Otsuka
Otsuka
Station is
a railway station on the JR East
Yamanote Line in the Otsuka area
of Toshima Ward of Tokyo. Underneath
Otsuka Station is Otsuka
Ekimae Station , which
is the stop for Toden Arakawa Line.
Otsuka
,
in Toshima Ward, is mainly known
for its Awa Dance Festival
, the second largest Awa
Odori dance festival in Tokyo after
the one in Koenji. It is held every
year between the 12 th and the 15
th of August and attracts over 1.5
million spectators. The Festival
is characterized by frenzied dances
performed to the sounds and rhythm
of gongs and drums by large groups
of people. As the day proceeds and
turns into night, the frenzy and
fervor increases with more people
coming out onto the paper-lantern-lit
and decorated streets of Otsuka
to dance. Competitions of dance
performances are held in front of
Otsuka Station. Thousands of dancers
dressed in colorful and fancy clothes
compete for prizes.
