July will see the summer music festival season here in Japan plug in and strike its opening chords.  Arguably top billing of Japan’s ever increasing celebrations of rock, pop, dance and alternative music is annually afforded to Fuji Rock Festival and Summer Sonic.  Both of these festivals, among the largest in Japan, remain the standard bearers for bringing arena / stadium size acts to headline events on these shores.  Ability to bring in heavy hitters aside however, Fuji Rock Festival and Summer Sonic may well be chalk and cheese when it comes to other points of comparison.  Which we do here - Is it Fuji Rock or Summer Sonic for you?

*NB - Summer Sonic is held in both Osaka and Tokyo (well, Chiba) at the same time, with artists switching days between the two.  We are focusing here on the Tokyo festival, as that's the one we've been to.

 

Status - Fuji Rock Festival

Fuji Rock got the branding right, from the start - a music festival in Japan modelled on western counterparts with heavy hitting western acts and a name synonymous with one of the most iconic features of the natural world.  And what really tips this into the territory of “genius” is that Fuji Rock is not even close to Mt. Fuji.  Such is the power of the name though there’s an army of buzzed up uni students in Europe and North America who are right now giddy over the prospect of seeing their idols perform at the foot of Mt. Fuji.  

Fuji Rock has the storied history, too.  The first event in 97 (to assume rock star parlance), actually held near Mt. Fuji, was hit by a typhoon and saw an iconic performance from the Red Hot Chili Peppers who played through the weather with lead singer Anthony Kiedis nursing a broken arm at the time.  

Somewhat ironically, Fuji Rock has also ‘been and done’ the urban bayside setting.  After the Mt. Fuji debacle the festival moved to the unlikely surrounds of Toyosu, Tokyo for a solitary stint in 98.  Rumour has it that Tokyo’s obscene summer heat encouraged organizers to run to the hills where they found their current niche on the slopes of Niigata.

It might come as a surprise to hear that Summer Sonic is not that much younger than Fuji Rock, having first taken to the stage in 2000.  (Or maybe we should be surprised that Fuji Rock is as “young” as it is?)  Neither Fuji Rock nor Summer Sonic then can compete with the near mythical status of a 1969 Woodstock or the early days of Glastonbury and Japan seems an unlikely place to host the kind of free-wheeling, debauched, anti-authoritian shindig that typically becomes the stuff of legend.  Still, they can but try.  And to a certain extent Fuji Rock has, by handing Aki Okada, leader of student activist group SEALDS, an invitation to speak at last year’s edition.  The move drew cries of disapproval from some festival goers who objected to the politicization of music.  

Ultimately Fuji Rock will get the nod here as it’s probably the only rock festival in Japan that people outside of Japan, in any great number, have heard of.  If you want bragging rights to take back home at some point, this is where they are to be found. 

Headliners - Honors even?

No festival in the world can be all-pleasing and the bigger these things get, the more sifting, enduring, and scheduling is required of the festival goer in order to see the diamonds in the rough. Still, both festivals have, over the years, done a pretty stirling job at booking the heavy hitters from North America and Europe to fill headline slots.

2017’s scheduled headliners for Fuji Rock on the main “Green Stage” - Gorillaz, Aphex Twin, Björk

For Summer Sonic on the Marine Stage - Calvin Harris, Foo Fighters (with sets prior from Black Eyed Peas and Babymetal)

Obviously with this sort of thing beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, so we’ll leave it to you to determine which of Fuji Rock or Summer Sonic attracts the best headliners.

 

Top billing over the last 5 years

Year Fuji Rock Festival Summer Sonic
2016 Sigur Rós / Beck / Red Hot Chili Peppers Underworld / Radiohead
2015 Foo Fighters / Muse / Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds The Chemical Brothers / Pharrell Williams
2014 Franz Ferdinand / Arcade Fire / Jack Johnson Arctic Monkeys / Queen + Adam Lambert
2013 Nine Inch Nails / Björk / The Cure Metallica / Muse
2012 The Stone Roses / Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds / Radiohead  Green Day / Rihanna

 

Location (aesthetics) - Fuji Rock Festival

Summer Sonic is held in and around baseball ground Zozo Marine Stadium and convention center Makuhari Messe on the shores of Tokyo Bay, Chiba.  While the area’s dead-tech, postmodern brutal functionality isn’t without its charms, let’s be honest, this area has all the character of a purpose-built city (which is what it is) and is unable to compete with the lush summer slopes of alpine Niigata.  No, Fuji Rock’s Naeba Ski Resort setting is not only much easier on the eye than bayside Makuhari, it could probably stake a reasonable claim to being one of the most attractive settings for rock 'n' roll anywhere in the world.

Where Summer Sonic’s Tokyo edition prevents this from being embarrassingly one sided is that it has a beach, of sorts.  It has a somewhat industrial flavor to it, but it’s a place to catch some much welcome ocean breeze nonetheless.

 

 

Location (convenience) - Summer Sonic

There’s not really a contest here.  The only thing that prevents this from being the equivalent of a 5 - 0 thumping is that train access to Makuhari from central Tokyo can be frustrating (a surprise given the proximity of Tokyo Disney Resort).  In this regard Summer Sonic gifts the opposition a sloppy goal to make it 5 - 1 and take a bit of the sheen off an otherwise emphatic victory.

This “convenience” is the great benefit of Summer Sonic - if it all becomes too loud, too hot (a legitimate concern), to wet, to expensive or simply just too much in general, the festival goer can easily go home, or retire to the comfort of a hotel.  This may sound a little cynical, but to anyone who’s endured three days of Glastonbury mud and miserable rain it will likely bring some degree of comfort.

Cost Performance - Summer Sonic

Ticket prices for Fuji Rock Festival ‘17 are listed on the festival homepage …

 

1 Day Ticket 2 Day Ticket 3 Day Ticket
19,000 yen 36,000 yen 43,000 yen

 

Ticket prices for Summer Sonic 2017 as listed on the festival homepage ... 

 

1 Day Ticket 2 Day Ticket
16,500 yen 30,500 yen

 

Summer Sonic is a little easier on the wallet then, in terms of ticket prices at least.  It's also likely to afford the cheapest access for anyone living outside of Niigata.  While camping at Fuji Rock is a very reasonable 3,000 yen per person for the duration, a lot of festival goers at Summer Sonic will have the option of simply going home.  On the other hand, there's no camping option at the Summer Sonic site so those coming from distance may face the prospect of footing a hotel bill.

The Verdict - Fuji Rock of Summer Sonic?

Let's be honest, there was never going to be one.  Both festivals have their merits and ultimately it'll come down to which artists are performing on a given year.  That said, if what the festival goer in Japan is after is something akin to the classic festival vibe of tents, fields, potential mud, and a hippie aesthetic, then Fuji Rock Festival seems the sensible choice.  For those that like a bit more civility, or at least to have it in close proximity, Summer Sonic undoubtedly wins out.

 

Fuji Rock Festival 2017 will be held across three days from July 28 (Fri) to July 30 (Sun).

Festival homepage

 

Summer Sonic 2017 in Tokyo / Osaka will be held Aug 19 (Sat) and Aug 20 (Sun)

Festival homepage

 

 

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Images

Top (Fuji Rock): Kentaro Ohno Flickr License

Middle (Summer Sonic): kobakou Flickr License