Aomori

#aomori #japan #NebutaMuseumWARASSE

Getting into the swing of things we started to research the ports we were going to ( tip- the sheet given out on the ship was very basic but every port had a desk manned by English speaking local volunteers who were very helpful and had superb maps)
At Aomori we were interested in the local museum:
The museum is dedicated to the city's famous Nebuta Matsuri which is held annually in early August. The museum is housed in a unique building covered in red metal slats and stands along Aomori's waterfront district just north of Aomori Station.
The Nebuta Warasse museum attempts to capture the spirit of the festival and gives visitors a taste of its lively atmosphere, history and traditions. Upon entering the second floor entrance to the exhibitions, visitors are presented with the sights of the festival along a red corridor lined with images from the Nebuta Matsuri's 300 year history. Lanterns in the shape of red goldfish, another symbol of the festival, hang along the corridor where the recorded sounds of taiko drums, flutes, and voices play.

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Going straight to this building, we soon became enthralled by the size and images of the floats carried or wheeled by the local people. We spent a good couple of hours exploring these structures. We were certainly impressed by the work that had gone into them. Leaving through the souvenir shop, we treated ourselves to one of the famous local apple drinks to quench our thirst. I even collected an image of one of the heads to sketch on my iPad. (shown here)

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Moving on away from the port, we decided to walk through part  of the town eventually going to a local park. The town surprised us as many of the shops were called 'Vintage Clothing' (but looked like they were selling used clothes). In fact, the area reminded us of a our home town, in need of some  TLC,  although it was a lot cleaner, with no litter.
The park was also a little disappointing as again it was in need of a little love and care and the sole bedraggled, Macaque monkey in an old cage, summed this up. It was also a shame the Autumn colours hadn't arrived to this area yet.

To sum up, this town was a real case of two different images, the port with it's new buildings and the old town which was a little run down.