Greater Tokyo · Tokyo · Taitō and Sumida

Sumida River Fireworks Festival

隅田川花火大会

Tokyo’s great summer fireworks display, heir to the Edo-period Ryōgoku river-opening fireworks. Some 20,000 shells go up from two launch sites on the Sumida River around Asakusa, including a competition between ten fireworks makers. Held every year on the last Saturday of July.

31 July 2027

273 days away

Every year, the last Saturday of July — Cancelled in severe weather, with no backup date

Future dates: 31 July 2027 · 29 July 2028 · 28 July 2029

Origin

In 1732 a great famine followed by an epidemic killed many people. The next year the shogunate held a water-god festival to console the dead and drive away disease, and restaurants around Ryōgoku Bridge were given permission to set off fireworks after it; this is said to be the origin of the Ryōgoku river opening. The fireworks continued above Ryōgoku Bridge until 1961, but worsening traffic and other problems stopped them the following year. In 1978 they returned as the Sumida River Fireworks Festival, moved upstream and split between two sites.

What to look for

Some 20,000 shells, from two sites, burst over a river hemmed in by buildings. The first site (Sakura Bridge to Kototoi Bridge) starts at 7 p.m. and the second (Komagata Bridge to Umaya Bridge) at 7:30; both end at 8:30. At the first site, ten makers, some with historical links to the Ryōgoku fireworks and some with top results at other displays around Japan, compete with specially made pieces. The largest shells are size 5, opening about 200 m up at the first site and about 120 m at the second.

How to watch

The Sumida has no riverbank to sit on, so there are no designated viewing areas: this is a display you watch on the move, from the bridges and streets around the launch sites. Pedestrians are kept to one-way routes, so follow the stewards. Saving a spot is not allowed, and tape or chalk marks on roads and in parks are removed. Drones, climbing the safety fences, smoking outside designated areas, selling on the street or in parks, and entering apartment buildings or other private property are all prohibited. Burnt fragments of shells can fall, so protect your eyes with glasses or a towel. Do not use a selfie stick in the crowds, and take your rubbish home. The display goes ahead in light rain but is cancelled for typhoons and other severe weather, with no backup date. The decision is made at 8 a.m. on the day and posted on the official website and X account.

If you go

This is an evening event, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The only seats are the sponsor seats sold in advance on a first-come basis. The nearest stations are Asakusa, Tokyo Skytree and Honjo-Azumabashi for the first site, and Kuramae, Ryōgoku and Asakusabashi for the second. There is no event parking and roads around the sites are closed to traffic from early evening, so go by train. The crowds after the finale are intense, especially at Asakusa Station; use another station or wait before heading home. Temporary toilets have long queues, so go at the station beforehand. Tokyo at the end of July is hot even at night; watch out for heatstroke.

Where

Sumida River (Sakura to Kototoi bridges, Komagata to Umaya bridges)

Taitō and Sumida, Tokyo

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Sources

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