Tokushima City's Awa Odori (阿波おどり) is the most famous of many dance festivals held across Japan during the Obon season in mid August. Awa is the former name for Tokushima Prefecture while Odori means dance.
Between August 12th and 15th, spectators and dancers come to Tokushima in the thousands to see this "Fool's Dance" whose origins date back 400 years. This nickname comes from the lyrics to a common dance song, which translates as follows: "Fools dance and fools watch, if both are fools, you might as well dance".