The Aomori Nebuta Festival is held every year from August 2nd to 7th. To coincide with the festival, the municipal government sets up a free campground for participants. Although I’m just one of the many users, after years of returning annually, I’ve ended up helping with its operation. So, in order to ensure that both first-time visitors and regulars can enjoy their stay comfortably, I’d like to lay out the basic guidelines, manners, and rules for using the campground here.
overview of campsite
| Festival Dates | From 2nd to 7st Augst. |
| Location | The grassy area in front of the Aomori Ferry Terminal. About a 30-minute walk from the center of Aomori City.https://maps.app.goo.gl/u7w9h6yrBzqAVsH47 |
| price | free |
| facility | Water station (one location with six faucets), portable toilets, tent sites, bicycle parking, car parking (a short distance from the campsite), and a garbage disposal area (disposal of camping gear is prohibited). |
| facility for disable people | No |
| Campground Administrator | Department of Tourism promotion, in Aomori city hall |
| De facto management | Since the campground operates on user self-governance, please follow the established rules for its management. |
| reservation | Not required completely |
| Request for Campground Users | A meeting is held every day at 5:00 PM (11:00 AM on the 7th), and all campground users are expected to attend. However, if you are unable to be at the campground at that time—for example, if you are going to see the Hirosaki Neputa Festival—this requirement does not apply. Unfortunately, All guideance at the meeting will be conducted in mainly Japanese, but some important information is displayed in also English, on Bulletin Board, so plz check it for your comfortable stay and minimizing conflicts with others. |
Operating Period
The campground is open every year from August 1st to 8th. Some users may arrive earlier than the official dates, but if you come too early, you will be asked to leave, so please be aware of this. The closing time is in the afternoon of August 8th. The exact time may vary slightly each year, so please check announcements at the general meetings and on the notice board.
Volunteers among the users will patrol the campground before closing, so tents cannot be left set up beyond August 8th.
Location
This grassy area is located within the premises of the Aomori City Nitta Purification Center. The site is kindly lent to us by the Purification Center, so please strictly refrain from parking in prohibited areas or entering restricted zones.
There have been incidents of users entering buildings where access is strictly forbidden. If this occurs, the facility will report it to the campground management, and we will be required to take action. Please absolutely avoid doing this.
Also, since this area is not normally used as a campground, occasional sightings of bee hives and venomous snakes (mamushi) have been reported. While environmental maintenance is conducted by contractors before the campground opens, there are limits to what can be controlled due to the natural surroundings. We ask for your understanding. Please note that all incidents or injuries occurring within the campground are your own responsibility.
Detailed information on access via public transportation is provided on this page. However, some of the information is outdated. For example, the “Maeda Store Okidate Branch” has closed. Please check the latest timetables and information on your own.
Sleeping at adjacent Ferry terminal is strictly prohibited
Price
There is no charge for using the campground. This is made possible thanks to the budget provided by Aomori City Hall. To help maintain this, it would be appreciated if campground users could contribute to the festival’s excitement by participating as “hitoshi” (festival dancers) or by shopping locally to support the community.
In the past, Marukatsu Suisan, located next to the campground, kindly provided ice for cooling to campers free of charge. It is still uncertain what the situation will be in 2025, but they also sell delicious BBQ ingredients like fish as well as tasty soft-serve ice cream, so please consider visiting them (they are closed on Wednesdays). Also, eating inside the store is prohibited, so please enjoy any purchased soft cream outside the shop!
Facilities
place for tap water
The water station can be used for various purposes such as cooking and washing clothes, but bringing a pool to fill with water is not allowed. Water showers are permitted, but please refrain from being naked.
Since the number of faucets is limited, please be considerate and share with others. Do not pour substances that can cause clogging, such as oil, down the drains. There are no communal detergents or soaps provided.
WC
Several portable toilets are installed at the campground. In recent years, due to budget constraints, the number of units has been reduced, so please be considerate and share their use. There are FamilyMart and 7-Eleven convenience stores near the campground that also have restrooms, but when using them, please shop there as well and use the facilities with respect.
Occasionally, waste that wasn’t properly deposited in the toilet bowl may be left behind. If you happen to miss, there are water taps and hoses available for cleaning—please use them to clean up. Although regular cleaning is conducted as shown in the photo above, we cannot maintain the cleanliness of the toilets unless everyone uses them responsibly.
Tents site
The grassy area serves as the tent site. Tents cannot be set up on emergency vehicle access routes or bicycle parking spaces. If someone accidentally sets up a tent in these areas, volunteers among the users will kindly ask them to move, so please follow their instructions.
Basically, the person who first sets up a tent or tarp in a spot can use that space until they decide to leave (we call this “prior occupancy rights”). Later arrivals are not allowed to demand, “You’re taking up too much space; move over a bit.” If such a conflict arises and you don’t know how to handle it, please ask others nearby for help (regular attendees—often older men—are good to ask).
Also, there are many regulars at this campground, and each group tends to have their usual spots where they set up their tents every year. However, even first-time visitors have their prior occupancy rights respected. That said, sometimes a quirky group might suddenly set up tents and tarps right next to you. Therefore, if you prefer to camp alone or want a quiet spot, it’s a good idea to check with someone who looks like a regular, asking, “Is it okay to set up here?(In Japanese, “koko ni tent wo hattemo iidesu ka?”)”
Other notice for warning
Open fires are strictly prohibited. Please use fire pits or BBQ grills.
Vehicles (including cars and motorcycles) are only allowed inside the tent site area during tent setup and takedown. Once you have finished setting up, please move your vehicle immediately to the designated parking area described below. There is no rental service for camping equipment.
