Kesen Rock Festival Held Amid Extreme Heat in Iwate Prefecture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:40 JST, August 6, 2025

OFUNATO, Iwate — The Kesen Rock Festival, a music event held in the Kesen region of Iwate Prefecture, was held at Yumemi Park in Ofunato on July 19.

As the rock concert was held in extremely hot weather, many members of the audience took steps to prevent heat stroke, such as bringing bags of ice.

The rock festival started in 2009 and was planned by local volunteers. Though the event was forced to be suspended due to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic, this year it was held over two days for the first time in six years.

On July 19, the first day of the festival, 10-FEET, a three-member rock band who assisted reconstruction efforts in Ofunato just after the 2011 disaster, performed on the stage.

The band performed eight rock music numbers including the theme song of the movie “Slam Dunk,” based on the popular basketball manga with the same title.

A 32-year-old company employee from Adachi Ward, Tokyo, said, sweating: “I could see my favorite band from a very close distance. I could enjoy myself while forgetting this hot weather.”