Sakuragawa Embankment, Tsuchiura

photo by keydepth · CC BY 3.0

25,000 fireworks in one night since 1925: three categories in competition, first Saturday of November.

Started in 1925 when a Buddhist monk paid out of his own pocket for a fireworks display in memory of fallen airmen, the competition resumed in 1946 and grew into one of the three great fireworks events in Japan. On the first Saturday of every November, on the riverbed of the Sakura River near Gakuen Bridge, twenty-five thousand fireworks go up in three categories (star mines, ten-inch shells, creative fireworks) before eight hundred thousand spectators, and the best wins the Prime Minister's Prize.

A stretch of embankment and public sports ground on the Sakura River, downstream of Gakuen Bridge, in Tsuchiura. Outside the competition days it is an ordinary public park; the main interest lies in the event held there.

ℹ️ 2026: 7 November, about 17:30–20:00 (postponed in bad weather). Much of the embankment remains free for viewing; the best stands, on the bank opposite the launch site, charge admission and have to be booked well in advance.

🚉 Kasuge · 7 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org

All series · Open the map