Highlights

  • About 12,000 shells mirrored on the lake surface
  • 40th-anniversary opening with drones and lasers
  • Easy day trip from Kyoto, just 10 minutes by train

Background & story

Held since the 1980s on the shores of Lake Biwa, it is Kansai's premier lakeside fireworks event, drawing around 300,000 spectators yearly.

Good to know for visitors

Getting there
Approx. 15-min walk from JR Otsu Station / 5 min from Keihan Biwako-Hamaotsu　Open directions in Google Maps ↗
Booking & entry
Free to attend — details on the official page (button above).
Language
Mostly in Japanese — a translation app on your phone helps.
Good for
date night, families, groups of friends, culture seekers

Good to know

Trains back to Kyoto are jammed afterward — consider staying for dinner before heading home.

Getting there

Otsu Port, Lake Biwa — Hamaotsu, Otsu, Shiga 520-0047

View & book on Original ↗
Japan-Event Editorial
  • Japan-based editorial team
  • Primary sources, cited
  • Variable facts dated

The Japan-Event editorial desk. We work from primary sources and date every claim that can change.