Last Monday, after a great weekend around Mt. Fuji and Yamanashi, we stayed in Shizuoka city and went to the biggest, most spectacular festival of the year there. It was a bit of a let down though..... I used to live in Sendai in Miyagi and the Jazz Festival weekend was amazing. So many acts from all over Japan came and performed great jazz, funk, rock, pop etc. all over Sendai. Its one of the best weekends to see music in Japan and its free.
The equivalent in Shizuoka is the Daidogei, where clowns, jugglers and acrobats entertain audiences with their 1940s acts and try to still be relevant.
Its a huge festival, with loads of food stalls and drink stands in the big park in the center of town, and it attracts a lot of people, mainly because there are no other festivals in Shizuoka worth mentioning.
It was nice wandering around town and relaxing after the busy weekend that we had had, but the highlight of the day wasn't the festival, but going bowling in the little game center near the festival.
If your a fan of clowns and various other circus acts, you'll love this festival. Its all free too. For me though, it was a bit of a let down, nothing special, but drinking to excess and wandering around town is the norm on festival days in Japan and that, and the bowling were the highlights for me.
Here are some pictures of the festival for you to have a general idea of the types of things they have here...
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