Japan’s annual summer fireworks and festivals were once again cancelled due to the pandemic this year, but now that vaccination rates are climbing, bigger events are starting to come back. Atami, a hot spring town by the sea in Shizuoka prefecture, is celebrating with one of the biggest fireworks festivals in Japan this year, combined with live music performances.
The Shizuoka Atami Hanabi Festival was launched this year to help save local pyrotechnic businesses after the widespread cancellation of festivals resulted in a steep decline in demand for fireworks. Ikebun, a long-established firework shop in Shizuoka that’s been trading for 117 years, will be in charge of the overall production, along with seven other local stores.
The festival will be held at Nagisa Shinsui Park Moon Terrace on October 23 from 6pm to 9.30pm, with plenty of live entertainment to keep you busy before the big bang. The music will be curated by Tomoyuki Tanaka, who worked on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics opening ceremony, so you can expect an impressive lineup of performers. From 8pm, a whopping 5,500 fireworks will be shot up into the sky, with a scenic view of the bay behind. The fireworks segment will last about 40 minutes.
Tickets to the festival cost ¥10,000 per person, which includes a reserved seat, one drink, one food item and a dried fish, a Japanese festival staple. Unfortunately, the first round of tickets have already sold out, but there’ll be more tickets released in the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye on the website.
Not to worry if you miss the second round of tickets, too – you’ll still be able to catch the colourful fireworks from just about anywhere in Atami.
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