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Tokyo Weekender
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Unmissable Fireworks Festivals in Japan for Summer 2025
As summer sweeps across Japan, the night skies come alive with dazzling displays of color and sound during the country's beloved fireworks festivals, known as hanabi taikai . From riverside shows in Tokyo to elaborate festivities in Tohoku, these events draw millions of spectators each year, offering an evening full of tradition, community spirit and breathtaking pyrotechnics. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a seasoned festival-goer, experiencing a hanabi festival is a must for anyone looking to soak in the magic of summer in Japan. Here are some of the most popular events happening this summer. Fireworks Festivals Happening This Summer Adachi Fireworks Festival 2025 Unlike previous years, the famous Adachi Fireworks Festival will be held in May this year for a more comfortable climate for spectators. 14,000 powerful fireworks are condensed into a one-hour display, and guests can enjoy a dynamic night sky with collaboration of fireworks and lasers. The closest fireworks display is on the Senju side, but it is highly recommended to watch from the Nishiarai side, where there is a wider riverbed. Date & Time May 31, 2025・19:20-20:20 Price Free Location Arakawa Nishiarai Bridge Green Space More Details The 44th Yokohama Open Port Festival This year marks the 44th Yokohama Port Opening Festival, a popular event for Yokohamaites to celebrate the opening of the port of Yokohama in 1859 and honor the history of their hometown. Approximately 2,500 fireworks will be shot off at Rinko Park in the grand finale of the three-day festival. The fireworks and drone shows will illuminate the night sky of the Minato Mirai area. Date & Time May 31-Jun 02・19:20~ Price Free Location Rinko Park More Details Tokyo Racecourse Fireworks 2025 The theme for 2025 is 'J-Pop Best,' and the fireworks will be set off to famous songs in keeping with the 100th anniversary of the Showa era. The fireworks will be synchronized with music on the vast horse racing track, which is approximately 2 kilometers long. All seats are reserved, so you can enjoy the fireworks in comfort without worrying about crowds, and facilities such as restrooms and food booths are available for people of all ages to enjoy the fireworks in comfort. The venue is only a short walk from the nearest station, making it easy to visit from within Tokyo. In order to bring out the world view of the music to the fullest, the fireworks display is carefully calculated in terms of color, shape, height, and even the afterglow when the fireworks fade away. The most notable feature is the dynamic fireworks display, which is shot off at a distance of only 100 meters from the bleachers. Date & Time Jul 2, 2025・19:30-20:40 Price ¥5,000 and up Location JRA Tokyo Racecourse More Details Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival 2025 With a 90-minute firework display over Asakusa, the Sumidagwa Fireworks Festival is one of the largest fireworks festival of Japan. The origin of this festival is 'Ryogoku no Kawabiraki,' which started in 1733, and it is the most prestigious fireworks festival in the Kanto area in terms of both tradition and prestige. The festival has dynamic performances by the fireworks makers, which combines the sophisticated skills of the pyrotechnicians with the emotional landscape of Edo's historic atmosphere. The fireworks competition at the first site is not to be missed, and you can enjoy different fireworks at each of the two sites, which gives you a different impression depending on where you watch the fireworks. Date & Time Jul 26, 2025・19:00-20:30 Price Free Location Taito Riverside Sports Center More Details Omagari Fireworks Festival 2025 Held in Daisen City, Akita Prefecture, the Omagari Fireworks Festival has been held since 1910, and runs as a competition of pyrotechnicians from all over Japan. The fireworks craftsmen are required to make their own fireworks and bring them to the competition, where judging will focus on design, color and creativity. The Prime Minister's Prize is also awarded in this prestigious can enjoy completely different fireworks displays in