Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition

Tsuchiura City · Banks of the Sakura River near Gakuen Ohashi Bridge

Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.

Check dates on the official website ↗

Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition Executive Committee · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026

Dates

Dates confirmed with official sources

2026
Sat, Nov 7, 2026
Competition starts 17:30, ends around 20:00
2027
Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
Usual timing
Usually early November
How the date is set
Changes from year to year
Postponed in stormy weather (to the following Saturday, Nov 14, in 2026)
Venue
Banks of the Sakura River near Gakuen Ohashi Bridge
City
Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki
Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition
Image: Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition 2009 a.jpg · inoc from Japan · CC BY 2.0 (resized)

About

Fireworks makers from all over Japan compete at this autumn contest in Tsuchiura, and the 2026 event, its 95th edition, sends around 20,000 shells up from the banks of the Sakura River. Entries are judged in three categories: starmines, 10-go shells and creative fireworks. The starmine category draws particular attention and is said to decide the best in Japan, and the top pyrotechnician receives the Prime Minister's Award. The event dates back to 1925, when the head priest of Shinryuji Temple used his own money to set off fireworks on the shore of Lake Kasumigaura, both to mourn members of the Kasumigaura Naval Air Group who had died on duty and to cheer up a town struggling in the slump after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Holding it in autumn was also a way to celebrate the harvest and thank farmers for their work.

Sources

Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.

Other events this month

On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map

murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.

Download on the App Store Android (Google Play): coming soon