Local Guide
Aomori's summer is a time to enjoy the summer in Aomori! Information on traditional festivals and events full of enthusiasm

Aomori has many unique festivals and events each season: summer festivals in which huge, extremely colored "Nebuta" floats sway in the darkness and send people into a frenzy; traditional autumn festivals to pray for a good harvest; and fireworks displays held in the snowy winter months.
The size and flamboyance of the floats is unique to Aomori, a land that loves its festivals. Here are some of Aomori's festivals and events that attract festival lovers from around the world.

The Aomori Nebuta Festival is one of the most famous festivals in Japan. During the festival period, tourists visit from all over Japan, and the number of visitors reaches 2.8 million over the six days of the festival. From August 2 to 6 each year, about 20 "Nebuta" float floats are put on display in the center of Aomori City. The festival is unique in its size (9m wide, 7m deep, and 5m high) and the beauty of its decorations in rich colors that recreate scenes from historical figures and mythology. The audience cheers loudly every time a "Nebuta" approaches.

The highlight of the festival is the night of the 6th, when the festival comes to an end. On the evening of the 7th, the festival reaches a spectacular finale with the Nebuta being carried out to sea and a fireworks display.

Local Guide Comment
Aomori Nebuta Festival" is a must-see once! And once you see it, you will want to see (and participate in) the festival again.
At Aomoriya by Hoshino Resorts' show restaurant "Michinoku Matsuriya", you can enjoy shows of Aomori's four major festivals, including the Aomori Nebuta Festival, all year round.
Read more about the Aomori Nebuta Festival

Aomori Nebuta Festival
  • Address Aomori city center (Nebuta parade)
    Aomori Port (Aomori Fireworks Display, Nebuta Sea Rally)
    Special stage at Aoi Sea Park "Nebuta Russelland" (eve of the festival) MAP
  • Hours of Operation August 2 (Sat) - 7 (Thu), 2025 (regardless of the day of the week)
    2nd - 3rd, 19:00 - 21:00 approx.
    4th-6th 18:45-21:00 approx.
    Sun 7, 13:00-15:20, 19:15-21:00 (Aomori Fireworks Festival and Nebuta Sea Rally on the evening of Sun 7)
    Rain or shine, eve of the festival on (Fri) the 1st.
  • TEL 017-723-7211（Aomori Tourism & Convention Association)

Goshogawara City's "Tachineputa" festival is held from August 4 to 8 every year. The most distinctive feature of this festival is the height of the floats. The sight of about 15 floats, including three huge ones that take a year to build, parading through the city streets with the call of "Yatte-mare, yatte-mare" is a sight to behold.
Goshogawara City's "Tachineputa" began in the Meiji period (1868-1912).

The festival once ceased to exist because the blueprints for the "Tachineputa" were lost in two major fires that occurred around the end of World War II, but in the late 1990s, citizen volunteers restored the "Tachineputa" and the festival was revived. During the festival, "Tachineputa" parades around the city for about two hours starting at 19:00.

Local Guide Comment
The best place to watch the festival is a little further down the street when the floats round the bend. The huge floats that come into view between the buildings are so powerful that they will give you goosebumps! Even if it is not the time of the festival, you can see the actual Nebuta floats at the Tachineputa no Yakata.
Goshogawara Tachineputa
  • Address Goshogawara Urban Area MAP
  • Hours of Operation August 4 (Mon) - 8 (Fri), 2025, 19:00 - 21:00
    Held on the same day every year, regardless of the day of the week.
  • TEL 0173-38-1515（Goshogawara Tourist Association)

The Hachinohe Sanja Grand Festival, which boasts a history of approximately 300 years, is registered as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset of Japan and a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The highlight of the festival is the procession of portable shrines of the three shrines, Ogami Shrine, Chojayama Shinra Shrine, and Shinmei-gu Shrine, and the gorgeous floats. About 27 floats, which are reproductions of scenes from myths and kabuki plays, will be on display. The floats are huge, up to 8 meters wide and 10 meters high, but you will never get tired of watching them as they change rapidly as they smoke, move their gadgets, and unfold to fit the width of the street.