the daytime and at night. Especially, daytime fireworks are rare in Japan, and are a delicate competition in which beauty is competed not by light but by smoke. Date & Time Aug 30, 2025・17:10-21:30 Price Free Location Omono Riverside Ryokuchi Athletic Park More Details Nagaoka Fireworks Festival 2025 Held on August 2 and 3, the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival is a memorial service for those who died in the Nagaoka air raids, a display of gratitude to those who worked so hard for reconstruction and a wish for lasting peace. Bleacher seats are set up on both banks of the Shinano River so that the fireworks can be viewed from both directions. This is a rare fireworks display that takes advantage of the Shinano River by using a lot of the impressive shaku-dama, or 'large-sized balls' for the fireworks display of 'Sho-Sanshaku-Dama' with the width of 650 meters and 'Phoenix for reconstruction' with the width of 2 kilometers are highlights of the spectacle. Date & Time Aug 02-03・19:20-21:10 Price Free Location Shinanogawa Kasen Park More Details Tenjin Festival 2025 With over 1,000 years of history, the Tenjin Festival at Osaka Tenmangu Shrine in Osaka is one of the three major festivals in Japan. On the first day of the event, there are prayers for safety and prosperity at the shrine, and on the second day, the festivities really kick off with parades and fireworks. With a river procession of 100 boats and a fireworks display, the Tenjin Festival is a celebratory year, an original firework named 'Benibai', which opens in the shape of an ume (plum) bowl, is launched in honor of Tenjin-sama, the goddess of mercy. There are also many other unique fireworks to be enjoyed throughout the fireworks spectacle. Date & Time Jul 24-25・15:00~ Price Free Location Kema Sakuranomiya Park More Details Tips for the Best Fireworks-Viewing Experience Arrive Early: Popular spots fill up quickly and bring a large crowd — bring a picnic blanket and stake out a good viewing location well before sunset. Wear a Yukata: Embrace the festive spirit by wearing a traditional summer kimono, often sold or rented near event areas. Bring Snacks and Drinks: Festival food is everywhere, but lines can be long. Bringing your own refreshments saves time and money, and keeps you hydrated in the summer heat. Check Transportation Plans: Trains and buses can be packed after the event, so know your route home and consider walking part of the way. Respect the Space: Clean up after yourself and follow local etiquette. Many events provide trash bags or designated bins. Related Posts Heat Waves Force Japan's Beloved Summer Festivals To Change Seasons The Explosive Traditions and Innovations of Japanese Fireworks Displays 5 Japanese Products To Save You From The Summer Heat
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Japan's iconic summer festivals shift to cooler seasons as heatwaves become new normal
In a bid to escape the soaring summer temperatures now becoming the norm across Japan , cities are moving traditional festivals – including beloved fireworks displays – to spring and autumn for the sake of safety and comfort. One of the most prominent examples is Tokyo's century-old Adachi Fireworks Festival, which will take place on May 31 this year rather than its usual late July slot, according to a report by the Mainichi Shimbun. The city was forced to cancel last summer's fireworks festival due to a sudden thunderstorm just before it began. By moving the event to an earlier date this year, organisers hope to avoid such weather-related disruptions – but the bigger concern is the escalating heat, Adachi ward mayor Yayoi Kondo said in a statement on the ward's official website. 'The summer lately has significantly changed from what we knew as 'Japanese summer', where people clad in 'yukata' summer kimonos admired fireworks while cooling themselves with 'uchiwa' paper fans,' Kondo said. She acknowledged the nostalgia that many feel for the original timing, noting 'some people want to see the fireworks festival held in summer, calling it a summer tradition'. Performers dance during the Otsuka Awa Odori summer festival in Tokyo on August 5, 2018. Photo: Shutterstock But temperatures in Tokyo have increasingly tested the limits of tradition.
