About six weeks ago in one of the subway stations I spotted a poster of a Brazilian carnival but with a non-Brazilian dancers. It turns out that the Asakusa area of Tokyo holds a Samba Festival every year in late August since 1981, and this year, it falls on August 28. I have been looking forward to seeing this festival, but unfortunately on the day of the parade (yesterday) it was grey, gloomy, and drizzly. I ended up not going, but boy, did I miss that event. The parade went on (what would you do with hundreds of feather-clad dancers who had readied themselves since last August for this year's event?) but I could only enjoy them from the pictures provided by somebody else on the web. Here is one of those sites:
http://audiolicious.com/gallery/album14
I learn from the internet that there is a big Japanese Brazilian community in Tokyo, and there is a huge interest in the Samba. Many studios as well as organizations provide dance lessons for its afficionados. In fact, the main attraction of the parade in Asakusa is the Samba parade contest. More information can be found at:
http://web-japan.org/atlas/festivals/fes11.html
