Hirosaki Neputa Matsuri

This is one of the big three festivals in the northern Tohoku region, the other two being the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri and the Akita Kanto Matsuri. They are all held around the same time (early August) too, so you can enjoy all three by taking a three-day holiday. Large and small floats (neputa) are carried and pulled through the streets of Hirosaki.

The neputa are mostly fan-shaped with themes ranging from mythology, beautiful women and history. You can see the floats in daylight, but it’s the evening when they look the best as they are illuminated from within.

Just like at any other large festival, Japanese people reserve their spot hours in advance. If you don’t mind standing, you’ll have no problem finding a good spot to take some nice photos. The floats pass Hirosaki Station and the noise of the festival can be heard from the distance.