Yellow Magic Orchestra's Yukihiro Takahashi started this family-friendly jamboree with art director Mitsuo Shindo in 2008, and it remains the only major summer music fest that takes place within Tokyo proper. World Happiness is held on a verdant bit of landfill near Shin-Kiba Station, where a diverse lineup of Japanese acts perform relay-style on a pair of stages. This year's runs the gamut from J-pop (Ko Shibasaki) to indie rock (Shugo Tokumaru), hip hop (Scha Dara Parr) to avant-weirdness (Hikashu). Unusually, YMO won't be appearing themselves, though we suspect that some of the group's members are involved in the mysteriously monikered The Osomatsu-kuns band, making their live debut here. Note that the crowd is divided into pre-reserved blocks, so it's worth getting your ticket early if you don't want to end up stuck right at the back of the crowd.
Great3, Hikashu, Kirinji, MidnightSuns, Ohashi Trio, Tamio Okuda, Taeko Onuki, The Osomatsu-kuns, Rekishi, Scha Dara Parr, Ko Shibasaki, Michiko Shimizu, Keiichi Suzuki, Yukihiro Takahashi, Towa Tei, Shugo Tokumaru, Akiko Yano
