Daisen · OmagariNo.1268★★Open in map →
Omagari Fireworks
At the end of summer, the banks of the Omono River in Daisen become the stage for Japan's national fireworks competition. Makers from around the country fire the shells they built themselves, from a daytime round into the night.
- FromOmagari Station (Akita Shinkansen / JR Ou Line)
- ~30 min on footWalk from Omagari Station
- Omagari Fireworks
The sweet spot
It is one of the best-known fireworks events in Japan, so nothing about it is hidden. What visitors tend to miss is that it is judged. The Prime Minister's Award goes to the best overall maker, and the daytime round, shown in coloured smoke rather than light, is the only competition of its kind in the country. Seeing the day round first changes how you watch the night.
Where it is
34 more notes in Akita · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Hanabi-AmDaisen's free fireworks heritage museum, with a four-screen theatre and a workshop for designing a shell
- Omagari Hanabi Parkriverside sports park that becomes the venue, with the seating laid out along the right bank
- Omono Riverthe river between the seats and the launch site, which lies on the far, left bank
- Dewa Hillsthe hills beyond the launch site that form the backdrop to the shells
How to actually get there
- Tokyo → Omagari Station (Akita Shinkansen Komachi, no change).
- Omagari Station → Hanabi-Am, south of the station (walk).
- Hanabi-Am → Omagari Hanabi Park on the Omono River (walk west).
- Take your seat on the right bank; the launch site is across the river.
- On foot from Omagari Station
- Omagari Station is a stop on the Akita Shinkansen, and the JR Ou and Tazawako lines also meet here. The organisers put the walk from the station to the riverside venue at about 30 minutes. On competition day, expect to walk it with a very large crowd.
- Back to Omagari Station
- The crowd leaves all at once when the show ends, so the walk back takes longer than the walk out. Extra trains run on some lines on the day; check your return train before you settle in.
About the place
This is a competition rather than a display. Twenty-eight makers take part. Each is judged first on a daytime round, then after dark on size-10 shells and a creative piece built around a theme of their own. Between the entries comes the organisers' own wide starmine, fired along a front about 900 metres across. Spectators fill the right bank of the Omono River, and the shells go up from the left bank opposite.
How to enjoy it
The competition is held on the last Saturday of August; confirm the date in that year's official announcement. The daytime round comes first while it is still light, the night rounds follow after dark, and each creative entry runs for up to 2 minutes 30 seconds. The organisers note that rooms nearby fill months ahead, so book early.
Background & history
The competition began in 1910 as the Ou Six Prefectures Fireworks Fair, a side attraction at the festival of Suwa Shrine in Omagari. The creative round was added in 1964, and since 2000 the overall winner has received the Prime Minister's Award. Over more than a century, one rule has come to define the event: the maker who built a shell must fire it with their own hands.
Before you go
- Cash
- The organisers state that every seat inside the venue is ticketed, with no free viewing area. Tickets go on sale in advance through the official site. Hanabi-Am, near the station, is free to enter.
- Before you go
- Light rain does not stop the competition, though it can be postponed if the weather or the river makes it unsafe; the organisers recommend rainwear rather than umbrellas. Roads around the venue are closed on the day, and some car parks cannot be left until late at night. Hanabi-Am is closed on Mondays.
- Another way
- Coming from Akita City, the Akita Shinkansen runs to Omagari without a change, and local trains on the JR Ou Line also stop here.
- After you get off
- From Omagari Station, walk south-west through the town to the Omono River. Hanabi-Am lies a short way south of the station, on the way.