The Mainichi
3 days ago
- Climate
- The Mainichi
Japan's scorching summer heat forcing fireworks, other festivals to change schedules
TOKYO -- The extreme summer heat that has struck Japan in recent years due climate change is altering the landscape of annual fireworks and other festivals in the country, forcing the summer events to be moved to spring or autumn. Even so, there are cases where it has been difficult to reschedule the festivals due to their traditional nature. Farewell to fireworks viewing in 'yukata' summer kimonos? The Adachi Fireworks Festival, an annual summer tradition in Tokyo's Adachi Ward with a history of roughly 100 years, is set to be held May 31 this year instead of late July as had been the norm. Last summer, the festival had to be canceled shortly before its start due to an abrupt thunderstorm. By moving the festival forward this year, organizers hope to avoid the risk of cancellation due to bad weather, but "the extreme heat is more serious than just that," points out Adachi Ward Mayor Yayoi Kondo on the ward's official website. Last year, the temperature on the day of the fireworks festival had already climbed to 30 degrees Celsius by 7 a.m., and shortly after 10 a.m. it had surged above 35 C. A security guard was taken to a hospital due to heatstroke and many visitors also complained of feeling ill. As the main venue is located on the riverbed, there were few spots for sheltering from the scorching sun during preparations, taking an unusually serious toll on pyrotechnicians and city employees who were there from early in the day. While Mayor Kondo acknowledged, "Some people want to see the fireworks festival held in summer, calling it a summer tradition," she sought understanding for moving up the event schedule, saying, "The summer lately has significantly changed from what we knew as 'Japanese summer,' where people clad in 'yukata' summer kimonos admired fireworks while cooling themselves with 'uchiwa' paper fans." A representative of the Adachi Tourism Exchange Association said of the schedule change, "We're receiving positive feedback this year, such as 'I can bring my young child'" to the festival. 'Passing down tradition ...' Japan's local regions are also changing the schedules of their traditional events. Toride Jinja shrine's Kujirabune event in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture -- an event appearing on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list as one of the "Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals in Japan" -- will be pushed back from Aug. 14 and 15 to Sept. 27 and 28 this year. In the festival, which dates back to the Edo period (1603-1867), people drag around floats shaped like ships to imitate whaling. Of the nearly 100 participants including staff, almost half are aged 60 or older due to the aging of the community, while elementary school students take on the role of harpooners aboard the floats. While organizers have taken every step possible to beat the heat, such as borrowing mist sprayers from the municipal government, they decided to change the date this year as "it would be too late if any emergency occurred." As the schedule change means the festival will no longer coincide with the Bon holiday season in August, the event this year will be held as part of dedication rites of the annual Gani festival that has traditionally been held at the shrine on Sept. 23. Masahiko Kato, 70, chairperson of the Tomida Kujirabune preservation society association, coordinated with locals and the Agency for Cultural Affairs regarding the date change, and strove to publicize it and secure enough personnel, calling it "a change to pass down the tradition." Event schedules changing across Japan In the Tohoku region in Japan's northeast, organizers of the Soma Nomaoi festival in the Soma region of Fukushima Prefecture, featuring costumed warriors on horseback, have since last year moved up the event from July to May to prioritize the safety of horses and people taking part, after a horse died of sunstroke during the festival in July 2023. Summer festivals in southwest Japan's Kyushu region have also seen a spate of scheduling changes this year. The Wasshoi Hyakuman Natsu Matsuri festival in Kitakyushu is being pushed back from August to September, while the Saga Castle Town Sakae no Kuni festival in the city of Saga, originally held in August, is now due to take place from May 31 to June 1. Difficult to change some festivals However, traditional seasonal celebrations like the "Tanabata" star festival, which normally takes place around July 7, are difficult to reschedule, as their significance would be lost. The Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival, featuring nearly 10-meter-tall decorations adorning the shopping streets in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, used to attract some 1.5 million visitors until 2019, but the number declined to roughly 1.1 million both in 2023 and 2024, with observers attributing it to the scorching summer heat. It is said that some children from day care centers and kindergartens forgo participating in the daytime parades while elderly people also refrain from watching the parades. "As it is a seasonal festival, we are not considering changing the schedule," said an official at the Hiratsuka Municipal Government's commerce and tourism division, adding that the city will install misting fans as a countermeasure against the summer heat. (Japanese original by Shuji Ozaki, Digital News Group)
