Aomori Nebuta

The Nebuta in Aomori is without doubt one of the 3 most famous festival in all of Japan. Highlights of the festival are broadcast live on TV and every single Japanese knows about this festival. The festival draws over 3 million visitors to Aomori and the parade itself contains up to 200,000 haneto dancers.

There are many theories about the origin of the Nebuta Festival in Aomori. One of the most likely is that it originated with the subjugation of rebels in the Aomori district by “General Tamuramaro” in the early 800′s. He had his army create large creatures, called “Nebuta”, to frighten the enemy and this battle fits in nicely with the history of the Neputa festival in Hirosaki.

The Aomori Nebuta festival has a lot of energy. Lots of drums, lots of people dancing. It’s a fun festival to watch and even to participate in (there are some dressing rules, but everyone is welcome to join!). I highly recommend going to see this one if you are in the area. The city is struggling to accommodate all those visitors, if you plan on going to see this festival then make sure you book your hotels very early (usually before April).

Transport: Aomori is just about to be connected to the Shinkansen line (the last part between Hachinohe and Aomori will open in December this year). Parking for cars is somewhat limited so if you come by car then come early.

Website: Aomori Nebuta has it’s own website here (info available in Japanese, English and Korean)