Experience the amazing Nagaoka Fireworks Festival in Niigata prefecture this summer

A highlight of visiting Japan during the summer is catching one of the spectacular fireworks festivals happening all across the country. To witness one of the most amazing displays, head up to Niigata prefecture for the annual Nagaoka Fireworks Festival, which boasts an extraordinary pyrotechnic performance every August. 

Renowned as one of the three best fireworks festivals in Japan, this celebration takes place on August 2 and 3 in the city of Nagaoka along the banks of the Shinano River, Japan's longest river. The firework displays are the highlight of the second and third day of the Nagaoka Festival, which runs from August 1 to 3.

This colossal festivity has a profound story behind its spectacle. The origin of the festival can be traced back to the Nagaoka air raids on August 1 1945, when approximately 80 percent of the city was destroyed overnight and many precious lives were lost. To memorialise this pivotal day and to celebrate its recovery from the ravages of war, Nagaoka started a festival the following year as a way to express a wish for peace and as gratitude to those who were helping the city rebuild. This festival then paved the way for the Nagaoka Festival and its fireworks, which carry on this important commemoration with dazzling events and colourful displays every year.

Highlights of the festival include the striking 'Shosanshaku-dama', a massive firework that resembles a giant flower with a diameter of approximately 650m, as well as the 'Fukko Kigan Hanabi Phoenix', another impressive display that stretches a whopping two kilometres in width. 

Fireworks are not the only celebrations happening over the festival days. On August 1, you can catch a free lantern-floating ceremony that commemorates the victims of the air raids. Festivities are also held in front of Nagaoka Station, including the Dai-Min'yo Nagashi, a traditional parade where approximately 4,000 people dressed in yukata make their way through the streets while dancing to folk songs. This parade is accompanied by portable shrines known as mikoshi carrying divine spirits.

You can reach Nagaoka Station by shinkansen in about an hour and 40 minutes from Tokyo Station. Alternatively, driving takes approximately three and a half hours.