Asakusa Samba Carnaval is the largest samba carnival to be held in the northern hemisphere, with half a million visitors coming to watch the spectacle each year. 

​

While Brasilian culture may seem to be a long way from the streets of Tokyo, the carnival is representative of over a hundred years of cross culture sharing between the two countries. Over several waves of immigration due to development in Brasil and a declining economy in Japan, Brasil now has the largest population of Japanese people outside of Japan itself.

​

With repatriation, came the spread of Brazilian culture in Japan and this includes SAMBA! For the Bateria, it was an easy transition into Brazilian drumming as percussion is inherent in Japanese culture (e.g. Taiko) and from there, the love of Samba spread.

​

The Asakusa Samba Carnaval has been held almost every year since 1981. There are around 20 teams competing across two divisions; series 1 and series 2, with thousands of musicians and dancers. They wear spectacular costumes, have floats (carros), alas and themes and write their own Enredo just as in Brasil (sometimes in Portuguese, sometimes in Japanese).

​

The competition is graded on dancing, energy and dynamism, theme, costumes, music and overall presence as well as a few manner specific rules (well it is Japan after all). The winner of series 2 moves into series 1 the following year and the top three winners of each division earn prize money to put towards their carnaval entry next year.