Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition 2019

Even though summer fireworks festivals are over, I had one more to look forward to that occurs every 4th Saturday in October in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki. This event is one of the largest fireworks competitions in Ibaraki Prefecture. Luckily, I have a friend that lives in Tsuchiura city and was fortunate to be able to stay while avoiding the crowd of people commuting by train. 

The event is called the Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition and it was just this past weekend. I was traveling all the way from Yamanashi, and my journey was surely a long one. Due to the typhoon season, there was heavy rain the day before the event causing train lines going into Ibaraki (specifically Tsuchiura) to be out of service. This was pretty disappointing, as I was stuck in Tokyo trying to transfer to Tsuchiura the night before, but since trains were cancelled, I had to call it quits and try check the next morning if trains would resume. Surprisingly, the train to Tsuchiura was running again before noon on Saturday, so I was able to make my way! 

My friend had told me that many people were already saving their seats with large tarps the night before. But, due to the heavy rain a large part of the viewing area was flooded. I was afraid that they would cancel the fireworks, but thank goodness it was still going to happen! The trains were filled with families and friends traveling from all over carrying tarps, drinks and snacks, and some even wearing yukata! I thought this was cool to see even though it was the end of October!

Also, before getting off at Tsuchiura Station, there was an announcement recommending travelers to purchase their return train tickets or refilling their IC cards when they arrive, rather than leave since the crowds at the train station would be too hectic after the event. Restaurants at the train stations were selling bentos outside their store, which was cool but my friend and I were planning to stop at the grocery store to bring our own food as well as buy from the food stalls at the event!

The fireworks was said to start from 6 pm and go on until 9 pm. My friend and I walked to the event held along side the Sakuragawa river. We got there a little after it started, so while we were walking there we could see the fireworks popping from 20 mins away! Once we arrived, we saw that there were many food stalls lined up. I couldn't even count how many!

There was a pause or intermission between the fireworks, which seemed like a 15+ min break. I overheard some people wondering if the fireworks were done or they were cancelling it because that is what happened last year! I was hoping this wouldn't happen so we were just walking through for about 10-minutes to look for a seat. Some people started to leave at around 7 pm and we were able to take their seats on the hill. 

I'm glad we waited, because the fireworks were beautiful! This photo below is a close up from one of the finales. 

We were sitting a bit far at first, and decided to move closer. There were people everywhere!!! 

We walked closer and were able to get such a great view! There were so many brilliant colors and fireworks that gave me a summer fireworks festival nostalgic vibe? 

We decided to find something to snack on. We saw this road that went off from the riverside and saw how many people there were and decided not to even try go down there. But, all the lights from the food stalls made the atmosphere so fun!

My friend wanted this Rainbow Cheese Dog, which has gotten pretty popular in Japan. I think this Cheese Dog idea came from Korea? 

I only had a bite and that was good enough for me haha! But the rainbow was interesting. 

I spy Doraemon, minions, and Pikachu!

These chocolate bananas were super adorable and if I wasn't so full I wish I had gotten them! The kaonashi (no face) from Spirited Away was my favorite!

We also got some karaage chicken (pictured in the left stand in photo above*) that had a sweet spicy sauce (kind of like Korean chicken). It was so good and also had a nice view of the fireworks!

Towards the end, all the large fireworks started to pop all at once. I started taking many videos and photos! For these two photos above, I used my iPhone's Portrait mode! It captured such an artistic looking photo with the fireworks in back of the tree! 

I had such a memorable time at this fireworks event and I really would like to go to more in the fall since the weather is a lot cooler and comfortable in summer! I recommend if you have no plans on the fourth Saturday of October, to check out Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition!