Golden Finale Caps Tokyo Bay Fireworks Festival’s Emotional Comeback

A wall of glittering gold shells brought the Tokyo Bay Grand Fireworks Festival to a close on Saturday night, October 24, as the event returned for the first time in 11 years.

X user Yukkun, a resident of Harumi, filmed the climax from high above the waterfront, as bursts of gold, pink and white light flashed through drifting smoke over the bay and crowds packed a brightly lit pier below. In the final moments, long trails of golden sparks rained down across the sky.

“Tokyo Bay Grand Fireworks Festival, the climax. It was the best. I cried,” the filmer wrote.

About 12,000 fireworks were launched from the water off Harumi Pier between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., watched by about 110,000 ticket holders. Light rain fell through the evening, but organisers went ahead as planned and banned umbrellas at viewing areas.

The festival, last held in 2015, was revived by Tokyo’s Chuo and Minato wards to mark their 80th anniversaries, and moved from August to October to avoid extreme heat and sudden storms.