Flower Travellin' Band can be forgiven for their ever-so-slightly lackluster performance at Fuji Rock last year — it was their first major festival appearance in 35 years. Twelve months on and with several more shows as a re-formed unit under their belts, no such excuses apply at Rising Sun Rock: Expect the hard-rocking hippies to blow weedy competition half their age, such as Beat Crusaders and Straightener, out of Rising Sun Rock's crystalline waters, especially if guitar god/mystic guru Hideki Ishima remembers to bring his custom-made guitar-meets-sitar and singer Joe Yamanaka's vocals stay in tune.

Also check out: Mitsuyoshi Azuma & the Swinging Boppers, for their bow ties; Shibusashirazu Orchestra, for a dance; The Bawdies, for a time trip back to the Cavern Club; Guitar Wolf, for their bite; and Discharming Man, for that name.

The setting: Perfect for northern souls. The festival's six stages lie in the Hokkaido wilderness — 15 km north of Sapporo, to be precise — but with stages running all-night, none of the anticipated 80,000 attendees should be catching a death from Hokkaido's crisp night air. Think of it as Japan's alternative stimulus package.

Summer festival roundup
Summer festival fever Kegawa no Maries @ Rock in Japan By SIMON BARTZ	Summer festival fever Asian Kung-Fu Generation @ Nano-Mugen Festival By PHILIP BRASOR	Summer festival fever Lily Allen @ Fuji Rock Festival By SIMON BARTZ
Summer festival fever Saori Yano @ Sapporo City Jazz By YUNG-HSIANG KAO	RE:VIEW MUSIC Summer festival fever	Summer festival fever Yellow Magic Orchestra @ World Happiness By PHILIP BRASOR
Summer festival fever Rankin Taxi @ Starlight Reggae Festa By PHILIP BRASOR	Summer festival fever Christoph Eschenbach @ Pacific Music Festival By CHIHO IUCHI	Summer festival fever Aphex Twin at Summer Sonic By RICHARD SMART