Top 10 Events in Koshinetsu, Chubu

The main Suwako Hanabi fireworks show is held late in the summer. It is one of Japan's most notable shows, being one of the largest, with over 40,000 individual rockets fired into the air against the city lights and mountainous backdrop of Nagano. The main treat is the Grande Finale, where over a mile of cascading fireworks are set off all at once, in a breathtaking display. The secondary festival, in September, focuses on more technical, experimental, and customized styles of rocket.

One of the three great fireworks festivals of Japan, this is the main event that heralds the finale of the Nagaoka Festival. It was selected in 2016 as No.1 fireworks events, as chosen by noted fireworks experts. A must-see is a super-massive ball of fireworks, the "star mine," which is a congeries of five different-colored fireworks launched from five angles, and select Ju-go tama balls crafted by each fireworks veteran, with crowd-pleasing designs. A total of 20,000 fireworks are launched, and attendees number close to one million. The Nagaoka Festival itself was launched in 1946 as the Nagaoka Recovery Festival, a prayer for recovery after the August 1, 1945 air raids.

For those who've wondered what it's like to be inside of a mosh pit in Japan, the Fuji Rock Festival is calling. While it's one of the world's tamest, cleanest, and most respectful concert festivals, the three-day event still brings major jams to its stages, attracting over 200 musicians a year, from international headliners to local up-and-comers. From hard rock to alternative music, it's a quirky festival that combines the best of Japanese hospitality with leather-clad band members. Make sure to keep an eye out for unique events throughout the festival, too-- steak eating contest, anyone?

The Onbashira festival is held only once every six years, to metaphorically revitalize the Suwa shrines. The historic and lengthy event has been performed for over 1,200 years in Japan, and consists of two month-long components. The Yamadashi takes place in April, during which four very large tree trunks are felled by hand axes in the cemetery of a shinto shrine. They are wrapped and adorned in red and white, and then dragged by teams of men towards the Shinto shrines, who test their courage during the trial by performing "kiotoshi": dangerously riding the logs downhill on rough inclines. The Satokibi, in May, sees these logs used as symbolic support structures. They are raised in the shrines by hand, while one man straddles the top, singing. When it is fully raised, and the man on top balanced many feet in the air, success is declared. A remarkable spectacle.

A winter festival of Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, which is known as one of Japan's leading heavy snowfall areas. It began in 1950 with the local residents' concept of "enjoy the snow, as a friend of the snow." The main event is the residents' handmade "artworks made of snow." The collection of huge artistic works makes a big impression on the viewer. In addition, "festival plazas" in almost 30 locations in the city and surrounding villages, you can enjoy such things as regional cuisine, snow tea ceremony, and snow slides. And the "Snow Carnival," live music and shows held on a huge stage made of snow, is not to be missed.

The Ojiya Matsuri is a three-day summer festival held annually in Ojiya, Niigata prefecture, and is the largest in the city. A variety of unique performances follow one after another, including a costumed Bon Festival dance, a folk dance, bullfighting, and a mechanical lantern puppet parade. In particular, the fireworks display is known as being the largest in the prefecture with over 7,000 fireworks shells, lighting up the summer sky with a variety of multicolored fireworks including set pieces, chrysanthemum bursts, and waterfall cascades. The extra-large "civilian group participation" chrysanthemums that mark the finale are a must-see. The overwhelming impressiveness of the event is truly mesmerizing.

This fireworks display is held in Ichikawa Misato, Yamanashi Prefecture, every year on August 7th, the town's "Fireworks Day." The event has a considerable history: originally the fireworks were set off for a ceremony at Shinmei Shrine, and during the Edo period this was famous as one of the Three Great Fireworks Festivals of Japan. Even today it is among the largest in the prefecture, with roughly 20,000 fireworks being set off each year. The highlight is the launching of a No. 20 Ball firework - not that common in Japan - which climbs through the sky to an altitude of roughly 500 meters before bursting to form an enormous flower roughly 500 meters in diameter. Also popular is the elaborate storyline of the festival's program, in which a sumptuous contest between music and fireworks captivates the many spectators.

The summer festival season at the Five Fuji Lakes kicks off with a festival at Lake Yamanaka, and the festival season comes to an end with the biggest of the festivals, the Lake Kawaguchi Kojosai. The festival takes place every year on August 4th and August 5th. On the 4th, the eve of the main festival, a dance stage and a small fireworks display using skyrockets are held, while on the next day a live concert by the lakeside is followed by the grand fireworks show. What with jumbo star mines, barrages of large ball fireworks, musical star mines, and more, between the two evenings a total of roughly 10,000 fireworks light up the summertime night sky.

The grape festival is held in Katsunuma, Koshu City, a place renowned for its grapes and wine. The festival takes place in Katsunuma Central Park, where you can enjoy free grapes and wine, and where there is a corner where you can buy a wineglass in order to sample the wine at booths run by wineries in the city. The festival includes stages for drumming and music as well as events such as a procession with a majestic portable shrine. In the evening, the night sky is lit up by the haunting scene of a burning torii gate as well as by beautiful fireworks overhead.