Shi 5 Fireworks
花火大会
Shi 5 Fireworks is a fireworks festival held in Kanto. Date: 10 October (Sat) in 2026; previously the last Saturday of September. Total shells: about 10,000. Attendance: Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass). No. Not published
Event essentials
Headline stats
- Total Shells
- 10,000
- Duration
- 60 min
- Nights
- 1 night(s)
- Attendance
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Largest Shell
- 10-inch shell (artistic fireworks and the largest-shell competition)
- Founding Year
- 1984 (the manifest start year; the sources do not explain where this year comes from)
Signature Sequences
- 01Firing begins at 18:00. The whole firing runs for about one hour, and both the city and the tourism association pages give 18:00 to 19:00 for 2026.
- 02From 16:30 to 20:00 a road closure restricts vehicle entry on the port road.
- 03Firing ends at about 19:00.
- 04Artistic fireworks including 10-inch shells and a largest-shell competition
- 05A running sequence of starmine shells, in three sizes - the opening, the extra-large and the super-extra-large
- 06Creative fireworks by the Japan Fireworks Art Association, including a bridge of fireworks and patterned shells
- 07A joint fireworks festival on the Tone River riverbank on the Gunma-Saitama prefectural border
- 08A riverbank venue with no paid viewing seats at all in 2026
Venue & Access
- Time Window
- Firing runs from 18:00 to 19:00, about one hour
- Venue
- Riverbank around Hattoshima Chicchiko Square, Hattoshima-cho, Isesaki City, Gunma
- Address
- Riverbank around Hattoshima Chicchiko Square, Fukushima-cho, Isesaki City, Gunma 372-0826
- Venue Size
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Venue Floor Type
- A grassed riverbank; watching from the levee slope is prohibited
- Gates Open
- The temporary free car parks open at 15:00
- Paid-Seat Holder Entry
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Spectator Capacity
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Launch Company
- Japan Fireworks Art Association (cooperating). No fireworks company is named in the sources
- Production Company
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Sponsor
- Tone River Bando Bridge Fireworks Festival, c/o the Isesaki City Culture and Tourism Division (Isesaki City, Gunma x Honjo City, Saitama)
Access
From major cities
- From Tokyo
- From Tokyo, take the Musashino Line to Takasaki Station and change to the line for Isesaki Station; the rest is local travel
- From Osaka
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- From Sendai
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Nearest Station
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Nearest Shinkansen
- Takasaki Station on the Shinkansen is the nearest high-speed rail station; the sources do not give onward transport from there to the venue
- Local Transit
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Parking
- Designated temporary free car parks: seven in Isesaki City (Narse Group Isesaki Civic Plaza, Bando Primary School, Tokyo University of Social Welfare, the open ground north of Miwa Primary School, Daini Junior High School, Toyuju Primary School and Daiyon Junior High School) and two in Honjo City (Wakuen Sports Park and the Honjo road site), plus reservation-only paid car parks.
- Parking Reservation
- The paid car parks are reservation-only (https://parking.nokisaki.com/bando-ohashi); the free car parks need no booking and open at 15:00.
- Lodging Strategy
- The Isesaki City Tourism and Products Association runs a "stay" page listing accommodation around the city, centred on hotels a 5-6 minute walk from Isesaki Station (APA Hotel Isesaki-Eki-Minami, Hotel Wakamatsu Excel, Business Hotel Isesaki Heisei-Inn and others)
- 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
- The realistic window is between the 15:00 car park opening and the 16:30 road closure
- Peak Crowd
- Crowds concentrate on the riverbank in the thirty minutes before firing, 17:30-18:00
Tickets
- Seat Type
- None in 2026: neither the Isesaki side (Hachidojima children plaza) nor the Honjo side (Tone River open ground and gentle-slope levee) had paid viewing seats. In 2023 the festival did run paid viewing seats, including Unakiri Sports Plaza with both advance and same-day tickets
- Price Range
- 2023: 8,000 yen for a 2-person table up to 22,000 yen for a 6-person table, tax included; same-day seats 8,000 yen for two and 12,000 yen for three
- Seat Count
- In 2023 the only paid venue was Tsunatori Sports Square, with roughly 1,000 tables seats
- Sellout History
- The 2023 advance sales were first-come and were described as ending once sold out
- Reservation
- The 2026 paid car parks are booked in advance through the reservation site (https://parking.nokisaki.com/bando-ohashi). The 2023 paid viewing seats were reserved online through Rakuten Ticket or by telephone to the JTB Gunma branch.
- Day-Of Ticket
- In 2023 same-day seats were sold from 14:30 at the west side of Tsunatori Sports Square (12,000 yen for three people, 8,000 yen for two). In 2026 there are no paid viewing seats and therefore no same-day tickets.
Weather Policy
- Rain
- Cancelled in stormy weather
- Decision Time
- Go/no-go guidance is given by phone from 08:00 on the day (050-3665-9604) and the fireworks operations centre (0270-61-8787) opens from 14:00. Severe weather means outright cancellation and no postponement date is named
- Postponement
- In 2026 stormy weather means cancellation with no postponement date given (the 2022 Isesaki Fireworks Festival was postponed to Sunday 21 August)
- Wind Threshold
- The 2026 city and association notices give no numeric wind threshold for cancellation
- Typical Risks
- The main risks are August thunderstorms and autumn rain or lingering typhoons in September and October. Because 2026 cancels outright in stormy weather, the cancellation call matters even more
- Weather Cancellation History
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)