Asagaya’s Tanabata Festival: The Papier-mache Float Parade

14 Aug 2008 Category: Events & Exhibitions, Japan

Asagaya’s Tanabata Festival: The Papier-mache Float Parade

A friendly wave to this popular Dragonball Z character Polunga as it floats by in its papier-mache disguise. Great!

Every August, folks flock to the huge Tanabata festival at Pearl Centre in Asagaya, Tokyo. The 700 metre shopping street that stretches from Asagaya station to Omekaido road, comes alive with a world of papier-mache creatures — floating down its path! From original animal designs to popular anime characters, you’ll encounter all kinds of funny creatures in the air. And in the heat, the thirsty parade onlookers enjoy summer treats such as shaved ice and grilled corn on the cob while watching the parade. PingMag dove into the crowd and waived a friendly “hello” to all our favourite monsters!

Written by Ryoko
Translated by Kevin Mcgue

As soon as we stepped out of the ticket gates at the station, we were totally taken with the festive atmo. Colourful streamers hung from bamboo poles just outside of the station, and an enormous sign made from paper lanterns that read “Asagaya Tanabata Festival” lead us the way. The entire street was lined with vibrant coloured paper lanterns, spreading an apparent happiness to those just arriving.

The exit of Asagaya station with tons of bright decoration.

The sign made from paper lanterns reading “Asagaya Tanabata Festival.”

Streets lined with paper lanterns to create a dramatic atmosphere through the night.

The Asagaya Tanabata festival started in 1954, when Japan was still in a chaotic post-war period. Since the shopkeepers in the area wanted to breathe new life into the area, the idea for a festival was born.

The festive Pearl Centre with florescent-coloured streamers hanging at the entrance.

The first thing you notice when walking into the shopping mall are the tons of decoration and brightly coloured streamers about two meters long hanging above the entrance. Not to mention the many paper balloons, silver tinsel, and star ornaments generously scattered.

A huge banner advertising a Japanese sweets shop.

This silver paper decoration is supposed to represent the Milky Way. Yay!

A sky full of 3D stars.

Paper balloons EVERYWHERE.

Walking further into the shopping mall, we were in awe by the many objects we found hanging overhead. We inquired with a clerk at one of the shops. He told us these complex decorations have been part of the festival since the beginning, and all of them are hand made by the people working in the shops.

We have no clue who this character wearing a basketball uniform is supposed to be, but it is cute for sure!

Mach GoGoGo’s car Mach 5 floats overhead.

Piplup from Pokemon is loved by children around the world and put in an appearance here.

A mother duck (with her ducklings.)

A sweet tadpole character designed by elementary school children.

We found many floats modeled after popular animation characters. Other designs were, for example, Harumi Edo, a comedian who got her big break this year, and e-tax-kun, a character designed to encourage citizens to file their tax returns online — e-tax. And in front of a natural foods store, we found a character meant to arouse environmental awareness.


Comedian Harumi Edo is seen everywhere in Japan these days.

E-tax-kun: A character to encourage the Japanese citizens to file their taxes online. Haha! Even that one looks sweet over here.

Oh, earth wears a sun hat today! A character designed by elementary school students to promote ecological thinking, in front of a natural foods store.

In the shopping street there was a special shop run by famous novelist, Shoichi Nejime. Inevitably, the float in front of his shop depicted the Swan Maiden of Japanese mythology. Since there were so many floats reflecting modern tastes, The Swan Maiden stemming from an old legend really stood out.

A swan maiden from Japanese mythology floated by overhead at the Nejime store.

Another joy of the Tanabata festival were all the food stands in front of the shops. And shops that usually sell eyeglasses or toys set up stands selling cotton candy and shaved ice, creating a fresh, lively feeling.

A little girl waiting for her shaved ice.

A tempting aroma was breezing by from this okonomiyaki stand.

Kids always love fishing out goldfish at summer festivals.

No way! In the middle, we found this self-service cotton candy machine. You put in a coin and make your own cotton candy.

From the many floats hanging overhead, most of them were popular anime characters: We spotted our long-time beloved Doraemon and Totoro. In front of the Doutor coffeshop, we found the cartoon duck Calimero holding an iced coffee and a hot dog. Clever advertisement for the shop, indeed!


Everyone’s beloved Doraemon character…

… and Totoro from a Hayao Miyazaki anime.

Cartoon character Calimero enjoying an iced coffee and hot dog!

Walking further, we saw Anpanman, GeGeGe no Kitaro, and the protagonist of the Finding Nemo movie. That’s not all: In front of Baskin-Robbins, we found Snoopy riding on an ice cream cone! It was fun to see how the kids on the street excitedly pointed at their favourite characters and yelled their names.


