{"id":4234,"date":"2026-07-11T04:10:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T04:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4234"},"modified":"2026-07-11T04:10:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T04:10:55","slug":"san-jose-japantown-festival-celebrates-obon-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4234","title":{"rendered":"San Jose: Japantown festival celebrates Obon this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A two-day festival this weekend will turn one of the nation\u2019s oldest Japantowns into a celebration of ancestral blessings, culture and history.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

Highlighting both evenings will be the Bon Odori dance of joy and remembrance, with festivalgoers joining the dancers dressed in traditional costume. The church\u2019s new head minister, the Rev. Henry Adams, will bless the proceedings.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the dancing broke festival records with 1,725 Obon attendees hitting the streets to folk music \u2014 \u201cShiawase Samba\u201d \u2014 by the Chidori Band and San Jose Taiko.<\/p>\n

According to church records, San Jose\u2019s earliest Obon gathering was held in 1936, though odori dancing was noted here as early as 1904 \u2014 two years after the church was founded.<\/p>\n

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With construction under way this year on the church\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Food booths \u2014 with church members and friends making the popular tempura and gyoza and grilling teriyaki and fresh corn \u2014 will remain in their traditional spots next to the air-conditioned dining area.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Details:<\/strong> 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<\/p>\n

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Odori dancing, taiko drumming take center stage both days<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nSan Jose: Japantown festival celebrates Obon this weekend - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4234\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"San Jose: Japantown festival celebrates Obon this weekend - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Odori dancing, taiko drumming take center stage both days\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4234\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-11T04:10:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4234#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4234\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"San Jose: Japantown festival celebrates Obon this weekend\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-11T04:10:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4234\"},\"wordCount\":396,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4234#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/ece034917a8f1a5697a5d79ff47190c8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4234#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4234\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4234\",\"name\":\"San Jose: Japantown festival celebrates Obon this weekend - 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