The annual Ohara Festival in Shibuya in June demonstrates how important festivals are in Japan; a section of a major street right in front of Shibuya Station is closed to vehicles to allow hours of dance performances for a large audience gathered on the sidewalks. The festival celebrates Shibuya’s ties to the southern region of Kagoshima. It is basically a smaller version of the Kagoshima Festival which has over 20,000 participants, while Shibuya’s has about a quarter of that. Over 60 dance troupes perform to traditional Japanese folk songs, ending in a circular parade of troupes through the streets near the Hachiko exit.