3 Great Summer Festivals In Northern Japan

Tohoku Region

The Tohoku Region is located in the northeast part of the main island. It's home to historical treasures, outdoor summer adventures, and powder snow in the winter.

Sendai Tanabata Festival

The Sendai Tanabata* Festival, also known as the "star festival" held every year in Miyagi prefecture on August 6- 8, is one of the largest celebrations in Japan. The festival's main feature is thousands of colorful streamers that decorate the city's shopping arcades, which come to resemble brightly colored forests.

^{*Tanabata celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). The celebration is held on various days between July and August.}

Akita Kanto Festival

The Kanto Festival (pole lantern festival) is a Tanabata* related celebration in Akita City. The highlight of the festival is an impressive display of skill in which performers balance kanto (long bamboo poles) with arrays of paper lanterns attached to the end.

Aomori Nebuta Festival

The Aomori Nebuta Festival is renowned internationally and is designated as a significant and intangible folk cultural asset of Japan. During the festival, more than twenty large nebutas (large lantern floats decorated with human figures) are wheeled along the parade route in the city of Aomori. 

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