This year, we went down to the local park for our community Bon Odori event.
This family friendly event entails dancing around a raised platform where drummers beat out the tune. Traditionally people don yukata (summer kimono) for the dances but it seems in modern times adults leave this to the children. My guess is it is too hot to get dressed up as even the slow pace of the dance steps works up a good sweat.

It was hard to get a good picture of the dancers in the low-light conditions, ending up a blurry mess, though I spent some time trying. I had my suspicions that some of the more enthusiastic in the crowd maybe followed the dancing around different communities. Judging by their impeccable, exaggerated dancing style they had had a lot of practice.

A really nice touch to the locally organised and run evening is the towel and fan given out to everyone who joins in for a dance. As the only foreigners present we were quickly picked out, presented with towel and fan, and ushered up to dance.  The dance steps are essentially walking around in a circle in repetitive movements but are strangely difficult to remember.

They even have a quaint half-time drinks break where juice, soda and beer are distributed. All of this for free.

The drummers all take their role very seriously but there is something about beating the bejeezuz outta a drum that makes even the stoic Japanese crack a smile in their work.