Giant Paper Lanterns On Wheels
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Usually you’d have to hie yourself all the way up to rural Aomori* to catch a glimpse of these epic glowing floats, but lucky for me, last fall I happened across an outpost of the Nebuta Festival right in my own backyard! For some mysterious reason, six of the outrageously great floats were swanning down the shopping street near Nakanobu Station (yeah, I’d never gotten off there before either!) in mid-September, and they did not disappoint.
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Warriors no less fierce because they’re made out of paper
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His banner reads “Nakanobu Nebuta Festival” – proof that these aren’t just borrowed finery
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You can get an idea of big these things are YIKES the signs on either side were in danger
The grandaddy of all Nebuta festivals takes place on its home turf in Aomori at the beginning of August, but this mini version happens every two years in Tokyo, on the Nakanobu shopping street near Nakanobu Station. The next one will happen in September 2020, so plan ahead!
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The next best thing to dancing in the streets at a festival is reading a novel set in Tokyo
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For nine years, Tokyo Detective Kenji Nakamura thought his mother’s death was an accident. Then he gets a call, and his life begins to unravel. Because if it wasn’t an accident…what was it? Read more
