Unlike the carnivals in Brazil or Caribbean countries or even in New Orleans, the show in Tokyo is a more sedate affair.  The crowds, as you would expect in Japan, are far more disciplined.  While the streets are packed since morning mostly with young people and even families, people are there to take pictures of beautiful women and men and their exotic dresses.  

The day the MYNIPPON team visited, it was a bright day and that made it extremely hot.  Interestingly, a vast majority of the Japanese crowd was dressed as always in formal, decent summer dresses.

In other parts of the world such carnivals tend to have fairly wild atmosphere.  Have you ever looked at the wild crowds in Brazil or New Orleans?  This is not something we witnessed in Tokyo.  In addition to that, the dancers themselves are dressed more conservatively.  While the dresses for women are still mostly designed as bra tops, t-backs, g-strings, or the tiniest of skirts, no dancers would be topless as is common in samba carnivals elsewhere.

Another unique feature of this festival in Japan is that while foreigners are generally treated as outsiders and not allowed to participate in mainstream culture, in this festival they are admired.  While a large number of dancers are Japanese and you will see some of the most beautiful Japanese dancers with great bodies, the samba groups from Brazil and other Caribbean countries feature some of their best dancers.  Interestingly, there are groups from other countries as well.  Of course, Brazil has a large Japanese presence and most of the samba schools in Japan are either operated by Brazilians or have teachers trained in Brazil.  It is an extremely interesting experience to see this show of feminine beauty in Japan without feeling unsafe or being exposed to any vulgar behavior.

It appears that different types of western dances are becoming popular in Japan and some of the Latin dances like flamenco, samba, and salsa have caught on.  The reason that these dances have become popularity is the rhythms that are so critical to these Latin dances are something that Japanese people can easily follow because of cultural reasons.