Discover the Magic of Kyoto’s Summer Fireworks Festivals

Every year on August 16, the picturesque seaside city of Miyazu hosts the Miyazu Toro Nagashi Fireworks Festival. The festivities take place in Shimazaki Park and the Miyazu Bay area–famous for the incredibly scenic Amanohashidate! Like many of the festivals on this list, the Miyazu Toro Nagashi Fireworks Festival is not only a fireworks display, but a traditional summer festival held during the Obon holidays, when Japan lights up with a variety of fire and lantern-related festivities to honor those who have passed on. The event will include Buddhist hymns, followed by the lighting of ancestral boats and lantern floating to safely see off ancestral spirits. Finally, the fireworks display will dazzle the night sky, culminating in a Bon-odori (a traditional dance for Obon festivities) dance contest that will continue until the end of the festival.

Location: Shimazaki Park and Miyazu Bay area, Miyazu City, Kyoto

In late July, Maizuru City lights up the night with the Minato Maizuru Chatta Fireworks Festival. “Chatta,” is a common suffix in the local dialect of Maizuru, so it’s a fitting name for an event like this, filled with local pride. This festival features vibrant displays including the “Minna no Hanabi” (Everybody’s Fireworks), funded by donations from the citizens. The fireworks are launched over Maizuru Bay along the coast of Higashiji Ward, where they reflect beautifully in the water and echo off the surrounding mountains.

Visitors can enjoy food stalls along the coastal road, too, to really take in the Japanese festival atmosphere. When you head to the venue, you’ll just have to walk 15 minutes from JR Higashi-Maizuru Station to join in the festivities.

Location: Higashiji Ward, Maizuru City, Kyoto

The TANGO Yasaka Noryo Fireworks Festival takes place at Tango Kingdom, a large rest stop area in Kyotango in northern Kyoto. The festivities begin in the afternoon, featuring various events, food booths, game booths, and stage performances that will keep visitors entertained throughout the day. The highlight of the festival is of course the fireworks display that lights up the night sky after dark. It’s an afternoon and evening jam-packed with all the summer festival delights.

Location: Tango Kingdom, Kyotango City, Kyoto

Ayabe City celebrates its summer festival on the fourth Saturday in July, with the Ayabe Minatsuki Festival along the Yura River. Originally, this festival began with an Obon holiday tradition of sending lanterns down the river in honor of the ancestors of locals, but today, it’s evolved into a vibrant summer event. You can still see the magical sight of those colorful lanterns bobbing along the Yura River, followed by a spectacular fireworks display that lights up the basin in which Ayabe sits. In fact, due to the unique terrain, the sound of the fireworks echoes out beyond the city.

A 10 minute walk from Ayabe Station on the JR Sanin Line, the festival begins with the Ayabe Yosakoi Dance, continues with the Kento Ceremony/Offering of Lights at a different location, and the Buddhist Lantern Festival. Finally, the fireworks will be launched in a dazzling display over the river.

Location: Yura Riverbanks, Ayabe City, Kyoto

Rounding off the summer festivities is the Nantan City Fireworks Festival, held in September at Oigawa Ryokuchi Park. This festival, which began as an event to honor those fallen in war, features approximately 2,000 fireworks across the skies of Yagi-cho, Nantan City, Kyoto. During the finale, the rapid succession of star mine bursts will light up the night sky like daylight.

Here, too, lanterns will be floated down the river in a sea of beautiful, twinkling lights. It’s a beautiful way to catch a taste of summer in Kyoto before the season ends. You’ll find the venue just a 5 minute walk from Yagi Station on the JR Sagano Line.

Location: Oigawa Ryokuchi Park, Nantan City, Kyoto