Diamond Princess – Aomori, Japan – Part 3 – Night Nebuta Festival Boat Procession & Fireworks!
Check out one of Japan’s largest Nebuta festivals in Aomori. I was on a cruise that was visiting all the summer festivals all around Japan and this was our first stop!
“The epitome of Aomori’s summer, the Nebuta Festival is one of the most famous festivals in Japan, attracting thousands of visitors.
The main attraction is large, colorful and dramatic human-shaped floats called Nebuta, 9 meters wide, 7 meters deep and 5 meters high, most of them resembling ancient warlords, historical characters and kabuki characters in early days.
These floats parade through the streets of Aomori, with Haneto dancers bouncing down the streets to the exciting music of Nebuta bayashi bands.”
Sources:
https://www.nebuta.jp/foreign/english.html
https://aomori-tourism.com/en/event/detail_15.html#:~:text=During%20the%20festival%2C%20over%20twenty,through%20the%20city%20of%20Aomori.
On Day 3 of my Japan Circle/Nebuta Summer Festivals cruise on the Diamond Princess, I arrive at Aomori, Japan for the Aomori Nebuta Summer Festival. For part 1 of Aomori, I disembark the ship and walk from the port area across the Aomori Bay Bridge to downtown Aomori and explore the park to see the residents setting up for the parade in a few hours. Next, I head over to the Auga Fresh Market for lunch but first I do a quick tour of the different vendors of this huge and elaborate fish market.
For part 2 of Aomori, I watch the first part of the Nebuta Summer festival through the streets of Aomori. The parade goes on for a couple hours.
For part 3 of Aomori, I explore the festival area setup beneath the Aomori Bay Bridge. I enjoy some of the food from the street vendors and also grab a few beers. Finally, I go back to the ship to re-boot before coming back to downtown Aomori via cab to see the boat float parade followed by the grand finale fireworks!
Cruise itinerary:
Aug 5th : Tokyo (Yokohama) 4:00PM
Aug 6th: At Sea
Aug 7th: Aomori 8:00AM 11:00PM
Aug 8th: At Sea
Aug 9th: Sakaiminato 8:00AM 6:00PM
Aug 10th: Busan 8:00AM 6:00PM
Aug 11th: At Sea
Aug 12th: Kochi 7:00AM 11:59PM
Aug 13th: Tokushima 9:00AM 11:59PM
Aug 14th: At Sea
Aug 15th: Tokyo (Yokohama) 6:30AM
Music track by Nate Jessee