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The Nagaoka Fireworks Festival, Niigata |
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JAPAN UPDATE FROM JNTO KUALA LUMPUR
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Summer Fireworks Festivals in Japan
& Firework Trivias
Dear JNTO fans,
The weather in Japan is getting hotter lately and Japan is soon welcoming the arrival of summer in a few weeks time.
Summer in Japan is always eventful and full with excitements and funs as festivals are held all over Japan from July through August annually. Most summer festivals are annual traditions, and intended to celebrate the gods, the seasons, and historical events. And one of the main summer events not to be missed during summer in Japan is the fireworks festival.
Fireworks festivals are held, big or small, in various cities across Japan! People are dressed in Yukata and streets are lined up with colourful food and game stalls. While there are hundreds of fireworks festivals being held annually all across Japan, today, JNTO will be introducing to you the top three fireworks festivals in Japan, namely
1) Omagari Fireworks Festival, Akita
2) Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition, Ibaraki
3) The Nagaoka Fireworks Festival, Niigata
that best represents the firework festivals in Japan.
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Omagari Fireworks Festival (Akita Prefecture) |
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The Omagari Fireworks Festival boasts the top tradition and advanced techniques in Japan. Not only that it is one of the top three fireworks festivals in Japan, it is also a national competition in which Japan's top pyrotechnicians compete for the award prizes awarded by the Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.
It is also the only fireworks festival in Japan that has fireworks in broad daylight, which is one of the 3 competing categories of the competition (besides "warimoto firework" category and "creative firework" category). The daytime fireworks use colorful smoke and paint the summer skies in vibrant hues.
Estimated spectators: 760,000 people
Average firework shots: 20,000 shots
Date: Last Saturday of August, every day (28 August for 2021)
Access: 30 mins on foot from Omagari station (accessible by Akita Shinkansen in approxi. 3h from Tokyo station)
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Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition, Ibaraki Prefecture |
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Among the top three fireworks festivals in Japan, Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition is perhaps the less well-known one to international tourists despite its proximity which is rather close to Tokyo capital.
This fireworks display first began in 1925 to commemorate soldiers killed in WWI, and as a way to promote the local area. In 1947 the display was revamped as a competition, where fireworks companies and experts from around Japan gather to show off their skills.
This is also a firework festival that is held out of the usual summer time, so it will be a great chance for those who visit Japan in November to admire some world class fireworks.
Estimated spectators: 750,000 people
Average firework shots: 20,000 shots
Date: First Saturday of November (7 November for 2021)
Access: 30 mins on foot/ shuttle bus from JR Tsuchiura station (accessible by 45 mins express train from Ueno station)
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The Nagaoka Festival (Niigata Prefecture) |
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The Nagaoka Festival is a summer festival with its main attractions being the portable shrine float parades and folk dance processions during the day and fireworks displays are part of this festival and will be held in the evening on the final two days.
Among many attractive points of the festival, “Phoenix” is undoubtedly the highlight of the spectacle. In this portion, five minutes of fireworks are timed perfectly with Ayaka Hirahara's song “Jupiter,” written for the reconstruction of Niigata's Chuetsu area after a disastrous earthquake. This moving melody and the pyrotechnics bring many attendees to tears.
On the other hand, the finale covers about two kilometers of the river, making the Nagaoka Fireworks show the widest span of fireworks in the world.
Estimated spectators: 1,000,000 people (across the 3-day festival)
Average firework shots: 20,000 shots
Date: 1st~3rd August annually (2021 event has been cancelled)
Access: 20 mins on foot/ shuttle bus from Nagaoka (accessible by Joetsu shinkansen in approxi. 100 mins from Tokyo station)
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"Pheonix", synced with Ayaka Hirahara's "Jupiter" |
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How to make fireworks viewing more fun!?
Understand more interesting facts about fireworks in Japan through this Firework trivia and prepare yourself for your upcoming fireworks viewing in Japan! By taking some time to learn some of the better known fireworks and their features with JNTO, you can better enjoy the shows for sure!!
*The following illustrative photos are provided by Tsuchiura City. Original photos are adopted from Tsuchiura City Firework Page. |
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Kiku (Chrysanthemum)
Rises and a thread seems to trail behind. When the firework opens in all directions, it draws the shape of a chrysanthemum, most common type of firework. |
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Botan (Poeny)
Opens in all directions like Kiku, but it blooms like a peony while drawing dots of light without trailing behind and the light comes out more vividly than Kiku.
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Senringuki (Thousands Chrysanthemum)
Explodes with a bang and then, after a beat, the night sky is filled with innumerable small kiku that bloom in great beauty before fading away. |
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Hachi (Bees)
Emits a strong light while making a banging sound.
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Mangekyo (Kaleidoscope)
Opens and the petals of the same color open together and become colored light, which looks like looking through a kaleidoscope.
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Kamuro (Crown)
Burns relatively longer, spreads round, then runs down, and disappears near the ground.
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There are some criteria to make a prefect firework when it is being launched to the sky. Some of them being: |
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To launch at the peak of the shooting parabola
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To open in all directions in a perfect round shape
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To open evenly with no missing sparks/ bursts.
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To disappear at once without any residue
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Other than the three top fireworks festivals in Japan that we have introduced in this article, there are also many local fireworks festivals in each city/ district/ prefectures and most of them are held during summer time! Don't forget to check out the local festivals during your visit to Japan...
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