Yosakoi Soran Festival in Sapporo

Sapporo’s Yosakoi Soran Festival proved to be a conundrum at first. Yosakoi, meaning “Come at night,” is celebrated throughout the country and it’s hard to imagine another city matching the passion displayed by those in Sapporo. JapanTravel is about granular content, so how could a broad description of this energetic experience suffice? It seems antithetical. Then, in an instant, it hits me. Standing along the streets lining Odori Park in the center of the city, any semblance of cynicism is obliterated by the sheer joyfulness exuded by the dancers as they feverishly move in unison to a modern version of the Awa Odori, a traditional summer dance. It’s in that moment where, for a split second, my eyes lock with one of the festival’s participants and we smile warmly at one another and then, the moment is gone. And what’s more granular than that?