Nagaoka Fireworks
Niigata · Fireworks festival
A memorial as much as a spectacle, fired over the Shinano river on 2 and 3 August every year.
Dates
2 to 3 August 2027
Held every year on 2 and 3 August.
Nagaoka's fireworks began as a memorial. The city was bombed on 1 August 1945, and the display on the nights that follow is held for the people who died then and in the earthquakes since. The Shirayuri shell that opens the programme is fired in silence, and the Phoenix sequence that closes it runs two kilometres wide along the river to music. Knowing that changes the evening. It is the largest of the three national fireworks events by shell count, and also the one where the crowd stands still rather than cheering through the finale.
Getting a good spot
Both banks are used, and the free areas on the Chosei bridge side fill from the afternoon. Paid seats are sold in advance and are the practical option if you arrive on the day.
Access
Common questions
When are the Nagaoka fireworks?
On 2 and 3 August every year, over the Shinano river. The dates do not move, because they follow the anniversary of the 1945 air raid on 1 August.