Hirosaki Neputa Matsuri
Aomori · Lantern festival
Fan-shaped lanterns with a warrior scene on the front and a quieter figure on the back, paraded through Hirosaki in early August.
Dates
1 to 7 August 2027
Held every year from 1 to 7 August.
Aomori city and Hirosaki hold neighbouring festivals in the same week and they are not the same thing. Aomori's nebuta are three dimensional warriors and the mood is loud. Hirosaki's neputa are flat fans, and the mood is closer to a procession than a party. The fans are painted on both sides. The front carries a battle scene in hard reds and blacks; the back, called the miokuri, is usually a single quiet figure, often a woman, and you only see it once the lantern has passed. That is the whole design: the fight comes towards you and the calm follows it away.
Getting a good spot
Because the lanterns are flat, the view from directly in front is much better than from an angle. Pick a spot on a straight stretch rather than a corner, which is the opposite of the advice for float festivals.
Where it happens
Access
Common questions
When is Hirosaki Neputa?
From 1 to 7 August every year, which overlaps the Aomori Nebuta festival an hour away by train.
What is the difference between neputa and nebuta?
Hirosaki's neputa are flat fan shapes painted on both sides. Aomori's nebuta are three dimensional figures built on wire frames. Same week, one hour apart, quite different evenings.