Itabashi Fireworks Festival Finished Flagship event
いたばし花火大会 — Tokyo (Kanto)
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- Date
- Sat, August 1, 2026 (The 2026 edition has concluded — 2027 dates are not yet announced)
- Time
- 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
- Venue
- Arakawa riverbank, Itabashi (荒川河川敷(板橋区側))
- Scale
- ~13,000 fireworks · ~570K visitors
- Bad weather
- Cancelled in stormy weather; no postponement/rescheduled date
- Official site
- itabashihanabi.jp
The Itabashi Fireworks Festival shares the Arakawa River with Toda City's festival on the opposite Saitama bank — two shows, one sky, about 13,000 shells from the Itabashi side alone. Its calling cards are one of the largest single shells launched in the Tokyo area and a 700-meter 'Niagara' waterfall of fire pouring off the riverbank to close the night.
Background
Itabashi and Toda have run their festivals as a coordinated pair across the river since the 1950s, an arrangement born when the two municipalities decided to share the sky rather than compete for it.
Getting there
The venue is the Arakawa riverbank in northern Itabashi: about 20 minutes on foot from Ukima-Funado (JR Saikyo Line), Takashimadaira or Nishidai (Toei Mita Line) stations. The Toda side is a short walk from Toda-Koen Station (JR Saikyo Line).
Tips
- The 2026 edition has a revised venue layout and no rain date — double-check zone maps on the official site before picking a spot.
- The big shell and the Niagara finale are low-altitude spectacles: being close to the riverbank matters more here than at high-altitude shows.
- Watching from the Toda side counts as attending both festivals at once — Saitama-bound trains after the show are also marginally less crushed.
- Convenience stores near the embankment sell out of drinks by early evening; stock up at the station.
Frequently asked questions
- How crowded does Itabashi Fireworks Festival get?
- About 570,000 people come to Tokyo for it. Fireworks start at 7:00 PM, so plan to be in place well before that. Trains and roads out of the venue are at their worst in the 30 minutes after the finale — waiting it out is usually faster than joining the crush.
Last verified against the official source: Thu, July 16, 2026