Fuji Rock Festival

Held for the first time in the summer of 1997 amidst the sprawling nature at the foot of Mount Fuji with “symbiosis of nature and music” as its theme, Fuji Rock Festival is one of the largest outdoor music festivals in Japan. However, the first year was hit by a large typhoon forcing the cancellation of the second day. Rather then a “symbiosis”, the organizers and festival goers both yielded to the fury of nature and the inaugural year of the festival proved to be full of challenges. After being held in Tokyo at Toyosu in 1998, the festival made its move back to the ideal of a location surrounded by nature - its current home - Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata prefecture. Having learned valuable lessons the first year, and through years of trial and error, Fuji Rock evolved, along with the passionate participants who were always ready to help make the festival a success, to become the first ever authentic rock festival in Japan. Through this process, the festival is not only more prepared for inclement weather, but has developed to include many other attractions, food stands and NGO booths. The festival has built a relationship of trust with the area surrounding the festival, growing to become a renowned summer tradition. 2016 saw the festival reach its 20th anniversary but along with the stability came some carelessness, made apparent by the increasing number of troubling incidents and amount of garbage within the festival. Fuji Rock was often heralded by international media as the “cleanest festival in the world”. That has been the catch phrase for this festival, built alongside its participants and was the remarkable result of the effort of each and every one of you, the festival goer. We ask that all Fuji Rock Festival participants resolve to help reclaim this hard-won accolade. “Do It Yourself”, “Help Each Other”, “Respect Nature”. Fuji Rock is a festival built by the efforts of both the organizers and attendees.