The Nebuta Matsuri is considered by many as Japan's top festival and I traveled 600 km north to the northern most city of Honshu to participate in the fun!
What makes Nebuta so amazing?
★ It could be the illuminated Nebuta floats that are pulled down on the city streets, turning and bowing to the crowd.
They're often in the form of mythological Japanese gods or dieties, larger than life in size.
★ Perhaps it's the taiko drums and flute players that make this festival no 1. The beat with those mystical flutes stays in your mind and body days after the festival has ended.
★ It could be the haneto dancers dressed in special yukata dancing and screaming Rasera! Rasera!

The answer is that they all when put together make this festival a mustsee when you visit Japan in the summer.

In this episode we look at:
AOMORI CITY ATTRACTIONS
NEBUTA HISTORY AND MUSEUM
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN NEBUTA
HOW THE FLOATS ARE MADE
THE MUSIC
HANETO DANCERS

Special thanks to MARUHA NICHIRO NEBUTA ASSOCIATION and Nebuta Design Master Shigeki Tezuka and his wonderful Nebuta float called "Records of the Three Kingdoms: Zhong Fei Roars at the Bridge of Changban"

STAR WARS also made an appearance at this year's Nebuta Festival. Check it Yoda, Luke, Vader, C3PO, R2D2 and others in the form of Nebuta art in the video.

This show has been created and produced by John Daub ジョン・ドーブ. He's been living and working in Japan for over 18 years and regularly reports on TV for Japan's International Channel.