Aomori Nebuta Festival

The Aomori Nebuta Festival is one of the Tohoku Big Three — alongside Sendai Tanabata and Akita Kanto — and draws over 3 million visitors across six days in early August. The festival runs from 2 to 7 August each year, with evening float parades on 2-6 August and a daytime parade and sea parade on 7 August that closes the event with floats carried onto the harbour. The centrepiece is the nebuta float: a wire frame covered in washi paper, painted in vivid colours with scenes from Kabuki theatre, mythology, and Japanese history, then illuminated from within by thousands of LED lights. The largest floats stand 9 metres tall and 7 metres wide.

The Nebuta Floats

Around 20 large nebuta are created each year by specialist artists (nebuta-shi) who begin their work months in advance. Each float is commissioned by a corporation, organisation, or government body that funds the considerable construction cost. The image on each float — typically a fierce warrior face or a dynamic mythological scene — is designed to be seen from the front and the side simultaneously, which requires a specific approach to the three-dimensional composition that experienced nebuta-shi spend years developing.

The floats move through the city streets from approximately 7pm to 9pm each evening, pulled and pushed by hundreds of participants, accompanied by musicians playing the distinctive nebuta bayashi rhythm on flutes, taiko, and Kane bells. Surrounding the floats are the haneto: festival dancers in traditional costume (a yukata-style garment with a distinctive hat decorated with pompoms) who jump rhythmically and chant “rassera, rassera” throughout the procession. Anyone can join the haneto procession by purchasing a costume from shops in Aomori in the week before the festival.

Tickets and Viewing

Free standing views are available along the procession route. Paid grandstand seats (approximately 1,800-2,400 yen as of recent editions) are bookable in advance through the Aomori City Tourism Association and JTB; these sell out months ahead. The viewing experience from the roadside is perfectly adequate — the floats are large enough to see from a significant distance, and the crowds, while substantial, tend to manage themselves orderly. Arrive at least an hour before the procession begins for good roadside positions.

Getting There

Aomori is at the northern end of the Tohoku Shinkansen line (Hayabusa service from Tokyo, approximately 3 hours to Shin-Aomori, then a short local train to Aomori Station). The festival route begins near Aomori Station. Book accommodation in Aomori well in advance — the city fills completely during festival week. Hirosaki (approximately 45 minutes by train) is a viable base if Aomori accommodation is full. See our Aomori guide for options.