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The warming weather marks the start of Japan's outdoor festivals, and there is none bigger in Sendai than the Aoba Matsuri. The annual street festival, which attracts about a million people from around the region, celebrates Sendai's rich history, and features the suzume odori, or sparrow dance, performed by dozens of community groups.

This year's festival will be held on May 17 - 18, and Tohoku University students will once again be involved all weekend.

On May 17, the Tohoku University Sparrow Dance Team, comprising mostly international students, will perform. The students learnt the dance with help from instructors from local group Datenomai (伊達の舞) as part of a class on Japanese culture.

"While I'm in Japan, I want to experience as much of the culture as possible," said Ishita Chaphekar, an exchange student from India. "I'm having so much fun in this class, dancing and getting to know people from different countries. We're all really excited about being part of the festival."

The Tohoku University Sparrow Dance Team has been a regular fixture at Aoba Matsuri for several years and has received praise for bringing an international flavour to their performances.

"These students have different experiences of music and dance from their own culture, and now they are getting to know Japanese culture through Suzume Odori," said dance instructor Mai Tamura. "This is my third year coming here to teach, and while the music and choreography are the same, the atmosphere with the students is truly different each time. This year's students learnt the dance steps very quickly, and I can tell that they are having fun and already getting into the spirit of the festival."

Suzume Odori

Date: May 17, 2025
Performance times:
• 14:06-14:36: Jozenji Street Yoi Nagashi Performance
• 17:51-17:55: Main Stage Performance at Nishi Koen
• 19:10-19:30: Sendai Yoi Yamaboko
(Note that the times are very specific because of the large number of performing groups.)

Then on Sunday May 18, some 40 international students will join staff members from Fujisaki Department Store in pulling a 6-meter tall traditional float along the Aoba Matsuri Yamaboko Parade.

In addition to large crowds downtown, there will be significant street closures around the Josenji Street area all weekend, so the easiest way to get to the festival is to take the subway to Kotodai-koen station.

Yamaboko Parade

Date: May 18, 2025
Time: 12 noon - 3:30 p.m.
Parade route: Aoba Street ~ Higashi Nibancho Street ~ Jozenji Street