Exploring Japan’s summer festivals and fireworks by campervan
From July 31 to August 17, Ruka and Koichi travelled around Japan by campervan, visiting some of the country’s biggest summer festivals and fireworks events.
They regularly travel around Japan to attend festivals and events, usually using their own passenger car. This time, however, they decided to try a campervan trip in Japan for the first time.
Their journey took them to the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival in Niigata and several major summer festivals in Tohoku: the Aomori Nebuta Festival, Hirosaki Neputa Festival, Akita Kanto Festival and Sendai Tanabata Festival.
Starting the journey at the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival
Their journey began in Niigata with the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival.
Held every August, the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival is one of Japan’s best-known fireworks events. Large fireworks light up the night sky over the Shinano River, making it one of the highlights of summer in Niigata.
After enjoying and photographing the fireworks, Ruka and Koichi continued north towards Tohoku.
A Japan road trip through Tohoku’s summer festivals
During their Japan road trip, they visited several of the region’s best-known summer festivals.
Aomori Nebuta Festival
The Aomori Nebuta Festival is famous for its enormous illuminated floats, known as nebuta, which are paraded through the city during the festival.
Hirosaki Neputa Festival
At the Hirosaki Neputa Festival, large fan-shaped neputa floats travel through the city accompanied by the traditional chant “Yā-yadō.”
Akita Kanto Festival
The Akita Kanto Festival features performers balancing tall bamboo poles decorated with numerous lanterns on their hands, shoulders and other parts of their bodies.
Sendai Tanabata Festival
The Sendai Tanabata Festival is one of the largest Tanabata celebrations in Japan. Colorful decorations fill the streets of Sendai during the festival.
Travelling from one event to another gave Ruka and Koichi the opportunity to experience several different sides of summer in Japan within a single trip.
Finding a way around the crowds
Popular summer festivals can be challenging when it comes to accommodation and transportation. Ruka and Koichi found that hotels around some of the festival locations could be expensive or quickly become fully booked.
They also experienced heavy traffic around the festival areas, particularly when leaving after the events.
Instead of trying to park right next to the festival venue, they sometimes parked the campervan a little further away and walked to the venue or took a train for one or two stops.
This allowed them to use the campervan as a base while avoiding some of the congestion around the main festival areas. They found that combining the campervan with walking and public transportation made getting to and from the festivals smoother.
A different yukata every day
One of the memorable parts of the journey was Ruka’s yukata.
During their nearly three-week trip, she had prepared a different yukata for each day.
When travelling in their passenger car, there was not enough space to get dressed inside the vehicle, so they had previously changed in places such as public restrooms.
This time, being able to get dressed and put on her yukata inside the campervan was something she found particularly convenient.
It was a practical difference they experienced while travelling between Japan’s summer festivals.
A place to rest and work between photography shoots
Ruka and Koichi also met up with members of their photography crew at different locations throughout their trip.
The crew sometimes photographed festivals and fireworks from early morning until late at night. On some days, this meant they had very little time to sleep.
After finishing a shoot, they could return to the campervan, wait, work inside, or simply take a break.
For them, having a place where they could rest during waiting periods was particularly useful.
During this campervan trip in Japan, the vehicle was not only used to travel between destinations. It also became a place to work, wait and rest between photography shoots.
Discovering local drinks along the way
Japan is full of local food and drinks, and discovering something unique to each destination became another part of their journey.
As they travelled from one place to another, Ruka and Koichi bought fruit juices and other local drinks.
They kept them in the campervan’s refrigerator so they could enjoy them chilled whenever they wanted. They could also take some of the drinks home as souvenirs.
Finding something local, keeping it cold in the campervan and enjoying it later was one of the small pleasures they discovered along the way.
Experiencing Japan’s summer for yourself
From the fireworks of Nagaoka to the summer festivals of Tohoku, Ruka and Koichi spent nearly three weeks travelling through Japan and experiencing the country during one of its most lively seasons.
Japan has festivals and fireworks events throughout the summer, each with its own atmosphere, traditions and local character.
Rather than simply watching Japan’s summer festivals from afar, why not visit one in person and experience the atmosphere for yourself? At some festivals, visitors can also take part wearing traditional festival clothing.
For travellers considering a campervan rental in Japan, a journey like Ruka and Koichi’s is one way to connect different destinations while experiencing Japan’s seasonal festivals, local food, drinks and scenery along the way.
Their trip shows how they used the campervan in their own way — as transportation between destinations, a place to get ready for festivals, somewhere to rest and work between shoots, and a place to keep local drinks cold along the way.
Thank you, Ruka and Koichi, for sharing your journey with us. We hope to welcome you back to Japan for another adventure soon.
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About the Author
Sayuri
I have been travelling by campervan to various areas all over Japan for more than 5 years. My goal is to visit all 47 prefectures in Japan! Just 12 more prefectures to go and I'll have accomplished it! I hope I can share some of information of wonderful places in Japan.
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