Sakura Matsuri - Japanese Street Festival

Pennsylvania Avenue

Submitted by Anita on June 23, 2009 - 10:55am

Venue Address: 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20005

United States

See map: Google Maps

First held in 1961, the Sakura Matsuri - Japanese Street Festival is now the largest one-day exhibition of Japanese culture in the United States.

Stretching for nearly one mile through the streets of downtown Washington DC, from near the White House to FBI headquarters, the Sakura Matsuri is held each spring as the climax of the two-week National Cherry Blossom Festival. On good weather days, it has drawn over 140,000 visitors in 7 hours.

The Sakura Matsuri is a free, family-friendly festival. There are over 15 vendors of Japanese food, two beer gardens, 30 exhibitors of Japanese arts and culture, 15 vendors of Japanese products, and over 30 hours of live performances on five stages, including traditional and popular Japanese music and dance and martial arts demonstrations.

The Sakura Matsuri - Japanese Street Festival is divided into six main areas:

Taste of Japan - with restaurants selling Japanese food
The Ginza Marketplace - selling traditional Japanese products
J-POP Land - celebrating Japanese pop music, dance, fashion, and anime culture.
Performing Arts - featuring traditional Japanese music and dance
Japanese Martial Arts
Japanese Arts and Culture Exhibitions

There’s something for everyone at the Sakura Matsuri!

www.us-japan.org/dc/sakura.php