Music fans at the Fuji Rock Festival
© AFP Shaun Tendon

NAEBA, Japan (AFP) - More than 100,000 people are set to party during a packed three days and nights that bring together around 50 artists ranging from international sensations Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes to indie rockers and DJs.

Tickets have already been sold out for Saturday, when the headlining act will be California rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppers -- who played the inaugural Fuji Rock Festival in 1997.

"It used to be just a small festival. It's a watershed for tickets to be sold out," said Maki Okuda, a 29-year-old fashion business employee attending this year's festival.

"I don't know the key to its success. Maybe rock has become more popular," she said.

Anthony Kiedis
© AFP/File Michal Cizek

While rival festivals have since cropped up in Japan, Fuji Rock has managed to maintain a steady mix of crowd-pleasing outfits and up-and-coming artists -- a tribute to the famously eclectic tastes of Japanese music fans.

"It's a great achievement that the festival has continued for such a long time," said Seiji Noda, a noted Japanese music critic and author.

Fuji Rock has persevered by effectively becoming a hipster version of a summer festival, a time-honored tradition in which Japanese go picnicking on muggy nights.

"Fuji Rock has become an annual event as people can go to enjoy themselves for three days and do some camping as well. Some people will go to the festival regardless of which musicians are there," Noda said.

"The festival has made a great contribution to Japan's popular music scene as its style is not about making money. It also offers chances for indie-label musicians and others who are not yet widely known," he said.

Fuji Rock Festival
© Fuji Rock Festival

The original inspiration for the event was England's legendary Glastonbury festival, which Fuji Rock's founder Masahiro Hidaka visited twice.

Despite Japan's huge base of music lovers, initial attempts to set up a rock 'n' roll festival of the sorts seen in Europe and the United States faced an all too familar foe for music festivals -- nature.

A typhoon slammed into Japan's first mega music festival, the Hakone Aphrodite in 1971 near Mount Fuji. Modeled unabashedly on Woodstock, the festival featured the seminal British rockers Pink Floyd.

In an eery repeat, the inaugural Fuji Rock festival -- again set next to the famous mountain that became the event's namesake -- was lashed with heavy rain, leading to the cancellation of the final day.

After finding temporary refuge in Tokyo, Fuji Rock moved to its current home some 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of Tokyo in Niigata prefecture -- where, as if to celebrate the 10th anniversary, rain is expected this weekend.

Franz Ferdinand's lead singer Alex Kapranos
© AFP/File Jose Jordan

But fans are undaunted by the elements, with many believing that Fuji Rock is a must-see for music lovers.

Sean Arnett, a 31-year-old teacher from Toronto heading to the concerts, said that Fuji Rock had gained international fame through video clips of performances by Western artists.

But the reputation comes at a price. Arnett said it was too expensive to stay all three days considering a ticket for the full event is just under 40,000 yen, or nearly 400 US dollars.

Dai Nakatsu, a 30-year-old from Oji on the southwestern Japanese island of Shikoku, has been twice before both to Fuji Rock and Glastonbury. He believes Fuji Rock offers a fresher take.

"Glastonbury has gotten too big," he said, adding with a smile: "English people are also too big for us. I couldn't see the stage."

"Fuji Rock has still managed to seem small and compact."

©AFP