Kochi's famous Yosakoi Festival has gone online this year with a special free streaming event available until Thursday July 22. The vibrant street dance festival originated in Kochi prefecture nearly 70 years ago as a way to lift people's spirits after World War II.
The festival sees a parade of dance groups dressed up in colourful costumes performing their way through the streets in sync with upbeat music. In fact, yosakoi has become so popular that over 200 areas in Japan now have their respective teams. Pre-pandemic, there were even international dance teams from other countries participating in the festivals in Japan.
The live online event took place on July 4 and is now available to watch until July 22. The show features performances from some of the top dance teams across Japan, as well as broadcasts from Kochi, Hokkaido and Nagasaki. There are also some international yosakoi teams who participated in the show.
Don’t miss the finale, which includes a special dance-along session where you can join in from home. The climax sees six teams performing from Tokyo along with three other teams in Japan and yosakoi fans from across the globe.
Both Japanese and English commentary are available for the event and you can watch it for free on YouTube. For the full programme, visit the website.