Japan is known for its incredible festivals, filled with tradition and history. These festivals are also incredibly fun, with really good food and fascinating things to see. One of the largest festivals in Japan is in our prefecture, which is like a state in the United States.

This is called Nebuta festival, and we were fortunate to be able to come this year together. Last year only Leanne came since I got COVID but this year I could finally come!

From Wikipedia: “Nebuta” refers to the float of a brave warrior-figure which is carried through the center of the city, while dancers wearing a unique type of costume called haneto (ハネト) dance around in time with the chant Rasserā (ラッセラー) (shortened dialectal version of “irasshai”, calling visitors and customers to watch or join).

We got front row seats to see the float parade!

The floats are intricate and hand-made, each telling a story from old Japanese folktale. They are lit from the inside and hand carried through the streets of Aomori City.