It is easy to join in the fun of The Yosakoi Soran Festival

No advanced sign-up necessary!! Just show up with your dancing shoes and boogie woogie with us!!
The Yosakoi Soran Festival has formed spontaneous teams of between 40 and 150 people of like-minded people who have shown up and been carried away by the spirit of this phenomenal event and just can't resist the urge to join in and dance the day away.

1. The Experience the Yosakoi Soran Festival Program - get together and practice the day of the event and you'll be dancing down Odori in no time at all.
Prior registration required. Insurance mandatory. Fee: 2,000-3,000 Yen.

[Chanchiki All-Comers Team]
Performance Date & Time Saturday, June 10, 2006 3:00pm-(lasts about 30 minutes)
Sunday, June 11, 2006 2:00pm -(lasts about 30 minutes)
Sign-Up Location Odori Parade Ground - Odori Park, West 5 to West 10

[JR Hokkaido Yosakoi Experience Team - The JR Come to Dance Troupe]
Performance Date & Time Saturday, June 10, 2006. A-Group Odori North 2:00pm-(lasts about 30 minutes)
Saturday, June 10, 2006. B-Group Odori North 4:00pm-(lasts about 30 minutes)
Sunday, June 11, 2006. A-Group Odori South 1:00pm-(lasts about 30 minutes)
Sunday, June 11, 2006. B-Group Odori South 3:00pm-(lasts about 30 minutes)
Sign-Up Location Odori Parade Ground ~ Odori Park, West 5 to West 10
Theme Songs
Saasa mina de dokkoisho (Yochore) and "Go! Go! Fighters!" (This year marks our 13th Annual Friendly Performance)
Costume
Consadole Sapporo (the local professional soccer team) and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (the local professiona baseball team)
uniforms. These shirts are reversible and are provided free of charge to performers (you must return them after use!)

2. Wa Odori Soran is for those who want to try their feet at dancing! Come and join in with us!!
No prior sign-up required. Free of charge to all those who feel like jumping up on stage with us.
If you can't stand to sit still and watch the performers on stage and on parade, then Wa Odori Soran Place is designed with you in mind. Here you are free to get up and dance. Surrounded by towers and buildings in the heart of the city, everyone is more than welcome to join our casual circle of dancers. Feel free to join us as we begin with the "Seicho Soran", Yochore - a simple gentle warm-up song. Followed by "Okamisan Soran" for moms and dads and the "Enkacho Soran" and the upbeat furiously fast "Soran Soran" for the brave and energetic. Odori Nanboku Parade and West 8 Chome Stage are adjacent to Wa Odori Soran Place and thus provides a unique setting to enjoy all the colors of the Festival.
Performance Date & Time Friday, June 9. 5:00pm - 9:00pm
Saturday, June 10. 12:00pm - 9:00pm
Sunday, June 11. 12:00pm - 5:00pm
Location Wa Odori Soran Place (Odori Park West 7 Chome)

3. Saasa Mina de Dokkoisho. Come Dance With All the Colorful People
Prior registration required. Insurance mandatory. Fee: 2,000. "Naruko" - Castanets are sold separately.
The famous, Mr. Yosakoi Soran Festival, Mr. Miyamoto will be leading this energetic troupe. Everyone is welcome to join in this dance troupe regardless of what they are or are not wearing!! Only happy hearts are required. Mr. Miyamoto‘s powerful vocals and inspiring leadership make this the team to belong to.
Performance Date & Time Saturday, June 10, 2006 11:00am - Odori Nanboku Parade
Sunday, June 11, 2006 9:30am - Odori West 8
Sunday, June 11. 11:00am - Odori Nanboku Parade
Sign-Up Location Odori Nanboku Parade Ground and Odori West 8 Chome and Wa Odori Soran Place amongst others.

