Visitors run into Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo for the 47th annual Friendship Festival, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Visitors surged into this U.S. airlift hub in western Tokyo over the weekend for the annual Japanese-American Friendship Festival, which welcomes the surrounding community and worldwide guests.
More than 193,000 people strolled the flight line Saturday and Sunday purchasing souvenirs, sampling American and Asian cuisine, listening to live music and inspecting military aircraft from Japan and the United States.
This year’s event — the 47th of its kind — surpassed the 2019 festival, the last before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2022 event, the first in its wake. Last year, more than 110,000 people attended; 2019 saw 125,000.
Friendship Festival visitors check out a C-130J Super Hercules and CV-22 Osprey at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
Visitors enjoy snacks on the flight line during the 47th annual Friendship Festival at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
An airman advertises pancakes to Friendship Festival visitors at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
Col. Andrew Roddan, commander of the 374th Airlift Wing, speaks to reporters ahead of the 47th annual Friendship Festival at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
Eager guests ran through the last air base checkpoint before the festival grounds to see a collection of aircraft on display, including an F-35A Lighting II stealth fighter, an F-16 Fighting Falcon, a CH-53E Super Stallion and a CV22-Osprey tiltrotor.
Plenty of live entertainment, food vendors and aircraft demonstrations drew massive lines and crowds of onlookers. The festival is part of a long-standing tradition and aims to strengthens the bond between the U.S. military and Japanese community.
