The 10 Best Seasonal Fireworks in Tokai, Chubu

The Iwata Summer Festival Fireworks represent the quintessential image of summer in Fukude, Iwata. Held mainly at Hamabo Park, roughly 5,000 multicolored fireworks are launched to the accompaniment of electric organ music. A variety of events take place before the fireworks start, including Hawaiian hula dancing and yosakoi dancing. With countless street vendors and food stalls, the whole family is sure to love this fireworks show.

The Atami Fireworks are unique in Japan, in that they take place once every season rather than once a year. Shot off over Atami Bay, spectators watch from the beachfront along the waterway, sharing picnics and marveling at the bursts of color. Especially lauded is Atami's aquatic themed rocket, used in the Grand Finale: the "Aerial Niagara Fall".

Held every year on August 15th during Obon, this festival was founded to comfort the souls of those who died in natural disasters, fell in battle, or drowned in the Yahagi River. As sutras are chanted and incense is burnt, approximately 2,000 Buddhist lanterns are floated on the river. The ensuing fireworks display lasts for an hour and features about 3,000 fireworks, lighting up the river together with the lanterns. The fireworks are set off from sandbars along the river, and watching the display at such close range-150 meters, soaring right up above you-makes for a spectacular visual and tactile experience.

This huge fireworks festival is held every summer in Toyota, Aichi as the finale to the Toyota Oiden Matsuri. Approximately 13,000 multicolored fireworks are launched from Shirahama Park along the banks of the Yahagi River, dazzling the sky in tune to music. The display features numerous high points, such as a "Niagara Falls" firework display and a spectacular display from the Japan Fireworks Artists Association. This extravaganza has received high marks and widespread popularity from locals, fireworks fans, and experts alike.

Also known as the "Nihon Line," this fireworks festival is held along the picturesque Kiso River. About 3,000 starmines and other fireworks make for a dazzlingly colorful display against the night sky-together with the nearby presence of the illuminated Inuyama Castle, they create a spectacle like none other. The venue is easily accessed from public transportation hubs: it's right near Inuyama-Yuen Station and an eight-minute walk from the JR Unuma Station. Traffic is restricted near the event venue, so public transportation is the best choice.

The Anjinsai Lantern Fireworks show is held on the Matsukawa River, which runs through the center of Ito, as one of the Ajinsai events. At the lantern floating ceremony that starts at 7:30pm, about 2,000 lanterns are set afloat, fantastically bobbing on the surface of the water. Afterwards, about 800 fireworks are launched over the course of 10 minutes, their light illuminating the lanterns.

The Kuwana Suigo Fireworks Display was initiated in 1934 to commemorate the completion of Ise Bridge. Although suspended for a time during the war, the display carries on a fireworks tradition right up to today. Held in late July on a sandbar in the middle of the Ibi River, the event features the launching of approximately 10,000 fireworks in roughly an hour and a half. Airborne star mines, waterfalls, and star mines emerging from the water follow one after another, and the climax is a No. 20 Ball firework that lights up the night sky with one of the most impressive bursts of the Tokai region.

The largest fireworks show in Shizuoka Prefecture, with 25,000 fireworks launched. A range of amazing and impactful fireworks arrangements take place, such as the All-Japan Fireworks Competition, the Melodious Star Mine, a fusion of fireworks and music, and the Midair Niagara Falls.

The Anjin Sai, Ito Onsen's largest event, concludes with an amazing display of fireworks. Close to 10,000 fireworks go off in the span of an hour, erupting simultaneously over the water. These include complex bombs and rapid-fire launches, with the signature sight being the fireworks that erupt on the surface of the water and a "waterfalls." The waterfall spans 500m wide and is awe-inspiring. There are also 2,000 paid seats for a better view.

This firework display is held every summer in Oike Park in Chuo, Aichi. This elaborate production sees 4,000 fireworks dazzle the night skies annually. The very-popular grandstands are located close to the site where the fireworks are launched, so viewers can enjoy the full impact of the display. You can also lie down on the park grass to watch the show. The second half of the program features rapid bursts of starmine fireworks right up to the finale, building to a spectacular climax. Festival stalls are lined up along the roads surrounding the venue, patronized by bustling crowds of festivalgoers clad in yukata.