Shimokitazawa Awa Odori 2024: Shooting in the Dark

Editor’s Note: This article covers my experience at the Shimokitazawa Awa Odori Festival in 2024. For the most up-to-date information and practical tips, see: A Guide to the Shimokitazawa Awa Odori Festival

The thundering of taiko drums echoes off the buildings, a powerful heartbeat that calls you closer. Through the humid August air, a wave of colour and sound washes over the streets of Shimokitazawa. This is the Awa Odori, one of Japan’s most beloved dance festivals.

On a scorching Saturday night in August 2024, the heat was no match for the passion of the performers. Teams known as ren took to the streets to perform the traditional “fool’s dance,” a tradition stretching back centuries to Tokushima Prefecture. The energy was infectious, and I did my best to capture it. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Meet the 2024 Awa Odori performers

Teams, called ren (連) in Japanese, of up to several dozen dancers participate. Wherever there is an Awa Odori, they’ll be there. Some of them consist of hundreds of members and have existed for many years. The following groups performed at Shimokitazawa in 2024:

Brilliant (燦々)
Hatsudai Encouragement Dragon Association (初台鼓舞龍連)
Higashirinkan Akuren (東林間阿呍連)
Higashirinkan Gorakuren (東林間伍楽連)
Higashirinkan Isui (東林間壱粋)
Kichijoji Treasure Ship Association (吉祥寺寶船連)
Koenji Benkei Ren (高円寺弁慶連)
Koenji Kasumiren (高円寺華純連)
Koenji Shinobu Ren (高円寺しのぶ連)
Koenji Toshusai (高円寺東洲斎)
Koganei Sakura Ren (小金井さくら連)
Kyodo Purple Group (経堂むらさき連)
Shimokitazawa Hifumi Ren (下北沢ひふみ連)
Sangenjaya Sancharen (三軒茶屋三茶連)
Shimokitazawa Yattoko Ren (下北沢やっとこ連)
Showa Shinkin Bank (昭和信用金庫連)
Tokyo Ebisu-ren (東京えびす連)

How AI saved my photos in the dark

The challenge of the Shimokitazawa Awa Odori is the lighting. The narrow streets are poorly lit, and the dancers’ energetic movements force you to use a high shutter speed to avoid motion blur. This combination results in dark, underexposed photos filled with digital noise.

In the past, many of these shots would have been unusable. But this is where Adobe Lightroom’s AI Denoise feature becomes a game-changer.

As you can see, the AI doesn’t just smudge the noise away. It intelligently analyzes the image and reconstructs detail, preserving the intricate patterns on the dancers’ yukata and the sharp focus of their expressions. The result is a clean, vibrant image that would have been impossible to achieve just a few years ago. This technology has fundamentally changed how I approach low-light photography and is now an essential step in my editing workflow.

Beyond Shimokitazawa: The Koenji Festival awaits

The Shimokitazawa Awa Odori is a fantastic warm-up for the main event: the massive Koenji Awa Odori that takes place the following weekend. If you enjoyed these photos, you won’t want to miss it! Have you ever been to an Awa Odori festival? Let me know in the comments!