4. Soran Illusion. We aim to put together a 2,000 men, women and children team this year!!!
Prior registration required. Free of charge.
Performing at Odori Nanboku Parade Ground, the super-size "Big-Gulp" team Soran Illusion, is a fitting climax to the Yosakoi Soran Festival. Even if we exceed our expectations and over 2,000 people sign-up, there will always be room for some more!! Don't miss out on this opportunity to take part in the real thrill of being a part of the largest Yosakoi Soran Festival dance troupe. Please direct all inquiries to the Soran Illusion Office (tel: 011-231-4351).

A simple guide to thoroughly enjoying the Yosakoi Soran Festival.

Get your own special seat in the stands to comfortably watch the festivities unfolding all around.
At the Odori Nanboku Parade Ground and also at the Odori Park West 8 Chome Stage, there are special seats in the stands which allow one to take in the entire Yosakoi Soran Festival in comfort. The seats are arranged in such a fashion as to permit everyone unobstructed views. The music, the brilliantly colored costumes and the dancers are all so close that it is more like sitting in the middle of the parade route!! (A more detailed summary of the seating arrangements is attached to a separate fact sheet).

The One-Day Yosakoi Soran Festival Transportation Pass is your ticket to ride the rollercoaster of fun that awaits.
This travel pass enables you to use all the Sapporo City Subways and the Japan Rail Hokkaido train system for one low easy price to get around and see all the venues and local celebrations. The Yosakoi Soran Pass as it is called, is sold annually and is good for one day only of unlimited travel and valid on all Sapporo City Subway lines and the Japan Rail Zoe Sen Line only. Armed with your copy of the Yosakoi Soran Festival Handbook and all the maps and event information, schedules, performance times and venues, you are free to explore the wonders of the capital of Hokkaido and enjoy all that the city has to offer during this summer showcase festival. Available for sale only on Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11. Price: 1,000 Yen (adults only) There are only 3,000 available for sale on each day so get yours early!!

Official Yosakoi Soran Festial Merchandise.
Get some of the Official Yosakoi Soran Festival merchandise and fly your colors and clap your castanets and become a part of the celebrations. Original limited edition souvenirs and mementos of this spectacle are available throughout the festival grounds and parade routes and of course are also sold at most participating hotels and even on the internet!! Pick up your copy of the "Yosakoi Times" and its comprehensive guide to events and times and if you want to learn more about the individual teams and the venues you'll just have to splurge on a copy of the Official Yosakoi Soran Festival Handbook complete with stunning photos and fascinating in-depth articles.

Just some brief notes about the unique management system and administrative program that is in place.
The administration and management of the Yosakoi Soran Festival combined with local business groups and community volunteer groups have an impressive inspection program in place to ensure that you have the best possible experience and vacation. The Yosakoi Soran Festival is more than just dancing and laughing, there is a lot of groundwork that goes into putting an event of such a scale on for the public. A lot of the behind the scenes work is done by local community groups who have independently raised funds to further guarantee that your experience is the best that it can be. Small things but indispensable things like the toilets and toilet paper to organizing the thousands of local people who come out and volunteer their smiles and their language skills and their knowledge of this city and this proud island is just the tip of what these organizations do.
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce, the local business associations, the Junior Chamber of Commerce and all the local community volunteer groups put a lot of time, effort. money and legwork into making The Yosakoi Soran Festival so successful.

Study Program for Visiting Students - It is more than just about the music!!
Learning life's valuable lessons through song and dance is what the "Hokkaido Experience Program" is designed for and the happy faces of previous year's participants is just one reason why this field-trip is increasing in popularity amongst schools nationwide. Dancing in the sun at the Yosakoi Soran Festival is harder than it looks but the sense of accomplishment, the pride of the team, the joys and smiles all round of pulling it off after practicing tirelessly is the reward and the lessons of teamwork and cooperation learnt are no less a valuable bonus!! Teams of elementary school children and teams of junior high school children and teams of high school children all compete and dance to their own generations music. Mickey Mouse Samba and Rock'N'Roll Hip Hop vie for attention with more traditional songs like "Yochore" and "Kyosai Yo Soran". If school was only this much fun all the time!!