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Aomori Nebuta Festival 青森ねぶた祭

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri Aomori Nebuta Matsuri
Aomori Nebuta Matsuri Aomori Nebuta Matsuri

Breathtaking three-dimensional floats light up the night in unbelievable ways

The Aomori Nebuta Festival is a summer festival held every August 2 to 7 that is considered one of the most fabulous events in all of Tohoku . The giant papier-mache dolls are incredible, which is why some 3 million or more people come to visit each year.

Don't Miss

  • Giant 3-D nebuta that parade through Aomori City
  • Getting hands-on by renting a haneto costume
  • The fireworks display to close the festivities on the last day, which lasts around 2 hours

How to Get There

The festival is impossible to miss when in Aomori City .

Aomori City is easily accessible from Tokyo. It's about three hours on the shinkansen to reach Shin-Aomori. From here, you can access the parade route easily on foot.

The floats are stabled at Rasseland, located next to the ASPM building along the waterfront, a ten-minute walk from Aomori Station.

Not what we called papier-mache

The Nebuta are built locally by teams of people who take a full year to design and construct the floats. They are often as wide as nine meters and as tall as five meters. The figures depicted are usually mythical figures, gods and spirits, local personalities, kabuki actors, or even TV characters, especially from historical "taiga" dramas.

There are 22 brightly lit nebuta. The parade is held at night throughout the festival, except on the last day, when it is in the afternoon. The festival closes with a fireworks show lasting around 2 hours, best viewed from along the waterfront or from Aomori Bay Bridge.

Put on the costume to join dancing

The nebuta are accompanied by large groups of taiko drummers, flutes, hand cymbal players, and hundreds of dancers, and audience participation is welcomed. You, too, can join in on the fun, provided you wear the haneto dancing costumes that are sold or rented around Aomori during the season. Costumes rent for around 4,000 yen.

The latest information may differ, so please check the official website



* The information on this page may be subject to change due to COVID-19.

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