{"id":2101,"date":"2014-06-20T07:30:30","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T17:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/suggestionofmotion.com\/auto-draft\/"},"modified":"2014-06-30T09:33:44","modified_gmt":"2014-06-30T19:33:44","slug":"japan-aomori-nebuta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suggestionofmotion.com\/blog\/japan-aomori-nebuta\/","title":{"rendered":"Rise of the Nebuta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aomori is home to the largest Nebuta<\/em> festival in the world, but we had no idea what this meant to the people of Aomori until we stepped out of Aomori’s train station for the first time.<\/p>\n

Every summer, thousands of visitors descend on Aomori for the Nebuta Matsuri<\/em>, a festival where dozens of skillfully-crafted floats of highly stylized warriors are carried by dancers through Aomori’s streets. But the Nebuta just don’t disappear when the festival is over.<\/p>\n

Nebuta are everywhere in Aomori.<\/p>\n

Right in front of the train station is a billboard bearing the iconic visage of a Nebuta warrior.<\/p>\n

\"Nebuta<\/a> \"Nebuta<\/a><\/p>\n

When we reach our hotel, we are greeted by three large Nebuta samurai who live next door.<\/p>\n

\"Nebuta<\/a><\/p>\n

The samurai have seen better days, but they still pack quite a punch.<\/p>\n

Even just walking down the street, you get the feeling that Nebuta are all around you.<\/p>\n

\"Angry<\/a> \"Nebuta<\/a> \"Nebuta<\/a> \"Nebuta<\/a> \"Nebuta<\/a><\/p>\n

We head for Aomori’s waterfront to take in the ocean view and end up following some nice old ladies into a museum. Surely we’ll escape the eternal gaze of the Nebuta in this peaceful place.<\/p>\n

\"Entrance<\/a><\/p>\n

No such luck, because this is the Warasse Nebuta Museum<\/em>, the headquarters of the Nebuta horde if there ever was one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n