Small town turns into major city for one night.
In Japan, late summer is often the season for major displays of fireworks, and the Omagari Fireworks, held at the end of August, is among the most prestigious. It’s commonly known as the “National Fireworks Competition,” attracting the best pyrotechnical artists in the country to the city of Daisen, Akita Prefecture.
Our writer, Saya Togashi, has often attended the show throughout her life, but the crisp late summer evenings of her youth have been getting hotter and hotter with each passing year. It’s been getting to the point where she doesn’t know how many more years she can endure it, so she decided to chronicle her trip this year for posterity.
The first thing to know about the Omagari Fireworks is that it attracts about 700,000 spectators each year. On the other hand, the entire population of Daisen City is just 70,000 people. In fact, the population of all Akita Prefecture is only slightly higher, at about 800,000. Despite this massive influx of visitors, the event has been going on for almost a century without any major incidents.
▼ We blur out the pictures of people to protect their privacy, so get ready for some really blurry shots like this with all the people around.
But, as you can imagine, it does make getting there tricky. Luckily, Saya was an old hand at this and knew how to manage it. Daisen doesn’t have much public transportation to speak of, and the road closures gradually expand throughout the day in a kind of Battle Royale style, until about a third of the city is closed off to cars.
Saya knew to get there in the morning and find a place to stash her camper van about two kilometers from the venue. There she sat as the road restrictions washed over her parking spot, leaving her vehicle locked where it was. As late in August as it was, the daytime temperature was still over 30 degrees, and the camper quickly turned into a sweatbox. Daisen doesn’t have much in the way of major chain stores or restaurants where you could get away with loitering, and she didn’t want to leave her van idling all day, so she suffered in the heat for several hours.
As the sun started to set, she headed towards the venue on the bank of the Omono River. By this time, all the streets were restricted to pedestrian access only. The area can get rather muddy if it rained recently, so be sure not to wear good shoes.
After about a 30-minute walk, she arrived to a vast sea of people. Announcements blared over loudspeakers, reminding parents to stay close to their children. It made sense since it’d be nearly impossible to find a kid among all those people.
Despite this, the toilet situation was surprisingly good. An enormous lineup of porta-potties were set up, and according to Saya, they were clean and well maintained.
Saya purchased a “Pair Seat” ticket, which was a lower-middle grade ticket for 12,000 yen (US$80). It was basically just a hardwood bench that seated two, but the fact that she didn’t have to be crammed shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers was a nice luxury.
There were also food stalls, but due to the huge number of people, wait times were around 20 minutes. Many of them were also cooking, which drove up the surrounding temperature even more. Still, that didn’t stop her from stocking up on snacks in order to get into the festival atmosphere of the event.
It was finally time for the show to begin. The opening act was a drone show by the event’s sponsor, vitamin drink Oronamin C.
There was also a segment called “day fireworks,” which takes place while the sun is still setting. At one point, the announcer called on everyone to sing the ’90s hit “Aiwa Katsu” by Kan. It was moving to hear so many people sing in unison like that.
After that, it was time for the “night fireworks,” which was the main event, to start. Like we mentioned before, this is a competitive fireworks display, so each group has an allotted time where they show off their big-gun displays and then do a series of blasts in time with a song of their choice.
Because there were various groups taking part, the musical selection varied quite a bit from ’80s hits and instrumental scores to American songs and J-Pop. It was an eclectic mix with a music festival vibe to it.
These were the best in the business and putting their all into each display. The colors were so vivid and dazzlingly bright, while also lingering or suddenly snuffing out all at once under the meticulous control of the presenters. Saya often heard others gasp and wonder out loud how anyone could pull off these amazing performances.
It was longer than a lot of fireworks shows too, at about two and a half hours. The wooden bench began to get irritatingly hard to sit on…
At one point, Saya swallowed a bug while taking a drink…
The air grew chilly and the all the sweat she had built up over the day got ice-cold…
But none of that mattered. These were fireworks like few have ever seen and worth whatever hardship came along with being able to witness them. And the best was yet to come…
After the competition aspect is finished, there’s a special climax courtesy of the sponsors of the event, where all the competitors work together. As they do every year, the announcer shouts out “Brought… to… you… by!” and then the crowd erupts in cheers for what’s about to take place.
Suddenly, night became day as Saya’s entire horizon lit up with explosive light. Whatever complaints she had throughout the day were wiped from her mind in an instant. Her seat was a little off to the side, but she could easily imagine anyone front-row-center having a life-changing experience by the sheer size, force, and beauty of what filled the sky.
Afterward, the sky grew dark again, but the ground began to light up. This is the Omagari Fireworks’ unique way of applauding by the audience. People waved penlights or their smartphone screens to signal back to those behind the scenes that they enjoyed the show.
Unfortunately, transcendent experiences seldom last forever, and Saya was forced to face the harsh reality of her situation. She would have to hike back to her camper van, which was still in lockdown, then fight her way through traffic back home.
Despite the massive number of people, everyone returned home in an orderly fashion, and the flocks of people moved fluidly through the streets. Traffic was another matter, but this is to be expected with any fireworks display, let alone one of the biggest in the country.
Unfortunately, as with any large crowd, you’re sure to get some rude people who leave garbage all around, including on other people’s property. Saya had heard that some residents go away on vacation to escape all this and return after the fireworks have ended.
Still, the people there seemed appreciative, and one of the crossing guards cheerfully told guests to come again next year. Considering the devastating effects some smaller towns have been experiencing from depopulation, perhaps a little litter is a small price to pay.
▼ This encore parade of lights isn’t nearly as awe-inspiring.
After moving along on the highway at a snail’s pace until about midnight, our writer was finally able to continue her journey home.
Daisen seemed very experienced and well-equipped to handle an event of this magnitude, and was only getting better at it with each passing year. Saya, however, was having a harder time putting up with the heat and exhaustion the older she gets. She might have a few more years of this in her, but at least it’s good to know the Omagari Fireworks is showing no signs of slowing down.
Photos © SoraNews24
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