The Japan Festival Boston returned to Boston on Saturday and Sunday after a five-year hiatus. Cherry blossom petals swirled in the air around the many vendors, workshops, and live performances that filled the Boston Common over the two-day event.
First held in 2012, the festival was originally intended to celebrate the 100th anniversary of cherry blossom trees being gifted to Washington, D.C. from Tokyo. Organized by volunteers, the festival is now used as a way to share Japanese culture with Boston.
With crowds spilling over the budding spring grass as visitors waited in long lines for food, the festival was an exhibit of community and joy among Bostonians.
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A marker lies discarded on a decorated board at the Japan Festival that takes place on Boston Common from April 27-28, 2024. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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Boards snaked the ground of Boston Common, allowing children to draw on them throughout the two day festival. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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A drummer performs on the main stage of the Japan Festival on Boston Common on Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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A couple lounges in the grass during the Japan Festival on Boston Common on Sunday, April 28, 2024. The warm weather coaxed many people’s cold weather layers for the first time this year. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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A group of women dances through the Japan Festival grounds carrying a mikoshi, a portable shrine, on their shoulders on Boston Common on Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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Jason “Jeiko” Seymore beats a drum on the main stage of Boston’s 11th Japan Festival on Boston Common on Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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A girl poses for a photo while in costume for the Cosplay competition on Boston Common on Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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Visitors to the Japan Festival wait in long lines for food on Boston Common on Sunday, April 28, 2024. At the station, volunteers with decorative masks on their heads spin cotton candy and scoop popcorn. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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A girl does a handstand while waiting in line for food on Boston Common on Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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Volunteers help children build diamond-shaped kites known as Eddy Kites out of plastic at one of the many workshop stations at the Japan Festival. Kids are able to decorate their kites with markers and fly them on Boston Common. (Madla Walsh/Beacon Staff)
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