Autumn traditions - fireworks!

Summer is synonymous with fireworks in Japan. The highlight of summer for a lot of people is the fireworks display. But for this Ireland born and bred foreigner, summer is way too hot to 'enjoy' fireworks, so for me they are something I look forward to in Autumn, not summer. And thankfully there are a lot of fireworks on in Autumn. Not as many as in summer, but more than in spring and winter combined! 

I can only speak with confidence for Saitama Prefecture and here in Saitama we have a huge range of Autumn fireworks, including one of the most famous - world famous at that. The Konosu Fireworks hold the Guinness World Record for the largest firework ever exploded in the night sky. The firework was a type of 'shakudama', the largest type of fireworks in the world. Shakudama are so large that they often can't be used in firework displays in Tokyo or built up cities. They need a lot of air space for safety. But at the Konosu fireworks they can and do launch them. Moreover, they launch several in a row. They also hold the record for the most shakudama launched in succession at a fireworks display.

This year, 2023, was the first time in four years that they launched shakudama. The fireworks were on in 2022, but they didn't launch any shakudama, quoting the pandemic as the reason. I guess they thought fewer people would come to see them when they aren't launching the mammoth fireworks. (But that certainly wasn't case - we were there and it was packed!) This year, 2023, to end the show, they launched a size four shakudama, the biggest of the biggest! The boom was so loud we could feel it reverberating in our chests. It was a wonderful, unforgettable feeling and made quite the impression on my youngest child who had never experienced a size 4 shakudama firework before.

There are several firework displays this weekend around Japan, including Halloween Fireworks in Saitama City. Don't worry if you can't see some this weekend, there are even more scheduled for the month of November. After that they peter off until early spring. But you can find winter fireworks too, particularly at amusement parks. Will you go to see any this Autumn or Winter?