Coldplay, Foo Fighters Rock At Fuji Fest

Fuji pictures & setlist.

A massive music festival that has been likened to an Asian Woodstock kicked off Friday at Japan's Naeba Ski Resort.

This year's edition of the annual Fuji Rock Festival is being touted as the best yet, with nearly 200 musical acts from around the world set to perform on 10 different stages during the three-day event. The lineup – the most star-studded in the festival's history – includes both international acts as well as Japanese, Chinese and South Korean artists.

Musical styles to be featured range from rock music to electronica, performed by both hot newcomers, like the Kaiser Chiefs, and seasoned veterans, like the Beach Boys. Other leading acts include Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Fatboy Slim, Moby, Simple Plan, the Pogues, the Go! Team, Los Lobos and Ryan Adams.With their most ambitious lineup ever this year, festival organizers are expecting upwards of 100,000 music fans to camp out at the festival site, located at the popular ski resort, which sits at the foot of Mount Naeba, in Yuzawa, Niigata Prefecture.

The 2005 event, which is drawing a portion of its electricity from solar and wind power – is being dedicated to environmental issues and to the memory of the victims of the massive earthquake that hit the northern region of Niigata in October 2004.

Inspired by the U.K.'s famed Glastonbury Festival, event planner Masahiro Hidaka created the Fuji Rock Festival in 1997. With its eclectic lineup, the festival – Japan's biggest – is a favourite among Japanese youth. Past performers have included Eminem, Neil Young, Franz Ferdinand, Lou Reed, the White Stripes, Basement Jaxx and the Blind Boys of Alabama.