Blog - Kōenji Awa-odori 2005
Kōenji Awa-odori 2005
Last weekend was Awa-odori, large dance festival held every year in Kōenji, a short walk from home. This time we got there pretty late, around 20:30 or 21:00 maybe, so we could only catch a little bit of action. So despite Roy's FAQ, we went very randomly, actually along our usual route from Shin-Kōenji to Kōenji station.
We were lucky though, because we got to see Edokko-ren, Roy's #1 recommendation! I was also happy to see a yūbinkyoku-ren, since I'm a bit of a postal service otaku. :)
Unfortunately no sign of Microsoft-ren, which I believe did their thing before we got there, or elsewhere.
Larger images (1024x~768): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The festivities ended around 21:30, and not yet having eaten dinner properly yet, we headed for Chopsticks, a tiny Vietnamese restaurant north of the station, where I had my best pho ever! (Boris, you want to check out that place!)
Posted on August 29, 2005 at 22:38 | Tweet
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whats a edokko-ren?? Looks like a nice festival :)
Posted by Papigiulio on August 30, 2005 at 05:45
連 (-ren) means group, all dance group names end by ren. 江戸っ子 (Edokko) is the name of the group.
Posted by Patrick on August 30, 2005 at 07:47
ah ok thnx for the explanation :)
Posted by Papigiulio on August 30, 2005 at 22:05
I believe Microsoft-ren only appeared on Saturday. Did you go on Sunday? If so good thing you did. Saturday was just crazy..
Posted by Roy on August 30, 2005 at 23:13
I'm not the only one that thinks Edokko-ren are the best. After their performance on the main rotary, a whole bunch of people left. I guess they were there just to watch them.
Posted by Roy on August 30, 2005 at 23:15
Yeah we did go on Saturday, forgot to mention that. It was very crowded indeed! Sunday the weather wasn't as good so that surely didn't help.
We caught Edokko-ren about midway between Ōmekaidō and Kōenji station, they were great! The first few moments seemed ordinary, but I soon got what the hype was about! Thanks for the tip!
Posted by Patrick on August 30, 2005 at 23:33
Yes, Edokko-ren does various formations that are really neat to watch. Although there are fewer drums than other groups they really know how to bring out a clear and recognizable sound.
Also, when dancing the women make sure not to turn their heads to look at what the others are doing, therefore all the straw hats move together at the exact same angles in line with each other, like synchronized swimming. You can tell they practice.
Posted by Roy on August 31, 2005 at 14:33