Semi-naked women dancing in the street – Welcome Asakusa Samba Festival, Tokyo
The Asakusa Samba Festival is one of Japan’s more unusual summer festivals. Scantily clad women dancing in the streets is not something you expect to see in normally conservative Japan, but needless to say it is welcomed by the male senior citizen contingent of Tokyo who turn up in large numbers with cameras and generally make up the front row of spectators.
As I walked along the route looking at some of these old guys I kind of hoped that the girls in the costumes didn’t samba too well. Not because I didn’t want a good show, but because I wasn’t sure if the hearts of these old guys would hold out under the strain. It seemed to me that suggestive hip gyration in near non-existent costumes combined with zoom lenses, hot weather and old age did not seem to be a good mix for a weak heart.
The festival starts at about 1.30pm in the blistering summer heat, with very little shade for spectators. As a result it can become somewhat of an endurance test if you are not prepared properly. As well as that, you have to get there early if you want to secure a good spot. I arrived about 12.15pm to find people already lining the street (mainly the aforementioned male senior citizens). I eventually managed to find a good location to watch from, but not before I was barked at by old guys in different locations along the route because they thought I was trying to steal their space.
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The parade began with music and the first couple of groups came marching down the street. These generally consisted of groups dancing around in co-ordinated T-shirts behind a singer, which didn’t really stir the crowd. The girls in samba costumes started appearing shortly afterwards, and as soon as they did all the old boys and their cameras suddenly came to life. The parade lasts about 4 hours, although I didn’t stay for all of it. Although there were no heart attacks, I did see a couple of cases of heat exhaustion/dehydration, and a nice old bloke who was sitting next me got pretty bad sunburn on his arm. For me it was just too hot, so after getting a few shots I slinked off to find a cold beer and air conditioning, much to the delight of the people behind me who could then move to the front.
My overall impression was although the samba festival is good it doesn’t really compare with some of the other big festivals in Tokyo such as the Awa Odori in Koenji or the Harajuku Omotesando Super Yosakoi (see my next blog entry for images from this), both of which happen on the same weekend. The Samba Festival is a bit of a one trick pony based around the girls in samba costumes, with other dancers secondary and the costumes, in some cases, not being very good. Even some of the samba dancers were perhaps a little too overweight or too old to be wearing as little as they were (believe me, women in samba costumes with beer bellies is not a good combo – at times I had to look around for hidden cameras thinking that it was some kind of bizarre reality show). For me, all of this took the shine off the festival. If you are visiting Tokyo and can only go to one festival, I would recommend either of the others over this one. That’s not to say that this is bad, it’s just in my humble opinion the others are better.
Photographically, if you decide to come and shoot the event you’ll want fast, preferably prime, lenses because you’ll need to use wide apertures to blur out the crowd. If you are lucky enough to get close then shooting with a wide angle lens works well, but remember you need to get there early or you’ll have to contend with the old guys when you try to get a spot. Bring a hat, plenty of water and a small towel to cover your camera bag too – as most camera bags are black they tend to absorb the sunshine and all your equipment gets hot.
