Every year in mid-August many Japanese return to their family homes for Obon (Festival of the Dead), which is as much a celebration as a remembrance of the deceased. Towns all over the country hold bon dances, but none can compare to Tokushima's Awa Odori – the "Great Dance of Awa" – a four-day festival that runs every year from August 12 to 15. Over a million spectators come to watch the 80,000 participants, dressed in colourful yukata (summer kimono) and half-moon-shaped straw hats, who parade through the city, waving their hands and shuffling their feet to an insistent two-beat rhythm, played on taiko drums, flutes and shamisen (traditional stringed instruments). With plenty of street parties and sideshows, this is as close as Japan gets to Rio's Mardi Gras.

The history of the Awa Odori goes back to 1587, when the first daimyō of Tokushima, Hachisuka Iemasa, is said to have initiated the celebration on the completion of his castle. The people enjoyed themselves so much that the party was held again the following year, and so on for the centuries that followed. The festival only became known as the Awa Odori after World War II, and it now also attracts participants from abroad. Some feel the festival has become too big and organized – there are now viewing stands for which you must purchase tickets, for example. But there's still plenty of fun to be had – mostly from mingling with the dancers, who famously chant, "The dancing fool and the watching fool are equally foolish. So why not dance?"

If you plan to attend the festival, book accommodation well in advance or arrange to stay in one of the nearby towns and travel in for the dances, which start at 6pm and finish at 10.30pm (street parties continue well into the night). If you fancy taking part as a dancer, contact the Tokushima International Association, which organizes a dance group on one of the festival nights.