It’s summer.
Here in Japan, there are many types of festivals and if you want to experience Japanese-y summer, a fireworks festival is one of the best methods I recommend. This time every year, over 300 fireworks festivals are held across the country, but none is the same as any other. I picked 3 big/famous festivals to show you how each one is special, fantastic, and beautiful.

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長岡まつり花火大会(新潟県) Nagaoka Fireworks Festival (Niigata)

Place: Niigata prefecture
Date: Second and third day of August (every year)
Number of fireworks: 20,000

This historic fireworks display is held every summer over 2 days. You can enjoy many types of fireworks but especially phoenix, shown above, is absolutely fantastic. The fireworks are launched across a total length of 2 kilometers as symbolic prayer of revival since 2004, when a big earthquake occurred in Niigata. The message of the phoenix is, “even if we suffer from disasters, we rise again like a phoenix.” If you see this, you’ll be definitely impressed with its beauty and energy.

諏訪湖湖上花火大会(長野県) Lake Suwa Fireworks Festival (Nagano)

Place: Nagano prefecture
Date: August 15 (Every year)
Number of fireworks: 40,000-42,000

Have you ever seen 40,000 fireworks in one day? I guess not many can say yes. This festival boasts the largest number of fireworks in Japan, so you’ll surely be surprised by its loud sound. 湖上 (こじょう, kojō) in the festival name means on the lake, which is where the fireworks come from (it’s really elegant). Kiss of fire, the most famous type of firework of this festival, uses the geographical features to enhance the visuals. You can see it explode in the sky and the reflection on the water’s surface (check the video down below).

隅田川花火大会(東京都) Sumida River Fireworks Festival (Tokyo)

Place: Tokyo
Date: The last Saturday of July (Every year)
Number of fireworks: 20,000-22,000

If you want to enjoy fireworks in Tokyo, how about this one? I can say this is the most well-known fireworks festival. If you are lucky, you can enjoy the view of both fireworks and Tokyo tower, as the picture shows. However, you should be aware of that soooo many people visit (this year, over 950,000 people visited!!). To enjoy the fireworks comfortably, you’d better get a reserved seat and go there a few hours early.

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If you’ve visited Japan in summer, you know how hot it is (currently, over 86℉ everyday…). Some people hesitate to come to here because of the heat, but Japanese fireworks in summer is special. If you want to see beautiful fireworks and many smiling people in person, fly to Japan and make it happen!

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