Lake Suwa Fireworks
Aerial fireworks are a summer tradition in Japan.
Large firework displays across the country draw huge crowds, and spectators enjoy the summertime night sky while dining and playing games like goldfish scooping, etc. at various stalls.
Out of all the numerous fireworks festivals, the Lake Suwa Fireworks Festival is the nation’s leading festival both in number of fireworks launched and in scale.
At the Lake Suwa Fireworks Festival, more than 40,000 fireworks light up the summertime night sky in dazzling color from launch pads erected on the lake. Lake Suwa is surrounded on all sides by mountains, so the sound of the fireworks launching from the lake echoes bank and reverberates to the core of your body. Also, the surface of the lake acts as a mirror enabling spectators to enjoy the display in a way not possible anywhere else.
This fireworks festival was started in 1949 by citizens hoping for a bright future and an early recovery during the period of chaos following WWII. It is held every year on August 15 and receives nearly 500,000 visitors. The technical expertise of pyrotechnicians developed over a long span of history produces a delicate and fantastical night sky.
There is also the Lake Suwa Summer Night Firework Festival, during which fireworks are also launched at the lake every evening from early to late August.
Gorgeous fireworks are launched every evening for about 15 minutes, and these can be leisurely enjoyed from nearby lodging facilities and from the lakeside lawn.
Also, the All-Japan New Fireworks Competition is held in early September. At which, ambitious pyrotechnicians from across the country compete to see whose highly artistic new fireworks, created using innovative ideas and creative techniques beyond conventional boundaries, are the best. Lake Suwa is one of the best locations in the country for launching and viewing fireworks, and the high-level fireworks – overflowing with can-do spirit – are pitted against each other in the night sky.
