Hello everyone, this is Kumaki from GP!
Japan has so many traditional festivals, doesn’t it?
To be honest, I haven’t really participated in many festivals myself—but there was one I’ve always wanted to see at least once in my life. And finally, I had the chance to visit the Aomori Nebuta Festival in Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture. Seeing the Nebuta floats in person was far more overwhelming and moving than I had imagined. And the sponsored Nebuta floats were unexpectedly hilarious… (lol).
Today, I’d like to share a bit about my experience at the Aomori Nebuta Festival♪

What is the Aomori Nebuta Festival?

First, a quick refresher!
The Aomori Nebuta Festival is one of the Three Great Festivals of Tohoku, held every year from August 2nd to 7th in Aomori City.
“Nebuta” refers to large, vividly colored illuminated floats, and Haneto dancers liven up the festival while chanting “Rassera!” alongside the floats. Even as a spectator, just shouting “Rassera! Rassera! Rasse-raaa!” made me feel like I was actually participating in the festival. It’s such a fun memory.

The Spectacular Nebuta

Anyway—the power and presence of the Nebuta floats were incredible!
I was sitting in the second row from the front, so everything felt especially overwhelming. When the float moving forward suddenly rotated to face our direction…it was absolutely breathtaking.

The men pulling the float would synchronize their movements, rotate the float,
and then tilt it as if bowing toward the audience.
Naturally, we all responded with a huge “Wooooo!!!” and the excitement grew even more.

A Nebuta of a Famous Manga!?

And then—this one seemed to be inspired by Golden Kamuy(?). The costumes were so cool…
It’s really fun to see how each Nebuta changes depending on the artist and the concept.

The Sponsored Nebuta Are So Entertaining!

Of course, festivals have sponsors.
But did you know there are sponsored Nebuta floats too? And these are surprisingly fun and exciting to watch!
This Coca-Cola float had the bottle cap removed and even showed the carbonation bubbling inside—such detailed craftsmanship. I loved it.

Oh Thank Heaven, for Seven-Eleven!

When the parade began with the big taiko drums, I suddenly thought,
“Wait—Seven-Eleven is here too!?”
It was adorable (lol).

Even the Premium Malts Float Gave Fan Service

This Nebuta featured Suntory’s Premium Malts.
When we all shouted, “Premollll!!!” together, the float came right up close and bowed to us.
A truly fan-service king (lol).

Asahi, Calbee, and More

These were adorable too…
Chicken Ramen, Asahi Beer, Jagariko, iichiko…
You start wondering, “Who’s coming next?” and it becomes so exciting.

My personal favorite was Docomo’s Poinko brothers!
The likeness was perfect and just so cute. I felt totally healed by them.

In Closing

It was such a wonderful experience that I’m still basking in the afterglow.
I had always thought, “I want to see this at least once in my life,” but honestly… I want to go again!
If you plan to visit, I recommend stopping by Nebuta House Wa Rasse, located right in front of Aomori Station, to warm up beforehand♪
I did the same, and even took photos with my hand-painted Nebuta-inspired nail art.

This year’s festival has ended, but everyone—please consider visiting next year!