CONTRIBUTED BY MARY RICHARDSON
Last July when we arrived on island, we were surprised by all the hanabi (fireworks) and matsuri (festivals) going on. It seemed like they continued nonstop for weeks!
Indeed, July and August mark the official festival season in Okinawa. The festivals are great opportunities to be introduced to island culture, catch some local color, eat yummy carnival food, and best of all, mingle with our Okinawan neighbors.
We were brand-new to the island last year and had no clue about what they were or how to get to them, but we managed to attend a couple. We promised ourselves to check them all out this year.
Lucky me…they let me bang the gong at last year’s Kokusai Street Parade!
This year, I compiled a schedule of upcoming events in July to share with you. Some of them have links with more information. Enjoy!
July 11 & 12, 2009
Eisa Dance Festival, traditional dance and taiko drums, Koza Music Town, Okinawa City, 2030, free, directions: Take 58 South towards Naha, pass Foster commissary gate on the left, the next access road on the left is 330. Take the 330 north past Awase golf course towards Kadena. You'll see Koza music town on left.
July 18, 2009
Expo Summer Festival, Music and Fireworks, Emerald Beach, 1200-2100, free admission. 10,000 fireworks will be set off. We’re not missing this one! 
Directions: Take expressway to Kyoda IC, then take the 58, then the 449, then 114 to park. You'll see signs all along the way for the Ocean Expo Park
July 17-19, 2009
Tedako Festival, Food, Games, Traditional Music, Fireworks, Urasoe City Sports Field, 1100-2100, free, 
Directions: I've never been here, so someone else might have a better way. Take 330 south towards Naha, Urasoe Field is on the right side before the 158 intersection. I'm fairly sure you'll see a sign for it on the road, but could be wrong about that.
July 25 & 26, 2009
Seaport Chatan Carnival, Boat races, Eisa Dancers, Firworks, Sunset Beach, 1100-2100, free 
Directions: Sunset Beach is in front of the Beach Tower Hotel in American Village. Take 58 north and turn left when you see the big ferris wheel. On the other side of the Jusco, you'll find sunset beach
July 31 - Aug 2, 2009
10,000 People Eisa Dance parade, Naha City, Kokusai Street, 1200--, free 
Directions: Take 58 south towards Naha, At the Kumoji intersection, turn left. There will be a Hot Spar store on the left corner, go two blocks under the monorail, Ryubo store is on the right, Kokusai street is on the left.
Hope to see you all at one of these events! Don’t forget to charge your camera battery!
Thank you so much for taking the time to put this list together. I have family in town and they are going to love all of these!
I was just telling my husband over coffee this morning that we needed to figure out all the different festivals going on this summer so that we could start planning our weekends. Then I opened up Okinawahai and what do I see?? Thanks so much Mary!!
This is a great post. We attended the Kokusai St. Eisa festival and loved it even despite the downpours of rain~you could still see the heart and soul of everyone that was involved in this tradition. Also, is there a way Mary to post links to directions to these festivals..particularly the first 3 or 4 that you have listed. Any good parking tips/costs, etc.. from people would also be greatly appreciated.
Koza Music Town, Okinawa City…does anyone know how to get here? I have only been in Okinawa for a month. Thanks.
Mary – Thanks so much. This is exactly the information I’ve been wanting.
I’m pretty sure Koza Music Town is right out of gate 2 of Kadena at the intersection of 330.
Janet and Page,
I revised the post to include driving directions to each festival. Hope this helps!
Also, last year we took an organized tour to the Kokusai festival because we were worried about parking options. It was easy to do that, but a little pricey to pay for the tour… this year, I think we’ll just take a chance and look for parking on our own. We don’t mind walking a few blocks, so just be ready for that if you intend to go on your own!
Mary,
Thanks so much for this post! We’re still pretty new to Okinawa and have yet to see a festival. This will be perfect for us to plan our weekends. Also, what time is the eisa festival supposed to take place? I see 2030, but not sure if that was really the time. Seems kinda late to start a festival at 8:30 at night. Thanks again.
Jessica
About the 10,000 Eisa Parade I recommend to park at Naha Main Place or DFS mall in Naha. Parking is free (at least last year). We did that for the Tug of war and it worked. From DFS mall is just a 5 minutes walk to Kokusai St. Or if you never tried the monorail this is a good option. From DFS mall (Omoromachi Station) to Kokusai Street (Makishi Station) just two stops away, the ticket is pretty cheap, around Y200. And if you park at DFS mall is a good time to check out the mall and the interesting food court
Jessica,
We haven’t been to this one before, but I think the Eisa dance festival this weekend might be more like a dance performance…Japan update has it listed as starting at 8:30 pm on both nights.
Thank you Mary for all your time with this post w/ directions and extra information!
Mary–I can’t seem to find info on today’s Eisa dance festival at Koza Music Town on Japan Update. Do you have a link for it? Thanks.
CN,
It’s in the events schedule for Jul 11 and 12 under Eisa Night. The link:
http://www.japanupdate.com/?p=topic&topic=even
I’ve looked for more info, but unfortunately, that seems to be the most I can find!
Hope this helps!
Thank you! We went tonight and it was wonderful, might check it again tomorrow night.
Thanks, Mary! We went to the Eisa Festival tonight and loved it (after eating dinner at Charlie’s Tacos…loved that, too). I never get tired of those drums. We look forward to checking some of these others out as well!
if you click on the Tedako Festival link on this page, be sure to scroll down on the yellow page it opens up. There is a little pink area under “Inquiry” that has a link on it to the Urasoe City english website (written by a native english speaker, no less) with all kinds of great information on living in Urasoe and Okinawa in general. Going through those sites you can also find a more detailed schedule of what is happening at the Tedako Festival (this weekend, no less).
