Over one million dance lovers have gathered in western Japan for one of the country's largest dance festivals.

 

The annual "Awa O-dori" dance festival in Tokushima Prefecture originates from a Japanese Buddhist custom of honoring the spirits of ancestors. Groups of dancers and musicians paraded through the streets to the sound of traditional music instruments such as lutes, drums, flutes and bells. This year, organizers especially put an emphasis on foreign visitors, as the number of tourists to Japan is increasing.