You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (March 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,139 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:フジロックフェスティバル]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|ja|フジロックフェスティバル}} to the talk page.
Fuji Rock Festival (フジロックフェスティバル, Fuji Rokku Fesutibaru) is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan. In 2005, more than 100,000 people attended the festival.
Fuji Rock Festival is named so because the first event in 1997 was held at the base of Mount Fuji. Since 1999 the festival has been held at the Naeba Ski Resort in Yuzawa, Niigata.
Festival grounds
There are seven main stages and other minor stages scattered throughout the site. The Green stage is the main stage and it has a capacity for almost 50,000 spectators. Other stages include the White Stage, the Red Marquee, Orange Court, and Field of Heaven. The walks between some of the stages can be long, and some of the trails can be hilly, but the walks are beautiful, often taking you through forests and over sparkling streams. Dragondola – the longest gondola lift in the world, carries festival goers up to the top of the mountain overlooking the festival site.
The hub of the site is called Oasis where more than 30 food stalls from around the world gather. The main site closes each night after the final act, but Oasis continues to stay open until late at night, as well as the Red Marquee where an all-night rave continues until 5am. The site re-opens at 9am.
The night before the festival (Thursday night) features an opening party which is free entry, featuring bon-odori (traditional Japanese folk dance), prize draws, food stalls and a fireworks display.
The festival's stated aim is to be "The cleanest festival in the world"; great effort is also put into recycling.
Accommodation
Although Naeba, being a ski resort, offers a number of accommodation options such as hotels, ryokan and minshuku within walking distance of the festival site, competition for these is fierce and they tend to book out very quickly. Many festival goers find accommodation in nearby ski resorts such as Tashiro, Asagai and Mitsumata – the free shuttle bus linking JR Echigo-Yuzawa Station in the town of Yuzawa to the festival site can be used for these areas which are en route. Some even find accommodation in the numerous options available in Yuzawa itself. The shuttle bus takes between 40 minutes to an hour each way and runs until 2am each night.
Alternatively, there is a campsite on a golf course next to the festival site which costs ¥3,000 (2011) (equivalent to ¥3,162.49 or US$29.01 in 2019)[1] for the weekend (2011), complete with toilets, showers and food stalls. About 17,000 festival goers choose to spend their nights here every year. The campsite is hilly in many places and flat spots are taken quickly, however, the manicured putting greens, which are the flattest areas are generally out of bounds to campers.
In previous years many took the option of sleeping rough – a relatively common practise amongst young Japanese during the warmer months thanks to a low crime rate – in the vicinity of the site and Echigo-Yuzawa Station, however this is now prohibited.
Access
The festival is a free 40–60-minute shuttle bus ride from Echigo-Yuzawa Station (越後湯沢駅) in the town of Yuzawa, on the Jōetsu Shinkansen (上越新幹線) line which link it to Tokyo Station (東京駅) in about 90 minutes. JR Shinkansen ticket, Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa is ¥6,490 (2008) (equivalent to ¥6,680.7 or US$61.29 in 2019)[1] one way (for a reserved seat). Car parking also available for ¥3,000 (2008) (equivalent to ¥3,088.15 or US$28.33 in 2019)[1] per day at the festival site area.[2]
History
The first year of the festival, held on Tenjinyama Ski Resort near Mt Fuji (and hence the name), was a disaster. It was scheduled to be a two-day event, but by sheer bad luck the first day of the event was struck by a typhoon. The Red Hot Chili Peppers' headline set, played through a storm despite Anthony Kiedis having a broken arm, is almost legendary amongst Fuji Rock veterans. The festival-goers were poorly prepared for the heavy rain and strong winds, and many needed medical attention from hypothermia (although no deaths occurred). The organisers decided to cancel the second day of the event (which turned out to be sunny), and thus ended Japan's first outdoor rock festival. The organizers were criticized for being poorly prepared for bad weather, and for not organising enough buses to link the site to the nearest train station.[3]
The second year, the festival moved to a temporary location in Toyosu, on Tokyo's waterfront. Although the event was a success, many found the searing heat of mid-summer Tokyo too much to bear, and it was decided that the next event was to return to the relative coolness of the mountains.
It was in 1999 the festival found its home in Naeba, Niigata prefecture. Naeba is not anywhere close to Mt. Fuji, however, the festival still retains its original name. After the horrific first year, the organizers have been running the festival smoothly up until present.
The festival was held from July 29 until 31, and saw the return of international artists. The headline acts were Vampire Weekend, Jack White and Halsey.
The festival was announced to be held from August 20 until 22 and the for the first time, the festival only included domestic artists due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The headline acts were Radwimps, King Gnu and Denki Groove.
