Sapporo YOSAKOI Soran Festival (Early Summer Spectacle of 30,000 Naruko Dancers)

Schedule: Pertengahan Juni (Rabu - Minggu Pekan Kedua Juni, 5 Hari) | Location: Hokkaido (北海道)

Founded in 1992 by a visionary Hokkaido University student inspired by Kochi’s Yosakoi Festival in Shikoku, the **Sapporo YOSAKOI Soran Festival** has blossomed into Hokkaido’s premier early-summer celebration, drawing two million spectators every June. The festival brilliantly fuses two regional traditions from opposite ends of Japan: the energetic wooden *Naruko* clappers of Kochi and the rhythmic, sea-tossed folk chant of Hokkaido’s historic herring fishermen, **"Soran Bushi"** (*"Yaren Soran! Soran! Soran!"*). Across five electrifying days, roughly 280 teams comprising nearly 30,000 dancers from across Japan and overseas take over 20 open-air venues throughout central Sapporo, anchored by the 1.5-kilometer twin parade avenues of Odori Park. Teams are bound by only two core rules: dancers must hold and strike *Naruko* clappers in their hands, and their original musical scores—ranging from thunderous taiko rock and electronic dance to symphonic folk—must weave in phrases of the traditional *Soran Bushi* melody. Spectators are dazzled by split-second mid-dance costume changes (*haya-gawari*), giant waving team banners (*furafuri*), and booming sound trucks (*Jikatasha*) leading synchronized formations down the boulevards. The festival culminates on Sunday evening at the Odori Park Main Stage with the high-stakes *Final Stage* championship to crown the *YOSAKOI Soran Grand Prix* winner, alongside interactive *Wa-Odori* circles where visitors are invited to grab clappers and dance alongside the performers.