Minami Koshigaya Awa Odori in Saitama

Minami-Koshigaya Awa Odori is one of Japan’s top three Awa Odori festivals—alongside those in Tokushima and Koenji—held annually in the streets around Minami-Koshigaya and Shin-Koshigaya Station. The festival dazzles with about 6,000 dancers from local troupes and famed groups, colorful formations, and pulsating chants of “Yattosa! Yattosho!” It’s a thrilling mix of nagashi-odori (parade dance), stage performances, and ensemble routines, all set amid the buzz of summer nights.