Hello lovely readers!
On the 25th-26th of June it was Aomori’s turn to host the Tohoku Rokkon Festival! Aomori City was transformed into a bustling hub for all things Tohoku, with visitors not only from Japan, but from all across the world!
The festival brings the six prefectures of Tohoku together to celebrate the resilience of the area after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, and to encourage the revival of the affected regions. The festival was held in a different prefecture each year, where six cities, one from each of the six prefectures, would get together to showcase their biggest summer festivals together in electrifying parades!
With festivals spread across Japan and scattered throughout the year, it can be hard to decide which to attend, and so missing out on some great events is inevitable. However, the Rokkon Festival offered an opportunity for revelers to get a taste of six festivals all in one place! The festival featured the Waraji Festival from Fukushima, Akita’s Kantou Festival, the Sansa Dance from Morioka, Sendai’s Tababata Festival, Yamagata’s Hanagasa Festival, and of course, the Aomori Nebuta Festival.
On top of the parades, this year’s festival had live performances across two stages, displays, stalls offering crafts and dishes from across the Tohoku region, crafts corners, and more.
Unfortunately this year was scheduled to be the last year of the Rokkon Festival, however you can still enjoy the festivals in their respective regions.
And while you may have missed Aomori’s hosting of the Rokkon Festival, it is still possible to catch our spectacular Nebuta Festival which will be held from the 2nd to the 7th of August. But, don’t worry if you can’t make the date, not only is the festival is held every year, but the WA-RASSE Nebuta Museum displays the prize-winning floats from the previous year’s festival!
Thanks for reading folks!
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