Colorful Floats Depicting Samurai, Other Figures Parade Through Aomori City; 5-day Nebuta Festival Kicks Off with a Bang

Crowds cheer as ornate 5-meter-tall floats parade through the streets of Aomori City on Saturday, when the five-day Nebuta Festival kicks off to color the summer of the Tohoku region. Dancers chanted to the sounds of fifes and drums, and 16 nebuta floats, depicting samurai and other figures, were seen on the first day. All 23 large floats will appear in the procession on Tuesday and Wednesday. “I’m so impressed with the skill of the nebuta artists who created such beautiful floats,” said a company employee from Tokyo who visited the city on a trip.