Tokyo Bay Fireworks Festival Roars Back After 11 Years

The first fireworks of the Tokyo Bay Grand Fireworks Festival burst over the city on Saturday evening, October 24, as the show returned for the first time in 11 years.

X user Replisin filmed the opening from high above the city, as red and gold shells blossomed in the hazy night sky behind a tall tower block while traffic streamed along an elevated highway below.

“The Tokyo Bay fireworks festival has started for the first time in 11 years,” 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.