A two-day festival this weekend will turn one of the nation’s oldest Japantowns into a celebration of ancestral blessings, culture and history.
Read more Letters: Greed is at the heart of Bay Area homelessness
The annual San Jose Obon Festival & Bazaar, presented by the Buddhist Church Betsuin, will feature taiko drumming, traditional dancing, cultural booths, food stalls and games starting at noon and running until 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 p.m. Sunday.
Highlighting both evenings will be the Bon Odori dance of joy and remembrance, with festivalgoers joining the dancers dressed in traditional costume. The church’s new head minister, the Rev. Henry Adams, will bless the proceedings.
In 2024, the dancing broke festival records with 1,725 Obon attendees hitting the streets to folk music — “Shiawase Samba” — by the Chidori Band and San Jose Taiko.
According to church records, San Jose’s earliest Obon gathering was held in 1936, though odori dancing was noted here as early as 1904 — two years after the church was founded.
With construction under way this year on the church’s Dharma Center expansion, a number of Obon activities have moved to new locations: Festivalgoers will find the bingo tent on Fifth Street south of Jackson Street, and the beer tent north of Jackson Street, in front of the dance studio. Game booths will be located on Jackson and Fifth streets.
Food booths — with church members and friends making the popular tempura and gyoza and grilling teriyaki and fresh corn — will remain in their traditional spots next to the air-conditioned dining area.
To accommodate the crowds, a free shuttle bus will operate again this year between the Santa Clara County parking lot at North First and Hedding streets and the festival drop-off point at Fifth and Taylor streets. The first buses will leave at 11 a.m. and the last ones will leave Japantown at 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Details: Admission is free. The festival runs from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday at and near 640 N. Fifth St., San Jose; www.sjbetsuin.org/annual_obon_festival
Read more Man sentenced to jail for phony insurance claim after road rage collision with big rig
About the Author
