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The Okazaki Hanabi Festival took place on August 5 in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture this year. Joel Hadley Jr came to watch and this is what he saw.

This was the 69th time the festival was held and it being August the weather is always very hot and humid. It is now traditional for young people, especially, to attend these mid-summer festivals in colorful yukata toting uchiwa flat fans.

The main fireworks display lasts from 6.50pm-9pm and includes an Edo Period boat on the river launching some of the fireworks. Firework manufacturers compete each year to see who produces the best show.

Okazaki is the birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu and it was during his time in Japan that fireworks were first introduced to Japan by Chinese pyrotechnicians brought over to Japan by British merchant John Saris.
Around a hundred food stalls, lit by lanterns at night, serve food to the thousands of spectators who attend the festival from all over Aichi Prefecture.

The festival takes place along the river in Okazaki and in the grounds of Okazaki Park, which surrounds the castle. The nearest stations to Okazaki Park are either Higashi Okazaki or Okazaki Station on the Meitetsu Line from Meitetsu Nagoya Station.

You can see more of Joel's take on Japan on his YouTube channel.

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