Hirosaki Neputa Asakusa Festival

If you want a taste of a traditional Neputa festival without leaving Tokyo, then the Hirosaki Neputa Asakusa Festival is an ideal introduction.

What happens?

Hirosaki Neputa features mainly large fan-shaped floats covered in paper painted with scenes from kabuki tales. The floats are lit up from the inside like giant lanterns, so they’re best appreciated after dark.

The festival is based on the Hirosaki Neputa Festival that takes place in the city of Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture each year. Watching it live in Hirosaki is best, but if you can’t make it to the far north, this is a good option.

Schedule 2023

There will be activities from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on each day of the festival, including displays of the floats and a mini parade at 1:30 p.m. on both days.

From 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the main floats will be paraded through the streets of Asakusa to shouts of “ya-ya-do!”. The route will go through most of the covered arcade area near Asakusa Station.

Neputa vs. Nebuta

If you’re familiar with Aomori Nebuta, then you should be aware that Neputa is not a misspelling! The subtle dialectal variation between Aomori City and Hirosaki means that the festival has a slightly different name. The festival also is similar but different. While Nebuta floats are large and free-form, Neputa floats tend to be a standard shape and smaller.