A Sentimental Festival of Light
Held on August 2 and 3, the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival is a memorial service for those who died in the Nagaoka air raids of 1945, a display of gratitude to those who worked so hard for reconstruction and a wish for lasting peace. Bleacher seats are set up on both banks of the Shinano River so that the fireworks can be viewed from both directions. The width of the river and its banks allows the festival to use a large number of impressive shaku-dama — large-shell fireworks — for the display.
The sho-sanshaku-dama fireworks, boasting a burst diameter of 650 meters, and the Reconstruction Phoenix Fireworks — a five-minute display stretching approximately 2 kilometers in length — are highlights of the spectacle.
