With its origins in 1987, the Jozenji Street Jazz Festival is an outdoor music event in Sendai. It is run by volunteers every year, and is completely free to watch. The idea behind the festival is to give people a chance to hear different music for free, and an opportunity for musicians to perform to big crowds.
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The main stage, between Jozenji Street
and Kotodai Park. |
The main stage usually lies just off of Jozenji Street, which is a long street lined with zelkova trees, which are well-known in Sendai. During the festival, there are a few different stages in a few different areas. The downtown area is very compact, so it's easy to get around on foot.
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| On Jozenji Street. |
Of course, you can find a lot of fast food and street food stands which are common for any big Japanese festival. You can find stands selling beer and drinks, pulled pork, takoyaki, grilled beef tongue (
gyuu-tan, a speciality for Sendai), pancakes and so much more!
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| A Taiko (drum) performance. |
Although it is called a jazz festival, there are many genres of music and a variety of musicians who play. For example, when I was watching we saw some pop-inspired bands, a shamisen performance, and gospel choirs. A lot of groups from the local prefectures came to play, and there were also a lot of school groups performing.
The festival is held each year around September, and it usually is not cancelled even if it rains! I attended September 8th, 2013.
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