Omagari Hanabi - National Fireworks Competition 2026 Confirmed

全国花火競技大会「大曲の花火」 — Daisen, Akita (Tohoku)

The Omagari National Fireworks Competition is widely considered the most prestigious fireworks event in Japan: the country's best pyrotechnicians compete head-to-head with shells they made themselves, judged on creativity and technical perfection, before a crowd of around 700,000 in a small Akita city. If you want to see the absolute state of the art of hanabi, this is the one — including a rare daytime fireworks division in the late afternoon.

Background

First held in 1910 at Suwa Shrine, the competition awards the Prime Minister's Prize, the highest honor in Japanese pyrotechnics, and winning here defines a fireworks maker's career.

Getting there

The venue on the Omono River is about a 20–25 minute walk from JR Omagari Station, which is on the Akita Shinkansen (about 3.5 hours from Tokyo). Expect station crowd control and one-way walking routes on the night.

Tips

• Treat it like a major sporting event: reserved seats go on sale in early summer and sell out, and trains back are packed until after midnight — many visitors book Shinkansen seats for both directions months ahead.
• Hotels in Omagari itself are effectively impossible; stay in Akita City or Morioka and use the extra trains run for the event.
• Arrive early enough for the daytime competition (around 5pm) — colored-smoke shells are something you will almost never see elsewhere.
• Bring a rain layer and ground sheet; the show runs in light rain and the riverbank is unpaved.

Last verified against the official source: Sat, July 4, 2026