Best Fireworks Festivals and Displays in the Tokyo Area

Dust off your yukata and ready your stomach for delectable festival food. It’s summer, a.k.a. fireworks season in Japan. Whether you’re not willing to stray out of central Tokyo or are looking for some off-season gatherings, here’s a list of displays and festivals, in Tokyo and further afield, that will suit anyone’s needs.

Edogawa Fireworks Festival (Saturday 4th August 2018)

You’ll have to journey to Chiba to see it, but Edogawa is one of the most impressive fireworks festivals in the Greater Tokyo area. Held along the Edo River, it’s well known for its ostentatious opening which includes one thousand fireworks in five seconds. Blink and you might miss it!

Jingu Gaien Stadium (Saturday 11th August 2018)

Jingu Gaien Stadium's display is conveniently located in central Tokyo. It can be seen anywhere around the stadium itself in the Harajuku and Aoyama area, but due to wild popularity, you need to arrive early to get a place to sit, or even to stand. Best seats of course, are inside the stadium itself, but it’ll cost you. The pop music performances before the fireworks start do soften the blow of the few thousand yen that the tickets cost though...

Tokyo Fireworks Festival Edomode (Saturday 11th August 2018)

Odaiba Seaside Park are getting in on the action with a display of their own. The stylishly named Edomode. Odaiba already boasts some pretty snazzy views of the Rainbow Bridge which passes over the Sumida River, connecting the area to the heart of Tokyo. The scenery can be improved even further by firing colourful sparks into the sky above it.

Sumida River Fireworks Festival (Saturday 28th July 2018)

Widely regarded as the oldest fireworks festival in Japan, if you want a display that’s bursting with tradition, this is the one. In the historical area of Asakusa and Ryogoku, you can see the fireworks exploding in a shower of sparks, reflected in the Sumida river to stunning effect. Photographers can get a shot of the fireworks filled sky behind the iconic Tokyo Sky Tree.

Chofu Autumn Fireworks (Saturday 27th October 2018)

If you got so caught up in other summer fun that you missed fireworks season, don’t sweat it. In fact you won't be sweating at all, some displays come later in the year when the temperature has cooled, including both fall and winter. One of these is the Chofu Autumn Fireworks Festival. A bit of a trek from Tokyo, but worth it to see the Japanese countryside sky lit up in sparkling colours. The area has a history of film making, so the fireworks are set to the music from various movies.