The festival begins on July 31 and attracts about 1.5 million visitors during the festival period. During the eve of the festival and the night after, all the floats are displayed in the civic plaza in front of the city hall and in the downtown area of Hachinohe, and musical demonstrations by the Hayashikata (musicians) are also held.

Local Guide Comment
When the floats are in operation, the mechanisms of the floats start to move! Smoke comes out, water comes out, dolls start to move, and so on. You can't take your eyes off the floats!
View detailed article on Hachinohe Sanja Grand Festival

Hachinohe Sanja Grand Festival
  • Address Hachinohe City Center MAP
  • Hours of Operation July 31 (Thu) - August 4 (Mon), 2025 *The festival will be held on the eve of the festival on July 31 and on the night after the festival on August 4.
    Held on the same day every year regardless of the day of the week.
  • TEL 0178-27-4243 (Hachinohe Tourist Information Center)

Hirosaki City's "Neputa Festival" is registered as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset of Japan. The festival is characterized by the fan-shaped "fan neputa" decorated with pictures of warriors from the Sangokushi (Legend of the Three Kingdoms) and Suikoden (Legend of the Water Margin). About 80 "neputas," painted in delicate colors, are displayed in the festival, and they stand out vividly in the darkness of the night.

The "Neputa" will operate in Dote-machi from August 1 to 4, and in front of Hirosaki Station on August 5 and 6. When the "Neputa" approaches an intersection, it will spin around in a circle, so don't miss it. On the 7th, an event called "Nanukabi-okuri" will be held as the festival's finale. After dozens of "Neputa" float along the banks of the Iwaki River, they are lit on fire on the banks of the river to purify them and send them off.

Local Guide Comment
The Hirosaki Neputa is characterized by its large fan-shaped floats. The floats spin around and around, and the best place to view them is at the intersection, as they are held at a widened intersection.
Hirosaki Neputa Festival
  • Address Hirosaki City center (Nanukabi-okuri on the night of the 7th is held on the banks of the Iwakigawa River) MAP
  • Hours of Operation August 1 (Fri) - 7 (Thu), 2025 * Held on the same day every year regardless of the day of the week
    19:00 - 21:00 (may vary depending on the number of vehicles)
  • TEL 0172-37-5501（Hirosaki Municipal Tourism Center)
  • Memo rain or shine

Kuroishi Yosare" is considered one of the "three major Nagashi Odori (floating dances) in Japan" along with Awa Odori and Gunjo Odori. The Bon Odori dance in Kuroishi City, adjacent to Aomori City, began to flourish about 200 years ago. The scene of many dancers filling the Komise Street, which still retains the atmosphere of the Edo period, is so full of emotion that it is like stepping back in time.

The "Nagashi Odori" dance, in which as many as 2,000 dancers dance through the center of the town, is a hand dance of Tsugaru folk songs, and the light sounds of the shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese banjo) and the shouts of "echaho, echaho" echo in the air. Between songs, "Mawari Odori," in which spectators dance in a circle, begins here and there, enlivening the entire town.
On the 17th and 18th, "Mawari Odori" will be held in the plaza in front of the station, and anyone can jump in and join.

Local Guide Comment
Kuroishi Yosare" is said to have originally been a love song sung between a man and a woman during the Bon dance. The "Mawari Odori" is a repetition of short movements, so you can learn it just by imitating what you see and hear. Please join the dance and enjoy the summer in Aomori.
Kuroishi Yosare
  • Address Downtown Kuroishi City (Ichinomachi, Kotokubeicho, Naka-machi, Mae-machi, etc.) MAP
  • Hours of Operation Nagashi Odori (Floating dance) August 15 (Fri) and 16 (Sat), 2025, 19:00 - 20:30
    Mawari Odori dance: August 17 (Sun) and 18 (Mon) 19:00-21:00
  • TEL 0172-52-3488(Kuroishi Yosare Executive Committee Office)

MAP

Hoshino Resorts facilities nearby
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The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.