花火

梅雨 (The rainy season) will be over soon in the Tokyo area and then the rest of summer will be filled with hot, humid, sunny days.

In Japan, 夏 (summer) means スイカ (watermelon), 祭 (festivals), 海 (the beach), 小鳥線香 (mosquito repellent coil)…

and 花火 (fireworks)!

宮島水中花火大会 in Hiroshima.

In the evenings of July and August (usually on the weekends), there are summer 花火大会 (fireworks shows) all over Japan.

If you go to a fireworks show in Japan,
– you should bring a picnic style food and drinks for yourself and your group…there’s no BBQ grilling done at fireworks shows in Japan,
– bring a plastic tarp sheet for your group to sit on…but, although many people do it, you’re not supposed to use the sheet to reserve a spot for yourself ahead of time,
– if you want to use 線香花火 (sparklers), don’t wave them around…it’s considered dangerous in Japan,
– you can wear 「ゆかた」 (summer kimono) or 「じんべい」 (Japanese traditional summer shorts / shirt outfit) if you want to,
– and Japanese people call out 「たまや！かぎや！」 (“Tamaya! Kagiya!“*) when the fireworks go up…you can yell that out too, if you want. (* Long ago, Tamaya and Kagiya were competing fireworks companies in Japan. Fireworks spectators began to call out their names to egg on their competition to make bigger and bigger displays. Today it remains popular to shout it out at fireworks shows.)

There are too many fireworks shows around Japan to list them all, even just in the Tokyo area there are too many to list.
But here’s a list of the main ones in the Tokyo area and the date of the summer 2009 shows (also you can click here to see a list of some of Tokyo’s Fireworks shows on my “Festivals in Tokyo“):

• 宮島水中花火大会 (Miyajima Suichu Fireworks Show) in 広島 (Hiroshima) – Friday, August 14
  (It’s far from Tokyo…but this show gets special mention. The photo in this post above is of this fireworks show. (The rest of the shows on this list are in Tokyo.)).
• 調布市花火大会 (Choufu-shi Fireworks Show) – Saturday, July 18
• 葛飾納涼花火大会 (Katsushika Nouryou Fireworks Show) – Tuesday, July 21
• 足立の花火大会 (Adachi Fireworks Show) – Thursday, July 23
• 隅田川花火大会 (Sumida River Fireworks Show) – Saturday, July 25
• 飯田橋花火大会 (Iidabashi Fireworks Show) – Saturday, August 1
• 江戸川花火大会 (Edo River Fireworks Show) – Saturday, August 1
• 青梅市納涼花火大会 (Oumeshi Nouryou Fireworks Show) – Saturday, August 1
• 昭島市民くじら祭夢花火 (Akishima-Residents Whale-Festival Dream-Fireworks Show) – Saturday, August 1 – Sunday, August 2
• 江東花火大会 (Koutou Fireworks Show) – Tuesday, August 4
• 日刊スポーツ主催2009神宮外苑花火大会第30回記念大会 (30th Nikkan Sports Shusai Shrine Outer-Garden Fireworks Festival 2009) – Thursday, August 6
• 東京湾大花火祭 (Tokyo Bay Grand Fireworks Festival) – Saturday, August 8
• 八丈島納涼花火大会 (Hachijyoujima Nouryou Fireworks Show) – Tuesday, August 11
• 第五回せいせき多摩川花火大会 (5th Performance Tama River Fireworks Show) – Tuesday, August 11
• 世田川区たまがわ花火大会 (Setagawa-Ward Tama River Fireworks Show) – Saturday, August 22

If you want any more information about these or other 花火大会 (Fireworks shows) in Japan (such as how to get there, the times of the shows, etc), please feel free to post a comment (click here), or contact me with this E-mail form, and I’ll help you as much as I can:

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You should visit Asakusa

浅草 (Asakusa) is one of the many parts of Tokyo that I like alot.

It’s a 下町 (traditional downtown area). Famous for the 雷門 (Lightning Gate), 浅草寺 (Sensouji Temple), and the numerous excellent 祭 (festivals) that are held there.

(Click here to read a post I wrote about 浅草 (Asakusa)).

Starting today, for the next few weeks, there will alot going on in 浅草 (Asakusa).

• Today (March 18): 金竜の舞い (Golden Dragon Festival).
  This is held every year on March 18. I have been to this festival a few times when the date fell on a weekend. I have to work today, so I can’t go this year…but, if you can make it—I recommend it.
  Click here to read about it on my Festivals In Tokyo page.
• Sunday, March 22, 2009: Tokyo Marathon.
  An annual international marathon with runners from all over the world racing through the streets of Tokyo.
  The course brings them past the 雷門 (Lightning Gate) in 浅草 (Asakusa).

• Late March – Early April: 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing).
  This traditional event is done all over Japan. One popular location is near the 隅田川 (Sumida River) in 浅草 (Asakusa).
  (Last year, I wrote a few posts about 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing). Click here to read one.)
• Sunday, April 12, 2009: 白鷺の舞い (White Heron Dance).
  A famous 浅草 (Asakusa) festival.
  

  「白鷺の舞い」 (White Heron Dance)

• Saturday, April 18, 2009: 流鏑馬 (Horseback Archery).
  An exciting ancient Japanese archery display that involves the archers shooting arrows at targets while riding a galloping horse.
  (I have seen 流鏑馬 (Horseback Archery) a number of times. Last year, I wrote a post about the 流鏑馬 (Horseback Archery) at 浅草 (Asakusa). Click here to read it.)

There are plenty of other great festivals in 浅草 (Asakusa) throughout the year. But these are the ones that are coming up.

Have you ever been to any of these festivals in 浅草 (Asakusa) before? Will you attend this year? Did you already know about these events?