Yosakoi

This past weekend was the Yosakoi Soran festival in downtown Sapporo. This event, like so many others, was held in Odori park and attracted thick crowds to the center of the city. Yosakoi is a team dance competition held annually in Sapporo. It is loosely based on traditional Japanese dancing and dancers must incorporate a clapper and some version of the traditional fishing song "Soran". To read more about the event, check out their official website here. I say it is loosely based on traditional dance because it is much more upbeat than traditional dance with dancers moving quickly and to music that is faster and uses modern music mixed with traditional music.

It was really entertaining to watch. The costumes were elaborate and most teams had multiple costumes that were switched in mid-act with a quick flick of velcro. The colours were vivid and the choreography made the stage look as if the dancers became a kaeidescope of hues. Some teams had singers, some had drummers, one team even had about 25 traditional guitarists. They all seemed to incorporate a flag or two - some of which were massive works of art that must take incredible core strength to wave around. A few teams used Japanese umbrellas to create all kinds of dizzying effects.

It is a contest and the teams were judged on their performance. We weren't sure how the scoring worked, and it often didn't seem to make much sense to us. We had tickets for the semi-finals on Sunday and had bought our tickets early because the semi-finals and finals sell out early. Seating was limited so we were glad to have tickets, otherwise you were stuck watching the performances on one of the many massive screens that were posted around the park.

Here are a couple photos of the event. I will work on posting a video as it gives a much better idea of the show.



Throughout the park there were "Paradise" stands. Tents that had been set up by a cigarette company to attract smokers to come and sample some of their new products in the company of beautiful young girls dressed in outfits that made them look like something Captain James T Kirk would have shagged. Only in Japan....