Nawate Frog Fest 2007 – Frog mania’s paradise –
This year’s Frog Fest was on June 30th and July 1st. This rather minor festival has been held on Nawate Street in down town Matsumoto since 2002. Although Frog Street is a byname for this narrow promenade by the river Metoba, the origin of this alias is unknown, so as the festival’s derivations and nature.
Anyway, by the time I arrived there on the 30th, the street was a little busier than the regular weekends, where dozens of booths were selling frog related products.
As strolling toward Yohashira Shrine, I happened to see an avant-garde street performer dancing on the street. Koji Motoki is a Matsumoto local contemporary dancer who has been performing all over Japan for more than a decade. Some passersby were frozen by this semi-nude dancer’s presence; others were busily following the dancer’s movements by their cellular phone cameras.
Further down, in front of Yohashira Shrine, a crowd of young people wearing traditional Matsuri (festival) costume were dancing with merry music.
The night of 30th, a mini concert was held at Agetsuchi Community Space near Nawate Street. Unfortunately, the announcement for this amusing festival has always been insignificant, only some lucky tourists were able to witness.
Crazy about frog character goods? Nawate Street is a place to be!!
