[Tohoku Six Prefectures] Enjoy Tohoku's summer festivals to the fullest! ～Summer Festival Complete Guide～

At this time of year, when summer is in full swing, I think of summer festivals...

Due to movement restrictions and self-restraint due to the coronavirus pandemic, most places that have refrained from holding summer festivals in recent years will be holding full-scale summer festivals this year, so I'm sure many people are looking to enjoy their first summer festival in a while.

This time, we will introduce information on Tohoku's summer festivals and a complete guide to enjoy Tohoku's summer festivals all at once.

Tohoku summer festival information

In the Tohoku regionThere are three major festivals in Tohoku: Aomori Nebuta Festival (Aomori Prefecture), Akita Kanto Festival (Akita Prefecture), and Sendai Tanabata Festival (Miyagi Prefecture).are referred to as the three major festivals.

The three major festivals mentioned above areNationally designated important intangible folk cultural propertyIt has become a very famous festival nationwide.

One of the three major festivals mentioned above,"Yamagata Hanagasa Festival (Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture)" is added to the "Four Great Festivals of Tohoku",andAdding "Morioka Sansa Odori (Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture)" to the "Tohoku Five Great Festivals"It has been with.

However, there are various opinions from those around Tohoku's four and five major festivals.“Fukushima Waraji Festival (Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture),” “Goshogawara Tachibuta (Goshogawara City, Aomori Prefecture),” and “Koriyama Uneme Festival (Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture)” are missing!Please refer to the four and five major festivals above for reference as there are opinions depending on each region.

Even so,Summer festivals in Tohoku are concentrated from late July to early August.I want to go there too! I want to see this too! This is something I worry about every year.

First, I would like to introduce the schedule of the Tohoku Summer Festival.

From Soma Nomaoi in Fukushima Prefecture to Sendai Tanabata Festival in Miyagi Prefecture, 11 days pass by every year.

If the festival itself lasts for several days, it may be easier to schedule it,The nightless castle in the sky is held for two days, while the Soma Nomaoi, Koriyama Uneme Festival, Fukushima Waraji Festival, Yamagata Hanagasa Festival, and Sendai Tanabata Festival are held for three days.

It looks like it's going to be a bit of a difficult schedule to look around in a hurry.

Why are summer festivals in Tohoku concentrated in early August?

As the summer festival dates are listed above,Summer festivals in Tohoku are concentrated from late July to early August.doing.

Have you ever wondered, “Why?”

There are various theories about this, butWind, flood, and disease during the summer are believed to be the work of evil spirits, and the origin of the summer festival is to carry a mikoshi with a deity on it, walk through the city to purify people, and pray for a bumper harvest in the fall.It was said that.

Early spring is the time for rice planting, autumn is for harvesting, and winter is covered in snow, so it is a characteristic of each Tohoku region that summer festivals are held at times that are not affected by agricultural work or the seasons.There are also things like that.

This is the recommended summer festival complete route!

To be honest, I think it would be physically difficult to visit all of them.

but,

This time, we will introduce two routes: Northern Tohoku and Northern Tohoku.

Northern Tohoku Route

7/31 Hachinohe Sansha Taisha Shrine (Aomori/Hachinohe) → 8/1 Morioka Sansa Odori (Iwate/Morioka) → 8/2 Hirosaki Neputa Festival (Aomori/Hirosaki) → 8/3 Nightless Castle in the Sky (Akita/Noshiro) → 8/4 Akita Kanto Festival (Akita, Akita) → 8/5 Aomori Nebuta Festival (Aomori, Aomori)

Start is 7/31Hachinohe Sansha Taisha ShrineIt's from.

One day at a time, the festival will visit Morioka, Hirosaki, Noshiro, and Akita, and the final Aomori Nebutama Festival will be held on August 5th.

You will be traveling around northern Tohoku, but you will be able to complete all of the summer festivals in northern Tohoku.

but,This year's Tohoku summer festivals are often held on weekdays.So, if you only have weekends off, your only option is to concentrate on Hirosaki Nebuta Festival, Aomori Nebuta Festival, and Akita Kanto Festival.

Tohoku route

7/29 Soma Nomaoi (Fukushima Prefecture, Soma City) → 8/3 Koriyama Uneme Festival (Fukushima, Koriyama) → 8/4 Fukushima Waraji Festival (Fukushima, Fukushima) → 8/5 Yamagata Hanagasa Festival (Yamagata, Yamagata) → 8/6 Sendai Tanabata Festival (Miyagi/Sendai)

The start is Soma Nomaoi on July 29th.However, in the case of Tohoku, there is time until the Koriyama Uneme Festival, which is also held in Fukushima Prefecture, followed by the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival and the Sendai Tanabata Festival.

Tohoku has festivals every weekendSo, if you can't take a day off during the week, you might end up watching the Tanabata decorations on Sunday night.

Furthermore, the Sendai Tanabata Festival will have fireworks set off in Sendai as an eve on August 5th, the day before the festival, so if you are looking for fireworks, you should spend the night of August 5th in Sendai.→8/4 Fukushima Waraji Festival→8/5 Sendai Tanabata Festival →8/7 Yamagata Hanagasa FestivalThere is also a course called.

It is important to check summer festival information in advance.

We've introduced some pretty tough routes that can be completed, but let's decide on a route based on actual information.

Summer festivals are outdoor events.This year's heat is hotter than usualThe forecast is thatTake all precautions to prevent heatstrokeLet's go.

Furthermore, due to the record-breaking heavy rains that hit Akita Prefecture in July this year,The Akita Kanto Festival announced on its official website on July 19th, ``Preparations are underway to hold the event as scheduled.''Therefore, please check the official website below frequently until the event is held.

summary

A quick introduction to the 2023 Tohoku summer festival.

Summer in Tohoku is short.

Summer festivals are held to enjoy the short summer to the fullest. It may be impossible to enjoy all of the summer festivals packed into a short period of time, but don't you want to enjoy them as much as possible?

I hope you all have a lot of fun at the summer festival for the first time in several years.