[For Seniors] Fun Activities That Liven Up Cool Evening Festivals and Summer Festivals
The big summer event, the “Cool Evening Festival.” This time, we’re introducing summer festival-style games and activities that older adults can enjoy together.
We’ve gathered classic booth games that capture the festival atmosphere, such as goldfish scooping, senbonbiki (string lottery), and target shooting.
Of course, these are all easy to run indoors at a facility.
If everyone encourages each other as they join in, it will surely become a wonderful memory.
By tailoring how each person participates, conversations will flow and the whole venue will be filled with smiles.
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Gymnastics/Dance You Can Sing and Dance To (1–10)
From here on, OndoNEW!
After that, thanks to the smash hit “Mago,” Ichiro Oizumi quickly rose to top-star status—but this is one of his hidden gems.
Oizumi’s warm singing voice fits perfectly with the ondo-style rhythm.
Its upbeat message—“Life’s still ahead of us, let’s enjoy what’s to come”—shines brightly.
The melody is great for clapping along and perfect for Bon Odori, and just listening to it makes your heart skip with joy.
The choreography where you thrust your fist to the sky and shout “Ei-ei-oh!” in the latter half of the chorus is strangely irresistible—you’ll want to do it again and again.
In any case, it’s a highly recommended song you should hear at least once.
Dancing Hero – Bon Odori VersionNEW!
A single by Yoko Oginome released in 1985, it regained popularity thanks to the “Bubble Dance” by the Osaka Prefectural Tondabayashi High School dance club! It’s a song well known not only to that generation but also to younger people.
While it falls under the umbrella of dance music, it also began to be used as a Bon Odori song from the late 1990s.
The distinctive choreography—circling your hands in front of your body while swaying your hips and lifting your knees—is really fun.
If your Bon Odori activity isn’t quite catching on, why not suggest this song?
Gomangoku OdoriNEW!
In Aichi Prefecture, everyone around Okazaki City knows the “Gomangoku Odori,” which is based on the folk song “Okazaki Gomangoku.” At the Okazaki Tourism Summer Festival held in August, the “Gomangoku Mikoshi” and “Gomangoku Odori” are enjoyed together.
The distinctive chant “Yoikono Sanse,” from the kiyari-bushi style, is guaranteed to liven up any Bon dance.
The choreography is appealing too, with lots of clapping and the use of uchiwa fans.
Since it’s uptempo, it might be a bit tough until you learn the song, but it’s a fun and somehow addictive number.
Great Tokyo OndoNEW!
“Dai-Tokyo Ondo” is an ondo song created by TV Tokyo to commemorate the network’s 15th anniversary.
If “Tokyo Ondo” represents the early Showa era, then “Dai-Tokyo Ondo” could be called a signature song of the late Showa period.
It’s famous as a duet by Yukio Hashi and Akiko Kanazawa, but Haruo Minami and Harumi Miyako also released versions around the same time.
While retaining the traditional ondo melody, the song features arrangements characteristic of Showa-era pop, and it has become a Bon Odori staple loved across Japan.
The interjections in the song—like “Sore!”—are a lot of fun, too.
There’s always tomorrowNEW!
Do the Bon Odori to the song “Ashita ga Aru Sa,” a tune everyone’s heard at least once! Known for lyrics that capture a male student’s feelings of first love, this song often brings back memories of youth for many listeners.
Let’s try the Bon Odori—an essential of summer festivals—with this nostalgic number.
The choreography is very simple: cross your hands in front of your body, clap in front of your face, and so on.
There are steps for the walking parts, so if you can dance standing up, try copying those footwork moves too.
Tokyo OndoNEW!
Among baseball fans, this is also a popular song as a Yakult Swallows cheer anthem.
Watching the green and blue umbrellas swing up and down is fun in itself.
Although it’s called “Tokyo Ondo,” it’s a Bon dance tune loved all over the country, and singers like Harumi Miyako and Haruo Minami have performed it.
Perhaps because it’s so popular, video sites feature many versions—ones you can dance to while seated, and ones that people using wheelchairs can enjoy.
It’s a classic that livens up Bon dances—let’s all enjoy it together.
Kawachi Otoko-bushiNEW!
Kawachi Otoko-bushi is a single by Mitsuko Nakamura released in 1989.
It is known as a famous song with high name recognition, having been performed multiple times on the popular year-end program NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen.
It’s a bright, rhythmic number that seniors can enjoy singing and dancing to.
There are several dance variations, so look for choreography that is easy for older adults to perform.
Try full-body movement with choreography that allows for the largest possible motions, such as raising both hands or swinging them to the sides.