It’s summer! It’s the season of fireworks festivals!
We cannot talk about summer in Japan without fireworks festivals. Sadly, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of them were cancelled in the last three years. It is good news that the fireworks festivals are coming back this year.
Fireworks come in different sizes. The size of the shell makes the difference, ranging from No.2 to No.40. When launching a firework, there must be a safety distance from the spectators and there are some restrictions on the size of fireworks that can be used in a festival depending on the municipality. The most common size seen in Tokyo is No.5, that goes up about 190m above ground and is about 170m in diameter when set off. Big ones are visible even though you do not go to the venue of the festival.
You can rent a Japanese traditional summer clothes “yukata” and enjoy the stroll through the street food and game stalls and the festive vibes at the festival, or stay away from the crowd and enjoy the big flowers blooming in the summer night sky from afar.
These are the well-known fireworks festivals near Tokyo.
Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival
This fireworks festival is said to be the oldest festival in Japan. It dates back to nearly 300 years ago, when the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune held a suijin festival to comfort the spirits of the deceased suffered from famine and epidemic in the year before and the restaurants along the Ryogoku Bridge launched some fireworks.
The fireworks festival once discontinued due to several reasons including traffic congestion around the area, but in 1978 it was renamed the current “Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival” and restarted after relocating the venue to two different places.
Katsushika Noryo Fireworks Festival
This fireworks festival has about 70 years of history. Since it is held on a weekday and the display of fireworks starts slightly later than the other fireworks festivals, those who work during the day will be able to catch it after work.
Traditionally, 13,000 fireworks were launched at one event, but this year 20,000 fireworks will bloom in the night sky, celebrating the first festival after three years of cancellations in a row due to the pandemic.
Adachi Fireworks Festival
This may be the first fireworks festival in the season to be held in Tokyo. The festival had been cancelled in the last three years due to the pandemic. As many as 15,000 fireworks will be launched in just one hour, while many fireworks festivals last for an hour and a half. Big colorful fireworks filling the night sky will be a spectacular view.
Itabashi Fireworks Festival
As mentioned above, there are restrictions on the size of fireworks in each municipality to ensure the safety of the spectators, but if you want to see the biggest in Tokyo, you should go to this festival. While the biggest Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival and others festivals in Tokyo have is Size No.5, Itabashi Fireworks Festival will have Size No.15, the size between No.10 and No.20. It also boasts one of the widest fireworks waterfalls in Kanto Region. On the same day, there will be another fireworks festival (Todabashi Fireworks Festival) on the other side of the river.
Edogawa Fireworks Festival
The history of Edogawa Fireworks Festival dates back to 1976, and Souke Hanabi Kagiya, 360-year-old fireworks company has been in charge of the launch since the very first festival. The festival starts with an impressive opening of 1,000 fireworks in just five seconds, which is special about this Edogawa Fireworks Festival. According to the official website, there will also be a display of fireworks in the shape of Mt. Fuji that is about 50m-tall and 280m-wide and display with the theme of SDGs.
If you do not mind traveling a little bit farther from the Tokyo city center, these are also the major ones outside Tokyo.
Sakura Hanabi Festa
The highlights of this festival are (1) the dynamic show of 6,000 fireworks in about 10 minutes launched in sync with music and (2) four “ni-shaku-dama (2尺玉)“ size fireworks (Size No.20) that are nearly 500m in diameter when they explode about 500m above the ground.
Tamagawa Fireworks Festival
Unlike the other fireworks festivals, this one is held in October. There will be two different fireworks festivals held on the same day in different venues (Setagaya and Kawasaki) along the Tamagawa River. There is not much information on the festival yet, but there will be updates on the website in the coming months.
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