Here is a brief FAQ about the Koenji Awa-Odori I put together for anyone interesting in going to the show this year. It’s very short and probably not too useful but I’ve been a bit too busy recently to put together a well researched one with pictures and maps. If you have never been to the Awa-Odori festival in Koenji, I urge you to take the time and visit it this year. Guarantee you will not regret it. There are many pictures in the photo gallery and more detailed information at the Official Koenji Awa-Odori website.

What is Awa-Odori?

Awa-Odori is a dance festival which originated near Tokushima, Shikoku. Many groups or “ren” （連、e.g. edokko-ren, tengu-ren）do a variety of dances to a distinctive Awa-Odori rhythm played with traditional Japanese drums, bamboo flutes, gongs etc. There are three basic types of Awa-Odori (Sorry I forgot the official names) which most groups fall into. They all appear similar but if you watch enough you can see the various flavors and the personalities of each group. The more “professional” groups tend to stick very closely to the dance conventions while other groups just seem like they are there to have fun. Traditionally the dance styles are categorized into two types, Otoko-Odori (men’s dance) and Onna-Odori (women’s dance). Women dress in special style kimono and wear a straw hat or “kasa” and dance on the tip of their toes wearing “geta”, while men dress in a happi coat and tabi. You will see women and girls doing the otoko-odori but you won’t see the opposite obviously. If you’ve ever seen a samba festival, it’s like that except a wafu version. The largest festival is in Tokushima which lasts a whole week and the entire city basically shuts down for it. The second largest one takes place in Koenji, Tokyo which lasts 3 days.

I went to the Tokushima Awa-Odori a few years back. There were many great groups there but felt that the Tokushima festival was a bit too commercialized. They have special stands to watch the “parade” and you have to pay for a seat. It felt more like I was watching a show. 4 hours sitting on a bench in the August heat ain’t much fun. I only stayed for the one show but perhaps if I saw the street performances I would have liked it better. The Koenji Awa-Odori takes place on the street and in the shopping arcade in Koenji and feels to me more like a street festival.

When is Awa-Odori?

The Tokushima Awa-Odori takes place during the Obon while the Koenji Awa-Odori takes place on August 26,27,28 every year regardless of what days it falls on. August 26 is the pre-festival, which starts at 6pm and ends at 8pm. There’s a stage set up in the south rotary of Koenji Station and the main groups take turns to do stage dance shows. At the same time in the Pal Shopping arcade, some of the groups give impromptu performances. The stage shows are worth watching because the stage performances are different from the street ones and you can see some interesting dance formations. However, unless you go really early and get a spot near the stage you won’t be able to see much. On the 26th, I recommend going to the shopping arcade to watch the groups doing their trial runs. On the 27th and 28th, the festival starts exactly at 6:30pm and ends at exactly 9:30pm. Traffic is resumed at 10pm. On the 27th, there is a police motorcycle show. About 50 or so police officers in customized Harleys with side-cars ride the entire route. This begins around 6pm. Traffic is officially closed off just before that. If you want to get a prime viewing position you should go very early, around 3-4pm and get a spot near the curb. They don’t let you actually set down your sheet until around 6pm. It becomes this tense free for all while everyone waits for the officials to announce when you can sit down on the street.

What’s the festival route?

The route covers about 3-4 kilometres in a figure eight shape, there are several starting points and different groups start at different places and go around the figure eight route. Years ago, a group could do the entire course in less then 3 hours but now they can only finish 3/4 of the course because of the increase in the number of groups. The course covers part of the shopping area north of the station, down through the Pal shopping arcade (the covered part) south of the station, then moves over the southern half of Koenji-ekimae-dori and goes south until it hits Omekaido. From there they go west along Omekaido until the beginning of the Pal shopping arcade, and then it heads north back up half way and turns east back to the Koenji-ekimae-dori where the groups head north back to the station. The cross under the station and head north and around to complete the figure eight. Confusing? Yeah, I know. I’ll try to make a map.

What is the best place to watch it?

To get the best experience, I suggest you move around and watch the festival from various spots. Several VIP stands are set up along the route and groups tend to do full performances at these spots. The main one is set up in the rotary north of the station in front of Mister Donut. This is the best place to watch the start of the show. On the 27th, Edokko-ren （江戸っ子連）which is the best group starts here so if you get to Koenji before it starts, try to get a good spot in this area to watch the opening. Right after they close off the street, if you are quick enough you can get a good viewing spot just to the left of the police box. On the 28th, Edokko-ren appear in the 7th or 8th position here after the start. The starting positions of the groups are different on the 27th and 28th but they are generally the same every year. At the police box, you can get a pamphlet which shows where all the groups’ starting positions are.

After spending about 30 minutes at the rotary, it’s a good idea to head to the southern part of the station. The main road is filled with dancers and looking down the road you can see all the big lanterns for all the groups. It’s quite a sight. There are tons of people and it may be very difficult for you to find a spot but the crowd is usually very fluid so it doesn’t take long for you to nudge your way to the front. I recommend walking around the entire route and really experiencing all the different aspect.

Some parts in the shopping arcade can get really lively and exciting because everyone is crammed into the tight space and there are usually many drunken teenagers around to livening up the atmosphere. The only problem is getting through the area because of all the people, but definitely check out that part of the routes. The areas just before the resting points are the most fun.

Which groups are the best?

The three best groups are

Edokko-ren （江戸っ子連）
Iroha-ren　（いろは連）
Asuka-ren　（飛鳥連）

A list of 33 participating groups and links to their websites are here. This year there will be 60 groups in total.

Can I join in the fun?

There used to be a group called Bikkuri-ren （びっくり連）which you could join in anytime. Lots of people dressup in whatever they want to dance it this group. Personally, I found them an eye-sore but they look like they are having fun. Last year, Bikkuri-ren stopped the “tobiiri-sanka”（飛び入り参加）or “jumping in and joining” but I believe Niwaka-ren （にわか連） is allowing that only at certain locations. More details at the Official Koenji Awa-Odori website.

What if it rains?

They won’t cancel if the rain is fairly light. Sometimes, when it rains the festival dancers get really into it and since many people end up leaving, you can get a good view.