Japan Parade and Street Fair Return to UWS Tomorrow — Here’s What to Expect

One of the largest annual celebrations of Japanese culture in the United States is back on the Upper West Side this Saturday — and the lineup includes a Grand Marshal whose work hangs in galleries from Tokyo to Manhattan, the cast of an internationally beloved anime stage adaptation flying in from Japan, and more than 100 marching units in tow.

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The 5th Annual Japan Parade and Street Fair returns to Central Park West on Saturday, May 9, with the parade kicking off at 1 p.m. and a street fair running from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The parade route runs south along Central Park West from West 81st Street to West 67th Street, while the street fair spans West 72nd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. The event is free.

Last year’s parade drew an estimated 60,000 spectators, according to the NYPD figures cited by the organizers, with more than 2,800 participants marching across 110 groups — up from roughly 2,400 marchers and 20,000 spectators at the inaugural 2022 parade.

Leading the procession is Grand Marshal Acky Bright, the internationally acclaimed Japanese manga artist known for his “kawakakkoii” — cute and cool — aesthetic and intricate line work. His résumé includes collaborations with McDonald’s, Meta, Marvel, DC Comics, BMW, and Lexus. He held a solo exhibition at Japan Society in New York in 2024–2025 and has become a fixture at Anime NYC and New York Comic Con. Bright also designed the parade’s first-ever official mascot, unveiled this year.

“New York City has become like a second hometown to me,” Bright said in a statement. “I am truly honored to design the official mascot and serve as Grand Marshal.”

The headline guests, however, may be of more interest to anime fans: the cast of JUJUTSU KAISEN The Stage – Hidden Inventory/Premature Death – is flying in from Japan for the parade. The 2.5D theatrical adaptation of Gege Akutami’s blockbuster manga will bring special appearances by the actors playing Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, Toji Fushiguro, and various Curse users — riding the official Japan Day float at the tail end of the procession.

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The line of march, which runs to 102 entries, opens with the NYPD Honor Guard and NYPD Police Band, followed by Hunter College’s Japanese Program carrying the Japanese flag and the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans carrying the U.S. flag. From there, the procession is a deep cross-section of the city’s Japanese cultural institutions: the Japanese American Veterans Association, the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY, Soh Daiko, Taiko Masala Dojo, the New York Kimono Academy, the Harlem Japanese Gospel Choir, the NYC Otaku Choir, the Maid Cafe Collaboration of New York City, and several portable shrines, including one carried by the New Jersey Japanese School and another by the NY Hiroshima-Kai and NY Aichi-Kenjin-Kai.

Mr. and Mrs. Met will also be making an appearance, slotted in just after the Aoyama Gakuin New York Alumni Association.

The street fair on West 72nd Street will feature dozens of Japanese food vendors as well as cultural activities including calligraphy, origami, and shopping booths. Expect taiko drumming, martial arts demonstrations, traditional dance, and cosplay throughout the day.

Central Park West will be closed to traffic between West 81st and West 67th Streets during the parade.

The Japan Parade traces its roots back to the original Japan Day in Central Park, which began in 2007 as a gesture of thanks from New York’s Japanese community to the city. It transitioned into its current parade-and-street-fair format in 2022.

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