As I gazed up these action-packed creations, I tried to take pictures from many different angles and viewpoints. The story continues to unfold as you walk to the backside and discover there is more to see.
After a while, all the faces start to look the same. They all seem pretty pissed of and ready to take someone's head off. Not a smiling face to be had amongst the whole bunch.But their gleaming blue blades and white hot sharp edged weapons never fail to impress.
All the floats were depicting conflicts of one sort or another: man vs man, man vs tiger, man vs dragon, etc. All warriors usually fighting with hand held weapons but this one might be cheating and using a bit of magic or the force to overcome his rival
I didnt really take the time to read about the history of the festival or the origins of the floats. I was just impatient to see the floats. However, along one of the halls, there was an interactive display that lets you create your own nebuta facel You could customize the eyes, facepaint, and scowl. The face was projected onto a form to make look 3D. Before I got to the floats, I heard a bit of drumming ahead. As I reached the grand hall, there was some demonstration going on. I was too caught up in taking pictures to heed what was going on. Before I knew it, the drums went silent and so did the hall.
After seeing these in person, I am more inspired to one day hit Aomori in the summer to catch this weeklong festival. I am now a little more familiar with the area. The parade route is not too far from the Toyoko Inn but I dount you could get any views of it from any of the rooms.
