Nagaoka Hanabi Taikai 長岡花火大会
A friend of ours invited us to the Nagaoka fireworks festival in Niigata perfecture (新潟県) near the Sea of Japan, north of Tokyo 250+ km. It is apparently one of the famous fireworks festivals in Japan. We made it a day trip and left Tokyo before 1pm on the Shinkansen (just under 2hr ride)…check out the Pikachu picture.
We met our friend in front of a hotel for dinner. The dinner was traditional Japanese food – very pretty and with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients (sashimi, baked eggplant and rice). The rice from Niigata is famous.
For dessert, we had the sweetest slice of melon and watermelon. Perhaps that’s why the fruit is so expensive in Japan – they only sell the sweetest, best-looking fruit. Then we walked to the riverside to our seats on low benches right in the front row to watch the fireworks show. It was amazing! It started at 7;30 until almost 9;30. There was such a variety of fireworks, different colors and shapes. There was also so many people, many in yukata. We had a great time.
