Every summer, one small town in Gifu dances until sunrise. For thirty nights straight. Gujo Odori, running since the 1590s. From mid-July through early September, the streets of Gujo Hachiman fill with people circling a yagura tower, singing the same folk songs their grandparents sang, wearing yukata and geta that click against the stone. This is not a performance for tourists. It is a living tradition where beginners and masters share the same circle. Join for about eight dollars. Rental yukata included. Someone will gently teach you the steps. An office worker from Tokyo stumbles the first round, laughing. By the third song, she is spinning with a local grandmother who has danced here for sixty years. An American family links arms in the ring, copying the hand motions, grinning at every mistake. Bon festival season. Thirty all-night dances. Up to four thousand people some evenings. The sun comes up. The music softens. Nobody wants to leave the circle. The joy here is older than the streets you dance on.