Raw States
San Jose Obon Festival
San Jose, CA · Arts & Culture
- When
- July 10–11, 2027
- Where
- San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin · San Jose · CA
- Cost
- Not confirmed
- Status
- Approximate: based on past editions, not announced yet
Japantown's streets around the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin fill with taiko drumming, food booths, and a communal Bon Odori dance each summer. The festival has run for generations and is one of the largest Obon celebrations in the country. (2027 dates approximate.)
The history within reach
- San Jose Obon Festivalsame spot
Japantown's streets around the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin fill with taiko drumming, food booths, and a communal Bon Odori dance each summer.
Three Japantowns are left in the country and this is one, six blocks that emptied in 1942 when the neighbourhood was removed to camps and filled again when people came back to find, unusually, that some of their businesses had been held for them.
- St. James Park0.7 mi
Two men held for the kidnap and murder of Brooke Hart were taken from the jail opposite and lynched from trees here in November 1933, before a crowd of thousands.
Downtown San Jose closes its streets for a weekend of a 5K, 10K, and half marathon, with live bands staged along the course and a finish-line festival at Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
Plaza de Cesar Chavez fills with more than 60 decorated trees, animated holiday displays, and a towering community tree from the day after Thanksgiving through New Year's Day.