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Rock in Japan
From Virtual Japan
The Rock in Japan Festival is an annual rock festival held every summer in the Ibaraki Prefecture. Rock in Japan is one of Japan’s four major rock festivals. Also included are Rising Sun Rock Festival, Summer Sonic and the Fuji Rock Festival. Rock in Japan is organized every year by a publisher known as “Rocking On.”
Summary
The purpose of Rock in Japan is to showcase several different musical styles including JRock, pop and hip hop. The majority of the bands that play are Japanese, with many of the most famous JRock bands in attendance.
President and CEO of Rocking On Japan, Youiti Shibuya, started the event in August of 2000. It is an outdoor rock festival and has four different stages:
- Grass Stage – Has a capacity of 40,000 and is about the size of the Tokyo Dome.
- Lake Stage – The Lake stage can fit over a million people, as it takes place on a grassland overlooking the lake. Though the area never fills up that much, its capacity makes it a popular place for live bands that expect a large following.
- Sound of Forest – Sound of Forest is much smaller, fitting only about 4,000 people. It is surrounded by trees and is standing room only.
- Wing Tent – The Wing tent is smaller still, fitting only 3,000 people. Like Sound of Forest, it is standing room only as well.
There is also a DJ booth as well. Forming a mash pit is allowed, but the organizers of Rock in Japan are considering banning it to avoid dangers.
Performances
Some of the most notable performers to attend Rock In Japan include Love Psychodelic, Dragon Ash, Grapevine, Porcupine, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, The Book, Husking Bee, Polysics, Acidman, Mongolia800, and Tamio Okuda. The 2 smaller stages (Wing Tent and Sound of Forest) did not open until 2005, so there were fewer artists until that point.