The month of August in Tokyo is a great time to visit if for nothing else than all of the fantastic festivals going on all over the city (matsuri or まつり or 祭り means “festival”). The other day I mentioned all of the fireworks, but there is so much more to be seen. My absolute favourite of the bunch is the Awa-odori festival in Shin Nakano in early August. I missed it last year and almost missed it again this year because it is almost never advertised anywhere but around the neighbourhood.

Essentially, it is like a mini version of the massive Awaodori in Koenji held at the end of the month. Unfortunately, I can’t make it to the Koenji version this year, but am so glad I caught the mini version in my old neighbourhood!

Photos don’t really do it justice, so I actually made a mini movie of it a couple of years ago. This is a shorter (seemingly blurrier LOL) version of that movie (which I think I posted on this blog at the time):

If you happen to be in the Tokyo area at the end of August, you should definitely head to Koenji and experience the sights and sounds (and, of course, the heaving masses of people).