The festival was scheduled for Friday 21 August through Sunday 23 August 2020, with headline acts to include Tame Impala (Friday), The Strokes (Saturday), Kiyoshiro Imawano Rock 'n' Forever tribute and Denki Groove (both Sunday). On 5 June 2020, this iteration of the festival was postponed to August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Instead, the 2020 Fuji Rock Festival was put together from past performances and broadcast live on YouTube on the original scheduled dates.
2019
The festival ran from Friday 26 July until Sunday 28 July in 2019. Headline performers on The Green Stage were The Chemical Brothers, Sia, and The Cure. About 36 percent of the acts were in the rock genre, while the rest of the lineup was composed of pop, R&B, hip hop, and electronic artists.[6]
The festival ran from Friday 27 July until Sunday 29 July in 2018. Headline acts on The Green Stage were N.E.R.D, Kendrick Lamar, and Bob Dylan. Cumulative attendance reached 125,000 for the third year in a row, with a peak of 40,000 visitors on Saturday,[7]
The festival ran from Friday 28 July until Sunday 30 July in 2017. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Gorillaz, Aphex Twin and Björk. Attendance was estimated to equal the previous year's 125,000 guests, with approximately ¥2.1 billion ($19 million) in ticket sales revenue.[9]
The festival ran from Friday 22 July until Sunday 24 July in 2016. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Sigur Rós, Beck and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Attendance for the "20th anniversary" festival was around 125,000 for the weekend.[10]
The festival ran from Friday 24 July until Sunday 26 July in 2015. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Foo Fighters, Muse and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Attendance was 115,000 visitors for the weekend, a dramatic increase over the ten-year-low of the 2014 festival.[11]
The festival ran from Friday 25 July until Sunday 27 July in 2014. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire and Jack Johnson. Kanye West was initially announced as Friday's headliner but later cancelled "due to artist circumstances".[12][13] In total, 102,000 people attended.[14]
The festival ran from Friday 26 July until Sunday 28 July in 2013. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Nine Inch Nails, Björk and The Cure. Attendance was 118,000 people for the weekend.[15]
The festival ran from Friday 27 July until Sunday 29 July in 2012. Headline acts on The Green Stage were The Stone Roses, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and Radiohead. As of 2017, 2012 holds the record for highest-ever Fuji Rock attendance, with a total of 140,000 visitors over the three days.[14]
The festival ran from Friday 29 July until Sunday 31 July 2011. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Coldplay, The Faces and The Chemical Brothers; The Music closed the festival out as special guests.
The festival ran from Friday 30 July until Sunday 1 August 2010. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Muse, Roxy Music and Massive Attack; Scissor Sisters closed the festival out as special guests.
In 2008, the festival ran from Friday, 25 July through until Sunday, 27 July. Headline acts on The Green Stage were My Bloody Valentine, Underworld, and Primal Scream. Kiyoshiro Imawano was initially announced as Sunday's headliner,[18] but due to a recurrence of his throat cancer, he was forced to cancel his appearance. Primal Scream and The Birthday, subheadliners from Saturday, added Sunday performances to compensate.[19]
The 2007 festival ran from Friday, 27 July through Sunday, 29 July. Headline acts on The Green Stage were The Cure, Beastie Boys, and The Chemical Brothers.
The 2006 festival ran from Friday, 28 July until Sunday, 30 July (actually Monday morning). Headline acts on The Green Stage were Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Strokes.
In 2004, the festival ran from Friday 30 July until Sunday 1 August. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Lou Reed, The Chemical Brothers, and The White Stripes. Morrissey was initially announced as Sunday's headliner but cancelled two weeks before the festival due to "a sudden disagreement [...] regarding the terms of the performance".[21]
In 2002, the festival ran from Friday 26 July until Sunday 28 July. Headline acts on The Green Stage were The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The festival ran from Friday 27 July until Sunday 29 July in 2001. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Oasis, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and Eminem.[22]
In 2000, the festival ran from Friday 28 July until Sunday 30 July. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Blankey Jet City (their final live performance), Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, and Primal Scream.
In 1999, the festival ran from Friday 30 July until Sunday 1 August. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Rage Against the Machine, Blur, and ZZ Top. This was the first year that the festival was held in its present location at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture, as well as the first year that it expanded from a two-day to three-day festival.[23]
In 1998, the festival was held at Tokyo Bayside Square in Toyosu and ran from Saturday 1 August until Sunday 2 August. Headline acts on The Green Stage were Björk and The Prodigy.
1997 was the only year that the festival was actually held on Mount Fuji, at the Fuji Tenjinyama Ski Resort. It was intended to run from Saturday 26 July until Sunday 27 July, although the second day was cancelled due to a typhoon. Headline acts on the Main Stage were Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day.