Omagari Fireworks

Akita · Fireworks festival

The national fireworks competition, where Japan's pyrotechnicians compete for the Prime Minister's Award.

Dates

29 August 2026

Held on the last Saturday of August, with a daytime round as well as the night programme.

Dates checked against the official site on August 20, 2026

What happens when

When	What	Where
29 August 2026, 17:10	Daytime competition Shells that burst into coloured smoke rather than light.
29 August 2026, 19:00	Night competition The main programme, ending with the winner's set piece.

Omagari is a competition before it is a show, and that changes how you watch it. Twenty-eight or so pyrotechnicians each submit a set piece they have designed themselves, judged on the shell's symmetry, the colour changes and how cleanly it dies. Between the competition rounds the crowd is quiet in a way that other fireworks nights are not, because everyone is looking for the same faults the judges are. It also runs a daytime round, which almost nowhere else does: shells that burst into coloured smoke against the sky rather than light. It is a strange thing to see once, and the reason to arrive in the afternoon rather than the evening.

Getting a good spot

Paid seats are sold by lottery months ahead and are the only way to be on the riverbank itself. Free viewing further from the launch site still works, but trains out of Omagari afterwards are heavily congested, and many visitors stay in Akita city instead.

Access

Common questions

When is the Omagari fireworks competition?

On the last Saturday of August. The daytime round starts in the late afternoon and the night programme follows at 19:00.

What makes Omagari different from other fireworks festivals?

It is a judged competition rather than a display. Each pyrotechnician designs and fires their own entry, and there is a daytime round using coloured smoke, which is very rare elsewhere.