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Koenji in Tokyo's Suginami ward is one of Tokyo's most youthful districts, so it makes sense that one of Tokyo's most energetic traditional-style dance festivals, the Tokyo Koenji Awa-Odori, happens here every year.

Dancing at the 60th Koenji Awa-Odori Parade, Suginami-ku, Tokyo.The Tokyo Koenji Awa-Odori took place here yesterday on the streets of Koenji for the 60th time this year. This two-day event of costumes, music, rhythm and dancing happened on Saturday August 27 and Sunday August 28, from 5 pm to 8 pm - the evening hours being the cooler hours in Tokyo's mid-summer.

Tightening a team member's obi belt,60th Koenji Awa-Odori Dance Parade, Tokyo, 2016.
We were there to see the 60th Tokyo Koenji Awa-Odori 2016 on Sunday afternoon. The blurb says the crowd each year tops a million, and the packed streets of Koenji made that easy to believe.
A last minute hand at the 60th Koenji Awa-Odori Parade, Suginami-ku, Tokyo.
Thirty groups took part in this year's Tokyo Koenji Awa-Odori, each with its own yukata robes, colors, music, rhythms, and moves. Some have only about 35 members, others well over 100, many date from the early 1970s, others formed much more recently.

Typical Awa-Odori attire at the 60th Koenji Awa-Odori Parade, Suginami-ku, Tokyo.
The dancing may differ in the details between groups, but the Awa-Odori is a dance from the island of Shikoku - specifically Tokushima (formerly known as the province of Awa). This dance became the trademark of ...