Two characters popular with kids: Anpanman and Ms. Tulip.

GeGeGe no Kitaro sporting a soccer uniform.

The title character of “Finding Nemo.”

Snoopy rides by on an ice cream cone! Hello! (No reference to Dr. Strangelove intended…)

A wonderfully patterned yukata…

… and a boy wearing jinbei, traditional Japanese summer clothes, with a nice dragon design.

Finally, we found the title characters of the two biggest kids’ movies this summer, Kungfu Panda and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Ponyo’s face was a bit crooked, which just added to the charm.

Kungfu Panda on the left; who is that on the right?

Ponyo, another sweet character from a Hayao Miyazaki anime.

We very much loved how the Asagaya Tanabata festival livened up the town with the handmade ornaments and all the efforts put forth from the locals.

Sadly we have to tell you that this year’s festival is already finished. But make sure to go next year! Thanks to all of the wonderful shopkeepers and citizens of Asagaya who kindly helped us.

75 Comments

  1. This parade looks so festive! :)

    Funny, really, how in other Asian countries, festivals are centred around cultural practices which have been around for hundreds of years; and here we see a lively festival despite little cultural “worth”.

    I think that’s what makes Japan different from the rest of Asia.

    Posted by: Kym on August 14th, 2008 at 8:16 pm

  2. haha. thought the first character was the dragon from dragon ball Z! both look shockingly similar.

    Posted by: roku on August 14th, 2008 at 9:05 pm

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    This is lukewarm.

    Aomori fer always!

    Posted by: 017 pride! on August 14th, 2008 at 10:20 pm

  4. Ohh…it would be awesome to be there!.

    Posted by: Vale from BA on August 15th, 2008 at 12:09 am

  5. hey that ponyo movie’s new has anyone seen it?

    Posted by: angellesmelle on August 15th, 2008 at 1:09 am

  6. ps that’s not my myspace…for real.

    Posted by: angellesmelle on August 15th, 2008 at 1:11 am

  7. [...] Tanabata means “Evening of the seventh” and is one of the Japanese star festivals. Pingmag was there to capture all of the great floats that filled the streets. They caught everything from [...]

    Posted by: The Tanabata Festival on August 15th, 2008 at 1:36 am

  8. Oh man… the nostalgia. I went to the Tanabata Matsuri down in Hiratsuka a summer ago… it was amazing and hugeeee! I miss it.

    Posted by: Jiayi on August 15th, 2008 at 1:45 am

  9. I think that first picture is a dragon from the Dragonball manga/anime series, which was written & illustrated by the same person who illustrated the Blue Dragon game.

    Posted by: Cat on August 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am

  10. Horrors! No photo of the Hatsune Miku paper mache?!

    Posted by: soloista on August 15th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

  11. Love the Ponyo Papier Mache ! Amazing sights in Asagaya, thanks for the great post ! :]

    Posted by: blauereiter on August 15th, 2008 at 3:53 pm

  12. ahhh… i love all of them!!!!

    Posted by: ii on August 15th, 2008 at 4:54 pm

  13. Wow! That’s incredible! What a nice atmosphere!
    The big figures are so well made!

    Posted by: Rafael Masoni on August 17th, 2008 at 12:25 am

  14. my goodness that festival looks really good fun! we have a festival where i live called the Thundersprint (its a bike festival) but it no where near as lively and colourful as this one! ace! xx

    Posted by: spira on August 20th, 2008 at 2:17 am

  15. Last year there was a lot of coverage in Japan about a state-run theme park in China that is a complete rip off of Disneyland, with all the major characters being copied. I remember one new presenter who was absolutely indignant, saying China needs to get with the program on intellectual property. What about Japan? Were any of these copyrighted characters officially licensed? Probably not.

    Posted by: noone on August 28th, 2008 at 6:32 pm

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  18. [...] Every August, folks flock to the huge Tanabata festival at Pearl Centre in Asagaya, Tokyo. The 700 metre shopping street that stretches from Asagaya station to Omekaido road, comes alive with a world of papier-mache creatures — floating down its path! From original animal designs to popular anime characters, you’ll encounter all kinds of funny creatures in the air. And in the heat, the thirsty parade onlookers enjoy summer treats such as shaved ice and grilled corn on the cob while watching the parade. Read the full story>> [...]

    Posted by: Kevin Mcgue - Tokyo-Based Journalist & Filmmaker » Asagaya’s Tanabata Festival: The Papier-mache Float Parade on March 1st, 2009 at 10:40 am

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  20. [...] Read the English version at PingMag» [...]

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