Hokkaido · Hokkaido · Sapporo

Yosakoi Soran Festival

YOSAKOIソーラン祭り

Kōchi’s dance grafted onto a Hokkaidō fishing song in 1992 — young, as Japanese festivals go.

9–13 June 2027

225 days away

Every year, the 2nd Sunday of June, minus 4 days, for 5 days

Future dates: 9 June 2027 · 7 June 2028 · 6 June 2029

Origin

The first edition, in 1992, had ten teams, a thousand dancers and two hundred thousand spectators. The official account describes it as a mix of two things: the *naruko* clappers of Kōchi’s Yosakoi festival, and *Sōran Bushi*, a work song from Hokkaidō’s herring fishery. It does not descend from an older rite: it **takes another region’s festival form and sets the local song on top of it**, which is an unusual way for a festival to begin. Today around 270 teams and 27,000 dancers take part, before some two million spectators.

What to look for

There are only two rules: dancers must hold *naruko* clappers, and the music must contain a phrase of *Sōran Bushi*. Everything else is open, so some 270 readings of the same festival stand side by side. Ōdōri Park carries a parade stretch of about 500 metres; a team can be up to 150 people. Around twenty-five sites are spread across the city, and the smaller ones let you watch from close up.

How to watch

Keep the walkways clear, and avoid moving during a performance at the judged sites. Beyond watching, there is a route in: open teams accept outside participants.

If you go

**The final judging, where the grand prize is decided, falls on the closing Sunday.** The Saturday before it carries performances all day across the city, so a weekend covers the main events. **And there is a way in beyond watching.** Alongside full team entry there is a “trial team” route, where online rehearsals alone are enough to join a performance, and existing teams advertise for dancers on a notice board. But **entries close about half a year before the festival**, so deciding once you are there is too late. The twenty-five or so sites are scattered across the city, so choose where to watch on the assumption that you will use the subway. Early June in Sapporo is cold morning and night but comfortable to walk by day.

Where

Ōdōri Park and other sites

Sapporo, Hokkaido

Open in maps

Sources

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