Please do not use delivery services to send packages directly to the campground (including unattended delivery). This causes problems for the delivery personnel. There are convenience stores such as 7-Eleven and FamilyMart within walking distance, so please arrange to pick up packages there, or use postal hold services (Aomori Nishi Post Office or Aomori Okidate Post Office are relatively nearby) or delivery center pickup (for Yamato Transport, Aomori Yanagawa Branch is relatively close). But, as you know, most shop staff can not speak English. Using google translation app is recommended.
parking space for motorcycle
The motorcycle parking area is located inside the campground. Please park in the designated spots. As shown in the photos, there are both asphalt and grassy areas. We kindly ask that lightweight motorcycles such as Super Cubs and off-road bikes be parked on the grass side as much as possible. This is to allow larger motorcycles, like Harleys, to park on the asphalt near the front.
Please park your motorcycles aligned along the white lines, all facing the same direction. Since there are many bikes, proper arrangement is necessary to fit them all.
If you have a sidecar motorcycle, a cart, or a tuk-tuk, please ask staff on a case-by-case basis.
Bicycles are allowed to be parked right next to your tent.
Also, please drive slowly inside the campground! Small children are often running around!
parking space for cars
There is a parking lot for four-wheeled vehicles, and use of this parking lot is free of charge. So far, the parking lot has never been full to the point that cars overflow. However, there are quite a few rules and precautions for using the parking lot, and these can be somewhat complex (it can be difficult to understand them through text and diagrams alone). Moreover, if violations are witnessed, the offenders are very likely to be warned by bystanders, and the incidents are often brought up and discussed at meetings held exclusively by volunteer users. The entire user community takes compliance seriously.
Here, the explanation is divided into three parts: the parking areas, what is allowed within the parking lot, and how to properly cross the crosswalk when going from the campground to the parking lot.
Detail information for car users.
Please park your car as close to the campground side as possible.
Do’s and Don’ts in the Parking Lot
Camping activities in the parking lot—such as setting out chairs, pitching tarps, or cooking—are prohibited, as is drying Nebuta festival costumes. However, sleeping inside vehicles is tolerated.
You MUST use crosswalk like below, when going from the campground to the parking space
When going from the campground to the parking lot, please always use the crosswalk. Using the crosswalk requires crossing it three times in a U-shaped route. Crossing directly, as shown by the red arrows, is very dangerous. In the past, several traffic accidents have occurred because users did not follow this rule.
keep your body safe!
About Trash Disposal
Garbage disposal is free of charge. However, please refrain from bringing household waste or disposing of large camping equipment (such as tents or chairs). Please only dispose of trash generated during your camping stay within reasonable limits.
We appreciate your cooperation in separating your garbage. When disposing of plastic bottles or cans, please gather them in a plastic bag or similar before throwing them away. Batteries should be placed in the designated collection container.
Basically, standard waste separation rules apply, but there are some items that may cause confusion, so we have prepared a table below (to be updated later).
For example, scallop shells may be classified as burnable or non-burnable waste depending on the year…
Explaination of this campsite operation
The Aomori Nebuta Festival Summer Campground is established and operated as a project by the Tourism Division of the Economic Department of Aomori City Hall. While Aomori City Hall outsources part of the tasks related to the setup and maintenance of the campground infrastructure to contractors, the management and operation of the campground—the “soft” aspects—are handled through self-governance and cooperation among the users themselves.
Therefore, there is no full-time professional caretaker employed at the campground. As a result, long-time users have accumulated and practiced know-how regarding campground management and collective participation in the Nebuta Festival. This self-managed operation style has continued successfully for about 20 years.
For this reason, if you approach the campground with a “customer” mindset, it may cause confusion for everyone involved. Please understand this point first before deciding whether to come to this campground.
That said, many first-time visitors come every year, and there are also quite a few foreigners, so this is not an exclusive or closed-off campground. While there are some rules, they are mostly the basic common-sense ones that don’t necessarily need to be explicitly stated (e.g., no urinating standing up, absolutely no drunk driving, use the crosswalk, replace toilet paper when it runs out, avoid shouting at night, do not enter private property, etc.).
If you have any questions before using the campground, please contact the Tourism Division of the Economic Department of Aomori City Hall. The official website is linked here.
To reiterate, the city respects the users’ self-governance of the campground, so rule-making and enforcement are carried out by regular users, not by the city office. Therefore, you may not always receive immediate or sufficient answers from the city when you inquire, but please understand this is because the city honors the users’ autonomous management.
Unique Characteristics of This Campground: About the Users
This campground originated naturally when budget travelers heading to Hokkaido began gathering here. As a result, the main users are people who travel by two-wheeled vehicles such as bicycles or motorcycles, or those who used to do so. These travelers often form groups riding their bikes or cycles to participate in the Nebuta Festival, heading together to the event site. Around 10 p.m., they return in a group and sometimes continue partying at the campground until morning. Therefore, honestly, this campground is not suitable for those who want to camp quietly with their families. For such visitors, it’s better to choose other campgrounds—for example, Moyahills or Tsukimino Campgrounds within Aomori city.
That said, due to aging, some groups tend to go to bed early, and some people who have overexerted themselves as “Hatto” (festival participants) rest quietly at the campground all day because of sore feet. So while there is some degree of similarity among the users, those who don’t fit the typical profile usually can stay without any major problems.
In any case, please consider whether to use this campground with an understanding of its unique character.
For those interested, here is an article summarizing the history of the campground(In Japanese).
Situations That Require Contacting the Campground Management
Please contact the management in any of the following situations. “Nottsu,” “Poli,” and “Monmon” live at the campground but are often out, so if you can’t find them, please call the phone number posted on the bulletin board.
- Criminal offenses or traffic accidents involving users or occurring near the campground
- Witnessing violations of campground rules
- Media inquiries or press-related matters
- Any other troubles or questions you may have