At the end of August, near the tail end of summer but still in the thick of the heat, Asakusa holds its samba carnival every year. Honestly, events like this happen all over Japan, so I am used to them and skipped it last year, but this year GungHo, famous for Puzzle & Dragons, was taking part, so I went despite the heat.

Roughly what it looks like

There were so many people. Apparently you need to arrive three hours early and wait if you want a good spot. This year I came thirty minutes early, so I could watch, but I could not get any decent photos.

Dancers like this..

Lots of professional samba dancers took part..

And people like this..

Finally, the GungHo parade I had been waiting for arrives.

They played a samba arrangement of the Puzzle & Dragons theme song, and it was really exciting.

Go have a listen on YouTube yourself..


It is less moving than hearing it on the spot, though.

The GungHo employees are working hard on a hot day.

But they look like they are having fun. It would be nice to have an event like this once a year.

I was told this is Yama-P, the producer of Puzzle & Dragons.

Everyone else was dressed as a Gold Dragon, but he alone was in a Metal Dragon costume..

Not a great shot, but this is one of GungHo’s own dancers.

Now and then you spot gravure idols and company dancers. I could not get proper photos, so next year I might really have to go three hours early and wait.

Stages like this too..

It was fun, but it took just as much effort. At Comiket the effort paid off, but the samba carnival showed no mercy. The other parades were not bad either, and many groups sang live, so the festival mood was spot on, but I could not get a good angle, and in the end I do not have a single decent front-on shot. It is a real shame, but that seems to be how this summer ends. I will have to look forward to next summer.

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