While the Hirosaki Neputa Festival was approaching, the Shimotatemachi Shoten Promotion Association called for Neputa appreciation etiquette.

The Hirosaki Neputa Festival will be held from August 1st to 7th. It is Katsumi Miyagawa of the same association who points out that the manners of viewing are getting worse year by year. "I think the manners of locals are worse than tourists," he said.

Dote-machi is the main operating route of Hirosaki Neputa and attracts many visitors. “Especially every year, there is a problem with taking place. Some people secure the place with duct tape or rug even on the braille block, and some people leave the duct tape used for taking place as it is,” says Miyagawa. "In the case of paper gum tape, it is difficult to remove it, so it takes a lot of effort and time to remove it. Some people do not take their own garbage home, and all nearby stores sort it out and put it away."

According to Miyagawa, there are currently no clear rules for picking up places, "I don't want you to stop picking up places, and just keep the minimum manners such as taking out your own trash." Mr. Miyagawa points out that there is a high possibility that the local people will take place because there are many cases where duct tape is applied from the day before. "There are stores in the shopping district that have chairs installed in front of the stores so that tourists can enjoy them preferentially," he said.

Mr. Miyagawa says, "If there is no improvement this year, we may change the method of road management in the shopping district during the Neputa period, referring to cases in other regions."