Here’s a video I took of the grand finale at the Goshogarawa (五所川原) summer fireworks festival in northern Aomori prefecture, Japan. It was held on August 3.
The whole programme lasted about one and a half hours, and Joanne and I both enjoyed ourselves – after we managed to find a spot to sit and watch, that is. According to official estimates, about 280,000 people were there that evening.
The fireworks was part of the city’s summer festival, known as the Tachinebuta matsuri (立佞武多祭り). Like Aomori prefecture’s two other major summer festivals, it features a parade of floats in the city centre, accompanied by song and dance. Despite its relatively small scale – with only about 15 floats – the Tachinebuta literally stands out because it features three that stand at over 20 metres. That’s about 7 storeys high!
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| Two of the three tachinebuta that are featured in this year’s event. Taken from an overhead walkway at JR Goshogawara station. As you see, the floats tower over everything but the shed they are stored in. |
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to attend the festival, which started on the following day, as we had only four evenings to spare in Aomori prefecture. Two evenings were spent in Aomori city for the Nebuta matsuri (the biggest in the prefecture), and another in Hirosaki for the Neputa matsuri.
More to come on the Nebuta and Neputa festivals... :)
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