MajorHoliday-tied

Lake Biwa Great Fireworks Festival

びわ湖大花火大会

Lake Biwa Great Fireworks Festival is a fireworks festival held in Shiga (滋賀県). Date: August 6–8 (varies year to year by ~3-day window, single night) — 2026/8/6(木) 公式 confirmed per Walker Plus + sorahanabi + 公式チケットサイト + ゆーそ白樺. Total shells: about 12000. Attendance: 約34万人. No. 40回

Event essentials

Headline stats

Total Shells
12000
Duration
60 min
Nights
1 night(s)
Attendance
約34万人
Largest Shell
10号玉 (10-gou, ~30cm diameter, ~3kg gunpowder, ~300m blast diameter)
Founding Year
1984

Signature Sequences

  1. 01'The 2026 40th anniversary edition used a two-part format for the first time: part one combined the drone show, laser beams, music and shells'
  2. 02Part two carried the traditional programme headed by the angled shakuduma firing
  3. 03Launch from the surface of Lake Biwa rather than a riverbed or the sea
  4. 04Underwater starmine
  5. 05Angled shakuduma from a tube tilted up to 30 degrees
  6. 06'2026: first two-part format'

Venue & Access

Time Window
19:30–20:30 JST (60-minute show) — 2026 公式 confirmed per biwako-visitors.jp + 公式チケットサイト
Venue
Otsu Port (大津港) lakeside and Nagisa Park (なぎさ公園) — lakeshore launch + spectator zone
Address
滋賀県大津市浜大津・島の関周辺 (Otsu City, Hamamatsu / Shimanoseki district, Biwako lakefront)
Venue Size
~400m launch zone off Otsu Port + second smaller zone off Biwako Hall (びわ湖ホール沖)
Venue Floor Type
Lakeside grass park (Nagisa Park) + lakeside promenade; some paid-seat zones on concrete promenade
Gates Open
17:00 (paid-seat entry opens; earlier for select zones)
Paid-Seat Holder Entry
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
Spectator Capacity
~340,000 expected (2026 official figure); ~300,000 actual (2023 baseline per Wikipedia JSON-LD)
Production Company
Kunitomo Gun and Powder Shop (國友鉄砲火薬店)
Sponsor
びわ湖大花火大会実行委員会

Access

From major cities

From Tokyo
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
From Osaka
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
From Sendai
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
From Kyoto
~15 min via Keihan (Kyoto → Biwako-Hamaōtsu); ~10 min via JR Biwako Line (Kyoto → Ōtsu)
Nearest Station
JR Otsu Station, 15 min on foot / Keihan Biwako-Hamaotsu Station, 5 min on foot (as listed on the 2026 data page)
Nearest Shinkansen
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
Local Transit
Rail is the main mode - the database venue block lists rail access only, and powered craft are banned on the lake from 18:00 to 22:00
Parking
No car park at the venue (the database venue block marks parking with x); the Otsu SA car park entrance has been fully closed since 2024
Parking Reservation
No parking reservation is published; traffic control covers the roads around the venue and public transport is recommended
Lodging Strategy
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
English Access
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
Cash Required
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
Best Arrival
Before the 19:30 firing - the traffic control around the venue starts during the day
Peak Crowd
Before and after the 19:30-20:30 firing along Nagisa Park and the lake shore; the traffic control starts during the day

Tickets

Weather Policy

Rain
Held in light rain; cancelled in stormy weather
Decision Time
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
Postponement
No postponement - in stormy weather or when a storm is likely the event is cancelled (the 特記事項 field of Japanese Wikipedia)
Wind Threshold
Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
Typical Risks
Early-August heat and thunderstorms plus summer gales; the standing policy is cancellation rather than postponement
Weather Cancellation History
2020-2022 - three consecutive cancellations because of COVID-19,2019 - about 25 km of congestion in both directions on the Meishin Expressway behind Otsu IC,2023 - revived edition expanded the paid area to about 50,000 seats (roughly 10,000 more than the previous edition)

Sources and verification

Related festivals

Sister Festivals

  • Sumida HanabiTokyo MEGA river-sibling
  • Akagawa Hanabi MemorialYamagata MAJOR wide-river sibling
  • Omagari Fireworks FestivalAkita MEGA competition sibling
  • Suwa Lake Festival FireworksNagano lakefront sibling

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