Finally, the two day festival was cancelled halfway into the first day. Ironically, the next day was sunny and beautiful.
Despite its rough start, the Fuji Rock festival has become one of Japan's legendary music festivals.
The first festival was held at the base of Mount Fuji. From the second year onwards its been held at the Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture. The festival has also become a three day event.
The Naeba Ski Resort has hotel rooms and a small camp ground (with mostly rough uneven ground). The hotel rooms go fast. It's also possible to stay in nearby towns such as Yuzawa.
Fuji Rock is held the last weekend of July (3 days). It's after the area's summer rainy season. However, the festival is vulnerable to the weather. In the past, some fans showed up without proper camping equipment or a hotel — planning to rough it. This is now highly discouraged by the town and festival organizers.
In some years, over 100,000 people attend the festival. The festival lineup is always a mix of top Japanese and international artists.
Fuji Rock features 5 stages that are at a distance from one another (a nice short hike). The main stage area has capacity for 50,000 people.
The festival takes place amongst beautiful natural surroundings. The crowd is more Japanese than other summer festivals such as Summer Sonic. There's a bit of a hippie feel to things. It's the Japanese Woodstock.
Some people fit perfectly into a time and place.
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