Summer Firework Festival (Millie F)

I consider myself lucky, because three days after I came to Akita, I had the honor to take part in the Omagari Fireworks Festival. 大曲の花火 literally means “Fireworks of Omagari.” It is a historic nationwide fireworks festival competition that has been held since Meiji 43 (1910). It is not just a little local affair; fireworks team from throughout the country compete with each other to put on the best show for audiences. More than 700,000 visitors are expected for this one of the Tohoku region’s biggest fireworks festival.

The unique things about this competition are that the firework artists launch fireworks that they have made themselves. The whole show lasts about two and half hours. Before we arrived the show　ground, we ate a lot from the station which we left to the main venues. There are many market stalls to sell the delicious local food on both sides of the streets. Since my friends and I didn’t bring anything for a seat, we only can sit on the ground. However, we still enjoyed viewing various kinds of colorful shapes and patterns formed in the night sky.

Market stalls, photo by Millie

I really like the competition with many creative fireworks; I saw the cartoon at the beginning, smiling faces, even these star patterns are the image of a star- shaped firework. The extraordinary part is these fireworks displays were choreographed to popular music. The fireworks rose into the sky one after another and then explored into beautiful patterns making people couldn’t close their eyes. 

Fireworks, photo by Millie

There is another summer festival named “Omonogama River Fireworks” in Akita too, but I didn’t have the opportunities to see it. The summer means fireworks in Japan. It is an annual Noryo festival; Noryo means, “evening cool” in Japanese. It represents kind of folkways in Japan which people loves short-lived beauty such as cherry blossoms in spring which best for only a couple of days. It is not only an exciting moment for local people here, but also a very fantastic moment to the visitors likes me.