JULY 2010 HOLIDAY
This weekend July 17 -19, 2010 is a popular holiday weekend all over Japan, marking the start of the summer season, though for those living in Okinawa, we know and feel daily that summer actually started several weeks ago!
Monday is Ocean Day (海の日 Umi no hi, pronounced oo-me-no-he) which was first celebrated as a Japanese national holiday in 1996 (originally set on July 20, the holiday was changed to the third Monday of July starting in 2003). Prior to 1996, it was known as Marine Memorial Day but was not a national holiday.
On July 20, 1876, Emperor Meiji returned to Yokohama Port on his ship after an Imperial inspection tour of the Hokkaido and northeastern regions of Japan. Thus, this date has been designated for celebrating and expressing gratitude for the blessings of the ocean and seas surrounding Japan and to hope and pray for the economic prosperity of maritime Japan.
The Ocean Day holiday is the main reason why so many festivals and events are scheduled for this weekend. With an influx of holiday tourists from Japan and the weekend forecast of continued hot, sunny weather, the beaches, waterparks and air-conditioned shopping centers will probably be packed.
In addition to this holiday, in Okinawa this year some festivals which are typically held later in July or early August have been moved to this weekend due to the upcoming All-Japan High School Interscholastic Athletic Meet, or commonly called the Inter-High (July 28 to August 20). An estimated 35,000 high school students, teachers, coaches, administrators, officials, spectators and media from all over Japan will descend on Okinawa to participate in a nearly month-long series of various sports events. These will be held island-wide, but concentrated in the Naha City to Central regions, with many sports parks, facilities and stadiums which usually host festivals being used for these sports events.
This is also the first holiday weekend in which the Okinawa Expressway is toll-free, so expect and plan for possible gridlock at the Expressway interchange entrances/exits. There will also most likely be a high number of vehicles travelling the length of the Expressway, and most other major roads.
If you are unable to ‘celebrate’ this Ocean Day holiday weekend with a visit to the beach or a festival (or several for those with the energy and adventure), you will have plenty of opportunities as the Okinawa summer continues for many more weeks with festivals scheduled monthly throughout the year.
The website links to the events in the main article above from 2009 do not work anymore.
Here is brief updated information and links (some in English) for the festivals planned for this weekend.
KOZA MUSIC TOWN:
There are various entertainment events each week at this venue, including Eisa performances.
OCEAN EXPO PARK SUMMER FESTIVAL: SATURDAY JULY 17
This festival has the biggest fireworks show in Okinawa. There are many events planned all day at the Ocean Expo Park, with the fireworks being the main event presented in two parts starting at 8:00pm. However, the traffic and crowds of people may be overwhelming for some, and in previous years I have heard that it can take a very long time ( for some people 4 hours) driving back from the event.
http://oki-churaumi.jp/info/ennews/archives/1370?p=1370?wptheme=news (English)
TADAKO FESTIVAL in URASOE CITY
http://www.tedako-festa.jp/index.html
http://www.city.urasoe.lg.jp/images/library/File/siminbu/seikatu/maturi/33program.pdf
(the second link has events listed in English)
This festival is a big one with many booths, displays, games, and performances. I have not been to this festival in several years but it was a good one in the past, with an amazing number of children everywhere. It is similar to the Yomitan Festival in November, except that parking can be a problem at the Urasoe City sports park and it is much hotter now.
CHATAN SEAPORT FESTIVAL at SUNSET BEACH MIHAMA
Fireworks are scheduled to start 8:45pm Saturday and Sunday nights.
The links for the festival are in Japanese only and provide very little information.
The 10,000 PEOPLE EISA DANCE PARADE on Kokusai Street in Naha City is scheduled for Sunday August 1, 2010, starting at 1:00pm. In addition, there are related Eisa performances at Palette Kumoji (the area in front of the Ryubo Department store) on Saturday July 31 at 5:00pm and Sunday August 1 at 7:00pm.
http://www.kokusaidori.org/
There are also several other events for this weekend.
HIJA RIVER FESTIVAL in KADENA TOWN
http://www.town.kadena.okinawa.jp/event/eve774.html
The highlight event is a raft race on Sunday July 18 starting at 10am (?). Most of the events are at or close to the multi-cultural center, which is just before the bridge on Route 58 that crosses the river (just after the Kadena Circle)
It is also a good chance to check out the nearby Yara Castle Ruins Park which were recently in an Okinawa Hai! article:
http://www.okinawahai.com/2010/06/yara-castle-ruins-1.html
MCCS CAMP HANSEN FESTIVAL
http://www.mccsokinawa.com/index.asp?feature=926
Each of the Marine Corps Camps on Okinawa has their own annual festival, which are all organized by MCCS. I am not sure why they scheduled this on the same weekend as so many other festivals. With no AmericaFest this year on Kadena Air Base, there may be many Okinawans who will attend.
ECO CARNIVAL at the Okinawa Convention Center in Ginowan City.
http://www.okinawaecocarnival.com/
I think this is the first year for this event, and it appears that the best day to attend is Sunday, in the afternoon.
There are descriptions of the festivals and events listed above currently at: http://www.japanupdate.com/
This Japan Update website is, ironically, updated weekly late on Wednesdays or Thursdays, but all previous posted information can be found by using the Search box or the Archives features, both on the left-side column of the site.
Also, you should be aware that the Japan Update website has had troubles lately and does not load properly all the time. If you get an error message or the page looks odd, try to reload it or wait a few minutes and try again. Even when you are on the main page, clicking on articles will sometimes result in a delayed new page opening or non-upload.
Thanks so much for the info Marc. I had been looking around online for info for this year’s Tedako Festival – I knew it was coming up soon (tomorrow apparently!) but hadn’t been able to find anything specific on it.
Thank you so much Marc!