Tsuchiura All Japan National Fireworks Competition (Premier Pyrotechnic Championship)

Schedule: Sabtu Pertama Bulan November 2026 (Pukul 17:30 - 20:00) | Location: Ibaraki (茨城県)

Established in 1925 during the Taisho era when a Buddhist priest from Jinryuji Temple organized a memorial display honoring fallen naval aviators from Kasumigaura airbase while revitalizing local trade, the "Tsuchiura All Japan National Fireworks Competition" stands as one of "Japan’s Three Great Fireworks Displays" (Nihon Sandai Hanabi alongside Akita’s Omagari and Niigata’s Nagaoka). Departing from casual entertainment spectacles, Tsuchiura is a fiercely contested professional championship where the nation’s foremost pyrotechnic masters vie for the supreme honor: the prestigious "Prime Minister’s Award". Staged beneath the crystal-clear, crisp autumn night skies of November, over 20,000 competition-grade aerial shells illuminate the darkness across three rigorous judging divisions: Division 1 "Starmines" (intricate rapid-fire barrages synchronized with symphonic orchestral crescendos); Division 2 "Size 10 Aerial Shells" (Shakudama, 30cm shells bursting into flawless, concentric 300-meter celestial chrysanthemums); and Division 3 "Innovative Novelty Displays" (groundbreaking multi-color shifts and kinetic geometries). The breathtaking signature highlight outside the judging categories is the overwhelming "Tsuchiura Hanabi Zukushi" barrage—a colossal 500-meter-wide riverbank launch firing over 2,000 vibrant shells in a span of mere minutes, converting the entire horizon into a blinding golden curtain of starlight. Drawing over 650,000 spectators, the venue along the Sakuragawa River is serviced by dedicated shuttle buses from JR Tsuchiura Station (45 minutes from Tokyo’s Ueno Station via Joban Line Express).