Lalalaland...: Bon Odori Festival

If you love Japanese stuff, chances are you know Bon Odori Festival.

A Japanese celebration held every summer but it's also being celebrated in Malaysia since some 30 years ago! And last weekend, it's time for the 33rd Bon Odori Festival in Malaysia, held simultaneously in Panasonic Sports Complex in Shah Alam and Esplanade in Penang.

This is an event where manga, anime, Takuya Kimura, Doraemon, Harajuku lover get together... haha...

No laa... actually it's an event held during Obon which is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the departed spirits of one’s ancestors, a time in which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated. In simpler words, it's Japanese Hungry Ghost Festival.

Woww... the crowd was huge man even though Man U was playing at the same time.

This celebration is the brain child of the Japanese Expatriate & Immigrant’s Society in Malaysia. In comparison to the celebrations in Japan, the festival is celebrated on a much smaller scale and is less associated with Buddhism and more with Japanese culture.

Held mainly to expose locals to a part of Japanese culture, the festival provides the experience of a variety of Japanese food, drinks, art and dance.

The highlight of the event was the Bon Odori, a traditional dance where people gather and dance around a yagura, a high wooden building made of wood that is made especially for this festival.