The Bon Odori festival at the hip Shimokitazawa returns this summer on August 9 and 10. On both days, you can dance to the neighbourhood's original Bon Odori song 'Shimokita Ondo'. There's an official practice video up on YouTube, so make sure to learn the steps before heading over.
At the far end of Shimokitazawa Station's east exit square, you’ll find over two dozen stalls offering crowd-pleasing street food like taco rice, karaage fried chicken, hamburgers, yakisoba noodles and crepes. The stalls open at 1pm, but the Bon Odori festivities run from 4pm to 8pm. In the meantime, head to the yagura turret stage area for live stage performances and a free samba show from 2pm on both days.