Aomori Nebuta Matsuri (青森ねぶた祭) | Giant Lanterns, Fireworks & Dancing at Japan’s Top Summer Festival

(日本語字幕付き!) Visit Aomori in northern Japan to experience Japan’s best summer festival, Aomori Nebuta Matsuri (青森ねぶた祭), famed for its GIGANTIC paper lantern floats called Nebuta that are pulled through the city and set afloat on the sea on the last day of the event! This year, the festival is back to its full scale, and we visited on the final day to enjoy a daytime parade followed by a stunning Japanese fireworks display and seeing the lanterns lit up at night.

Watch our Aomori Matsuri 2023 vlog to choose your favourite Nebuta lantern, listen to traditional Japanese festival music, and watch the mesmerising hopping and jumping of the Haneto dancers and see why this festival is a mustsee when you visit Japan in summer!

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LOCATION & INFO
Aomori Nebuta Matsuri (ねぶた祭) held in Aomori City every year from August 2 to 7.

About Nebuta Matsuri
Along with Sendai’s Tanabata Matsuri and Akita’s Kanto Matsuri, Aomori’s Nebuta is classed as one of Tohoku region’s “Top 3 Festivals”, attracting millions of spectators and jumping Haneto dancers every year.

The main attraction of this 300 yearold festival are the huge handmade lanterns called Nebuta, which are drawn through the town to the beat of taiko drums and flutes and lit up at night. The Nebuta floats are made of painted traditional washi paper set over huge wire frames measuring as big as 9 m wide and 5 m tall and are designed to look like historical characters, mythological Japanese gods and deities, and kabuki theatre characters. The floats cost around 2 million yen to make and Nebuta artists take an entire year to design, plan, and build the floats! Each team pulling the huge Nebuta have their own unique choreography, so it’s not just the sheer size and scale of these beautiful lanterns that make the festival exciting!

What are Haneto Dancers?
Haneto dancers accompany the local Nebutapulling teams by jumping along to the traditional taiko drum and flute festival music in brightly coloured costumes flanked with bells. The sound of the bells and the Haneto dancer’s “Rassera! Rassera!” chant adds an extra layer of excitement to the festival. It’s said that if you are able to grab a fallen Haneto bell, you’ll be lucky!

What does “Rassera, rassera!” Mean?
ラッセラー (“Rassera”) is a shortened dialectal version of "irasshai", the Japanese word for “welcome” and this chant invites festival spectators to join in and participate in the bouncing Haneto dance!

How to participate in Aomori Nebuta
If you would like to take part in the festival, you can buy or rent a special Haneto costume including the yukata (lightweight summer kimono), tabi and zori (straw sandals) footwear, bells, and a hanagasa (brightly coloured flower hat) for upwards of 4000 yen and dance along the 3.1 km Nebuta route around Aomori City. Participants should make sure to fold their yukata shorter than normal around kneelevel and secure the long sleeves to be able to dance and move freely and with as much energy as possible!

Want to know about the history of Nebuta?
If you want to know more about this 300 year old festival, or are not able to visit in time for the festival itself, you can learn more at Aomori’s Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse!
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VLOG CHAPTERS
0:00 Travel from Sendai to Aomori
1:37 Arriving in Aomori Prefecture
1:52 Aomori City / Waiting for the festival to begin
3:46 About the Nebuta floats
4:37 How to participate in the Nebuta festival
4:52 Aomori Nebuta Matsuri daytime parade
7:15 See the lantern floats at Nebuta Rasseland
7:28 Haneto dancer jumping
14:00 End of the daytime procession
15:36 Aomori Nebuta lanterns lit up at night
16:14 Aomori Nebuta fireworks finale / Outro