The annual Otsuka Awa Odori festival has been running since 1972, bringing together more than 1,000 dancers every year. The pre-event festivities will take place at the station-front plaza on August 28, featuring a ceremony followed by mini Awa Odori performances.
The main festival however, falls on Saturday August 29 from 4pm, with around a dozen groups of dancers parading along Minamiotsuka-dori street in front of JR Otsuka Station’s East exit. This year, the festival is celebrating its 52nd year with a line-up of venerable local Awa-Odori dance troupes, including Shinsuiren and the Toriren Awa Odori Club from Ikebukuro's Toshimagaoka Joshigakuen High School, which is one of only four such high school clubs in all of Japan.