Nagara River National Fireworks Display
長良川全国花火大会
Nagara River National Fireworks Display is a fireworks festival held in Chubu. Date: 2019-08-03 (Sat) was the last edition - normally the first Saturday of August. Total shells: about 約3万. Attendance: 約30万人. No. Not published
Event essentials
Headline stats
- Total Shells
- 約3万
- Duration
- 90 min
- Nights
- 1 night(s)
- Attendance
- 約30万人
- Largest Shell
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Founding Year
- 10 August 1946 (Showa 21), the year after the war ended
Signature Sequences
- 01About 30,000 shells, described as one of the largest fireworks festivals in Japan
- 02Unusual effects such as a Niagara Falls cascade
- 03A star-mine finale that fills the whole sky - 70 star mines for the 70th edition in 2015
- 04Shells also fired from boats across the river, from wire crossings and in front of the Gifu Grand Hotel
- 05Firing normally starts at 19:30 and finishes by 21:00
Venue & Access
- Time Window
- Firing starts at 19:30 and is over by 21:00 (about 90 minutes)
- Venue
- Nagara River bank between Nagara Bridge and Kinka Bridge, Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture
- Address
- Nagara River bank between Nagara Bridge and Kinka Bridge, Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture
- Venue Size
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Venue Floor Type
- The Nagara River terrace between Nagara Bridge and Kinka Bridge.
- Gates Open
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Paid-Seat Holder Entry
- Not published
- Spectator Capacity
- About 400,000 (recorded attendance in 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2014)
- Launch Company
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Production Company
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Sponsor
- Gifu Shimbun and Gifu Hoso (organisers), supported by Gifu Prefecture, Gifu City, the Gifu Tourism Federation, the Gifu Convention and Visitors Bureau, JR Central, Meitetsu, the Gifu Bus Association, the Gifu City Ryokan Hotel Cooperative and the Gifu Nagaragawa Onsen Ryokan Cooperative
Access
From major cities
- From Tokyo
- About 25 min from the Gifu Kakamigahara IC of the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway via National Routes 21 and 256 (from the successor festival access notes).
- 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
- Gifu Bus to the Ugaiya stop from the JR Gifu Station and Meitetsu Gifu Station bus stops
- Nearest Shinkansen
- JR Gifu Station and Meitetsu Gifu Station
- Local Transit
- Gifu Bus to the Ugaiya stop from the JR Gifu Station and Meitetsu Gifu Station bus stops; service suspended from 19:00. Temporary shuttle buses run.
- Parking
- The successor festival records no dedicated car park near the venue; no capacity is documented for this festival name.
- Parking Reservation
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- 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
- The venue is a river terrace in central Gifu and congests from the late afternoon; the bus stops running at 19:00, so plan the return journey.
- Peak Crowd
- The 19:30-21:00 firing window is the most congested; the venue is a river terrace in central Gifu City.
Tickets
- Seat Type
- No paid seating types are documented under this festival name. The merged successor, the Gifu Nagaragawa Fireworks Festival, does have paid supporter seats (reserved and open seating)
- Price Range
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Seat Count
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass) seats
- Sellout History
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Reservation
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Day-Of Ticket
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
Weather Policy
- Rain
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Decision Time
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Postponement
- Cancelled rather than postponed in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
- Wind Threshold
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Typical Risks
- Early August in Gifu brings extreme heat and thunderstorms.
- Weather Cancellation History
- The cancellation notice for the 66th National Fireworks Festival after the 2011 earthquake was published by the Gifu Shimbun.