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Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse

cultureThe classic — done right

A city museum on the Aomori waterfront that keeps full-size Nebuta floats on display through the year. The festival itself runs for six nights in August; for the rest of the calendar, this is where the floats are.

FromAomori Station (JR Ou Main Line)
~1 minOne minute on foot from Aomori Station
Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse

Directions ↗

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

The Nebuta Museum floorupstairs displays tracing how the festival and its makers changed over time
The atrium overlookthe two-storey void above the hall, seen from the history floor before you descend
The float hallfloats at ground level, close enough to read the paper, wire and lashings
The award-winning floatthe top-prize piece of the year, labelled with the name of its maker
The shop and dining floorground-floor counters for Aomori produce and somewhere to sit down

How to actually get there

Aomori Station → Wa Rasse (leave on the east side and walk to the waterfront, about 1 min).
Start upstairs on the museum floor and follow the history displays round.
Descend into the double-height hall and walk a full circle around the floats.
Finish on the ground floor at the shop and dining counters before returning to the station.

One minute on foot from Aomori Station: Aomori Station is the terminus of the JR Ou Main Line and of the Aoimori Railway, and the starting point of the JR Tsugaru Line; Wa Rasse stands on the waterfront just east of the platforms. Arriving on the Tohoku Shinkansen, change at Shin-Aomori for a short JR Ou Main Line run into Aomori Station.
Back from Aomori Station: Walk back to the station in a minute and take the JR Ou Main Line to Shin-Aomori for the Tohoku Shinkansen, or the Aoimori Railway east toward Hachinohe. The museum closes in the early evening from autumn to spring, so you will normally be leaving well before the last services.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Wa Rasse stands on the waterfront a step from Aomori Station, and it exists for the long stretch of the year when the Nebuta floats are not on the street. Four full-size floats stand in the hall, replaced each year after the festival, so what you see is the current season's award-winning work rather than a permanent collection. The building is arranged as a descent: the upper floor traces how the festival and its makers changed, then the route drops into a double-height hall where the floats meet you at their real scale. Shamisen, flute and Nebuta drumming carry through the space.

How to enjoy it

Opening hours shift with the season: 9:00 to 19:00 from May to August, and 9:00 to 18:00 from September to April, with last entry half an hour before closing. Time the visit against the festival rather than the clock — the hall closes on 9 and 10 August for the full changeover, so from 11 August the floats on show are that year's winners. Because it sits beside the station, it also fits neatly into a wait between trains.

Background & history

The Nebuta festival runs each year from 2 to 7 August. On the final day the floats move in daylight, and that evening some of them go out onto Mutsu Bay alongside a fireworks display. Wa Rasse opened on 5 January 2011 as Aomori City's cultural and tourism exchange facility, on the waterfront immediately east of the station. Its stated purpose is to present the festival's history and craft across the whole year rather than only in the week it runs.

Before you go

Cash: Admission is 620 yen for adults, 460 yen for high-school students and 260 yen for elementary and junior-high students, with lower rates for groups of ten or more. Aomori City schoolchildren, and visitors holding a disability certificate plus one companion, are admitted free on presentation of proof.
Good to know: The building closes on 9 and 10 August, when the whole float display is changed over, and again on 31 December and 1 January. Closing time moves an hour earlier from September through April, so check the season before planning a late visit.
Another way: From Aomori Airport, the airport bus reaches Aomori Station in about 40 minutes, and the museum is a minute's walk from there. Drivers will find a car park, a coach bay and bicycle parking on the site.
After you get off: Leave Aomori Station on the east side and cross toward the water. Wa Rasse is the low building standing on the quay directly ahead, about a minute away.