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What is "Tokyo Koenji Awaodori?"

Tokyo Koenji Awaodori Dance Festival is held annually on the last Saturday and Sunday of August. About 188 groups(ren), 12,000 dancers perform Awa dance to lively music and parade through the nine routes set up along the shotengai(shopping promenades), located on both north and south side of JR Koenji Station, and Konan Street of the south. Koenji Awaodori is the second largest of all the Awaodori festivals held throughout Japan, following the one in Tokushima. It also highlights the summer of Tokyo as one of the three largest summer festivals of the area, together with Sumida River Fireworks Festival and Asakusa Samba Carnival.

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Features of Tokyo Koenji Awaodori Festival

The number of visitors to Kanto Awaodori Festival
The number of visitors to major festivals of Tokyo
- Tokyo Yosakoi Festival (Toshima Ward)
  500-600 thousand (Total of Oct. 3, 2004 / According to the official site)
- Asakusa Sanja Festival (Taito Ward)
  200 million (Total of May 13-16, 2004 / According to the official site of Taito Ward)
- Sumida River Fireworks Festival (Taito Ward)
  900 thousand (Total of July 30, 2004 / According to the official site of Taito Ward)
- Asakusa Samba Carnival (Taito Ward)
  50 thousand (Total of Aug. 28, 2004 / According to the official site of Taito Ward)
- Super Yosakoi Festival (Shibuya Ward)
  1 million ‘(Total of Aug. 21, 22, 28 & 29 / According to the official site)
Media appearances
Every year as the summer festival season approaches, Tokyo Koenji Awaodori Festival appears in numerous newspapers, magazines and TV programs. Also the memorial booklets, compiled twice by Tokyo Koenji Awaodori Promotion Association(then voluntary organization), and the videos are highly valued among Awaodori fans, as they tell you how Koenji Awaodofi has developed and also serve as useful references.

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Notes for Residents of/Commuters to Koenji Area

Tokyo Koenji Awaodori Festival was first held in 1957 and celebrated the 50th anniversary in 2006. As the festival developed into a huge event, the number of visitors has also grown significantly from the original few thousands into 1.2 million. The town of Koenji gets incredibly crowded with visitors during the festival. For those who live/work in Koenji area, there may be some inconveniences caused by the crowds or the traffic restrictions. Please follow the instructions from the security guards and the police officers during the festival. Thank you for your cooperation.

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