down, joining a few new friends for gyooza (fried dumplings) and a drink or two. Koenji is a vibrant and friendly part of Tokyo that I would recommend to any nightlife lover. There is a multitude of izekaya and restaurants underneath and around the train tracks with cheap drinks and friendly staff. The district also has a lot of clothing shops, new and used, for any fashion lovers out there.

Koenji awa odori 2016

Tokyo and Koenji June

Last Saturday I woke up at the crack of noon and headed to Tokyo to see the sights for a bit. I stopped at Harajuku first and spent a few hours wandering through Meiji shrine and Shinjuku Goen. The scale of these parks is incredible when you consider the city that surrounds them. Walking around Meiji I felt transported back to the old forests of Virginia when I was a kid. I’m not sure if it is intentional or not, but Japan has spaces of near silence even in the busiest of places. It could just be that I have learned to tune out the hustle and bustle at times, but whether in my hometown of Tsurumi or the wild city of Tokyo, a place where you can take a moment and breathe is never far off.

Before meeting up with a friend I stumbled into a lively Vietnamese festival near Yoyogi. Naturally I couldn’t resist a bit of Bahn Mi. There were several dance groups and musicians performing at the festival as well. Though I didn’t stay long I managed to get some decent footage of a band featuring a t’rung, which is a sort of xylophone.

Leaving the festival I met up with a friend in Koenji, which from what I could tell is a used clothing mecca. There were tons of off the wall shops and cafes dotting the area and it was a great place to just walk around and relax. Clothing I might add, is quite expensive in Japan. A used shirt often runs over $20 for a tee for example. Don’t get me started on buying/finding shoes in a U.S. size 12.

We moved onto Shibuya afterwards and met up with the rest of the crew to go to a Japanese nightclub. Unfortunately, the club had shut down and the other clubs in the area closed at midnight for unfathomable reasons. The night wasn’t a loss though, as exploring the Japanese red-light district is a pretty great adventure unto itself. There is certainly something for everyone there who is willing to pay for it. Seedy backalleys and cheap curry later we all headed home. Expect more about Tokyo soon!