Hiromi and Naoto, from Saitama, Friday afternoon:

Who did you come to see?

Naoto: I'm not really sure! I haven't even looked at the timetable yet.

Hiromi: We came without even looking at who was playing. We wanted to come to Hokkaido anyway.

N: And we wanted to come to this festival anyway. It's our first time here.

H (checks lineup): I want to see Seikima-II. They paint their faces white, like kabuki actors.

How does Rising compare with other festivals?

N: It's great. I've been to Fuji Rock, Rock In Japan and Summer Sonic, and Rising Sun seems to take the best parts of each.

H: The staff around the site are so warm and friendly. They look like they're having fun even though they're working.

N: And because the site is so flat, it's easy to walk around.

H: Yes. Fuji Rock's in the mountains, so it's really exhausting.

Are you camping?

Both: "We are!"

H: We're really close to the main stage. We can see the stage from the campsite. I've never camped before. It gets extremely cold at night, and then in the morning it's too hot. It's like being boiled alive.

N: You go to sleep complaining it's too cold, and then you get woken up by the heat.

H: I'm actually looking forward to that tomorrow morning.

How about the mud? No problem?

N: Well, at least it's sunny.

H: Earlier I was walking around barefoot. I didn't want to get my shoes wet. But of course when I put my shoes back on, my feet made them wet anyway, from the inside.

N: The weather's really nice today, so hopefully the mud will dry up by tomorrow. If it was raining it would really kill the mood.

Ikue and Ayaka, from Sapporo, Saturday morning

Have you come to Rising Sun before?

Both: "Yes, we come every year."

Ikue: It's my sixth time.

Ayaka: I think it's my ninth time.

How does this year's event measure up to previous ones?

A: Hmm . . . it's amazing every year.

I: The mud was a bit annoying yesterday, but today it's very sunny. No problem.

A: Yes, there was a typhoon a few days ago.

What was the best band you saw yesterday?

Both (giggling): Scha Dara Parr!

I: They really put on a fun show.

A: Yes, people went crazy. They also had some great guests, since this year is their 20th anniversary.

Oh yeah, Tokyo No. 1 Soul Set joined them on stage. What's the atmosphere like at Rising Sun?

I: It feels very free.

A: There's an outdoors vibe, and it's fun. It's fun enough to forget about the real world.

I: Even though it's not so far from Sapporo, it feels like another world, ha ha.

How's the food?

I: Delicious. You can't go wrong, whatever you eat. The jingisu kahn (barbecued lamb) and soup curry are especially good. They're famous Hokkaido dishes.

Are you camping?

I: Yes. It's not hard at all. I'm used to it.

A: It's so fun to camp in the same place as all your friends. We can't see the stage from our tent but we're close enough to hear it and soak up the atmosphere.

Chika and Keisuke, 5 a.m. Sunday (the end of the festival)

How was the festival?

Chika: It was great fun!

Keisuke: It feels really good to have such wonderful weather after a typhoon has just hit. C: My feet feel like I've been standing in a rice paddy all day, mind you, but it was still fun, ha ha.

Who was the best band you saw?

K: That's a hard question: Everyone I saw was good.

C: Tatsuro Yamashita was the best.

K: Oh, he was amazing.

C: Seikima-II were good too, and Beat Crusaders.

Did you see the sunrise?

C: Hmm . . . it was a bit cloudy. I could see the color of the sky changing, but not really what you'd call a classic sunrise.