Aomori Nebuta festival accomodation

Hi all,

Last year i was unable to go to this festival because i waited too long to decide on what festival i wanted to see (was july hah). so, naturally, nothing was available for accomodation. So i told myself this year, i will be on top of it. Its february, 6 months prior. I go on [booking.com](https://booking.com) and guess what….NO HOTELS for the dates aug 5-7th…Do people book the day after the festival ends or what? I’m bummed that i will miss this festival again. Anyone live in Aomori that wouldnt mind letting me crash for a couple nights? how is it possible EVEYRTHING is booked already? what other accomodation apps etc might i be able to find accomodation?

Update: I have booked a stay in morioka for 4 days. Plan to get the tohoku jr pass and use the Shinkansen to go to Akita too to see kanto festival and then nebuta. I’ll see how time works with train schedules but that’s my plan for now hah. Thanks to all the comments and suggestion/tips

by notagain8277

12 comments
  1. I went last year and stayed in Morioka (about 1 hour away on the Shinkansen). I got the 5 day Tohoku pass residents in Japan can get and explored a lot of the Tohoku area in those days in addition to the festival. I think there’s some closer cities than Morioka you can probably still find accommodations in that are on that Shinkansen route.

    Just be careful to not miss the last train. If you do, there are some Internet cafes you can crash in until the morning

  2. Check on Airbnb, or on different booking websites. There is a small number or rooms and yeah, lots of people already reserve 6-8 months beforehands.

  3. I’m in the same boat but luckily have something booked in Hachinohe. Not ideal so I’m keeping an eye out for better deals, but I’m resigning to the fact I probably won’t find anything closer for 3 people, especially at the price I got in Hachinohe.

    Best of luck to your search!

  4. You should look into staying in the surrounding cities. Hirosaki, Hachinohe, or Morioka. For Morioka though the Sansa festival is going on from the 1st to the 4th so they book up fast for those days as well. Other than booking, did you check on Rakuten? Booking has fewer listings from my experience. 

  5. Visited the nebuta festival two years ago, when it reopened after Covid. We booked a tour on Kinki/Kintetsu Tours. This was all in Japanese with my spouse handling it. Included the shinkansen ride up to Morioka, a bus ride and stays at multiple onsens in between daily trips to the multiple nebuta events. A fantastic cultural immersion experience overall. Not sure this can be booked on an English language site, though.

  6. There are three Nebuta / Neputa (Tsugaru-ben) festivals in all near each other. While I’m not able to host your stay, I can provide some advice. Book a place in Hirosaki, the train ride to Aomori City is about a 48min ride. Hirosaki, Aomori, and Tsugaru all have a festival and all are different. Tsugaru’s nepta are several meter tall towers, Hirosaki’s are more traditional (like Aomori) but have a unique heritage to Hirosaki. Less crowded too! Then there is the Aomori Nebuta which is big, colorful, and with far more musicians, dancers, and floats. I recommend all three of you’ve got the time. Also, visit Hirosaki Castle, the Jomon historical dig site in Aomori city, and there are tons of awesome restaurants (looking at you Bonjour Takoyaki shop in Hirosaki) or the famous apple tarts from Angelic or, yet another, Bonjour cake shop. Take a walk at Iwaki’s shrine or hike Iwaki-yama. I love my prefecture. If you’ve got any other questions feel free to ask!

  7. Keep regularly checking booking sites, sometimes hotels open up. That’s how I managed to get a booking in the city for the festival 2 years ago.

  8. I managed to nab a hotel in Hirosaki last year via a travel agent being vigilant about spotting a hotel opening. It could be helpful, but it might also be a bit too late. I think I got *incredibly* lucky, so I don’t think there’s any guarantees.

    If you *do* manage to get something in Hirosaki, be incredibly careful: there’s only one train that goes between Hirosaki and Aomori. I left the festival *an hour* early, and the tiny train was packed to capacity, with people queuing up in the hundreds-to-thousands to get onto the next one. I imagine it’s very, very possible to get stranded in Aomori if you aren’t prepared.

  9. The only time I’ve bitten the bullet and paid for a full JR Tour, I even got a hotel for the Snow festival. Pricy, but the elevated seats (with goza mayt) were nice.

    Plus, it rained a bit, so beforehand when we had free time, I bought a few blue sheets at the 100 yen, and let fellow tour members sit and stay dry. Didn’t pay for food or drink that night.

  10. I actually visited all three neputa festivals last year in aomori, goshogahara and hirosaki. For us we were planning to camp but usually people tend to cancel hotels the last minutes so around 1万円 for two peeps we got super lucky!!

    I tend to use Google hotels in general which shows me a lot more options including
    Agoda, booking, rakuten etcetc

    Though if you are not planning to rent a car then definitely just put a reminder or notification for vacancies and don’t be afraid to stay further away as the access in aomori city is not bad by bus.
    Asamushi onsen is nearby accessed by train Soo another place to look out for openings.

    Hope OP finds a place cause neputa festival was mesmerizing and definitely a standout. Just fuck those people who try to secure spaces on curbs with tapes.

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