Nishinippon Ohori Fireworks Festival

Overview

The Nishinippon Ohori Fireworks Festival (Nishinippon Ohori Hanabi Taikai) was a fireworks festival held at Ohori Park in Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, from 1949 until 2018. Held on the evening of August 1 each year, it was one of the largest fireworks displays in the city and was long cherished by residents as a signature feature of summer in Fukuoka. Around 6,000 fireworks lit up the night sky each year, and the light reflected on the surface of Ohori Park large pond captivated countless spectators.

Attendance reached roughly 450,000 people each year, and in 2018 about 430,000 people gathered at Ohori Park in the height of summer. The venue, Ohori Park, is a water-landscape park that opened in 1929 on the site of the outer moat of Fukuoka Castle. The way the fireworks were launched within a landscape centered on a pond roughly two kilometers in circumference was a charm unique to this festival. It should be noted that this fireworks festival ended after the summer of 2018 and is no longer held.

History and Origins

The Nishinippon Ohori Fireworks Festival held its first edition in 1949, with the aim of mourning those who died in the Pacific War and celebrating postwar reconstruction. Its origin lies in this event, which embodied the hopes of people who wished for recovery from the ruins of war.

The festival was then suspended for a period from 1967 to 1978, passing through an interval of interruption. It was revived in 1979, a year that marked the 90th anniversary of Fukuoka City municipal system and the 50th anniversary of the opening of Ohori Park, its venue. The festival returned in this memorable year.

After its revival, the festival continued every year without fail, except for 1988, when renovation work was carried out at Ohori Park. Having colored the summers of Fukuoka for more than half a century, the festival became an event deeply engraved in the memory of the region.

On September 14, 2018, the organizer, the Nishinippon Shimbun newspaper company, announced in its morning edition that day that the festival would end after that summer. As the number of visitors increased year by year, sunflower fields around the venue were damaged, and it became difficult to continue the event from the standpoint of ensuring safety. This is regarded as the main reason for its conclusion. Beginning in 1949 and closing its curtain in 2018, the festival had a history spanning 69 years.

Highlights

About 6,000 grand fireworks　The heart of this festival was the fireworks themselves, of which roughly 6,000 were launched each year. Boasting one of the largest scales in Fukuoka City, the grand fireworks that colored the midsummer night sky delighted the eyes of many visitors.

Light reflected on the water surface　The venue, Ohori Park, is a park centered on a vast pond, and the sight of the launched fireworks reflected on the water surface was a great attraction. The double spectacle of light spreading across both sky and water was something unique to this festival, staged at a water-landscape park.

Sponsored message fireworks　The festival was operated with the cooperation of local companies, and messages from sponsors were sometimes conveyed through set-piece fireworks. In 2007, Nobuhiko Matsunaka, a player for the professional baseball team Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, sponsored the event personally and sent the message Hawks fans, number one in Japan through the fireworks.

Special viewing seats and television broadcast　Special viewing seats were provided so that visitors could enjoy the fireworks comfortably, and many people savored the powerful display. Special broadcasts by the NHK Fukuoka station also allowed those unable to visit the venue to enjoy the fireworks at home.

Event Information and Access

Period　Held on the evening of August 1 each year (1949 to 2018). The festival has now ended and is no longer held.

Venue　Ohori Park, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture.

Number of fireworks　Approximately 6,000 each year.

Attendance　Around 450,000 people each year (about 430,000 in 2018).

Organizer　The Nishinippon Shimbun newspaper company.

Nearest station　Ohori-koen Station on the Fukuoka City Subway Kuko Line was the closest station to the venue. Depending on the direction of travel, Tojinmachi Station and Akasaka Station, as well as Ropponmatsu Station on the Nanakuma Line, were also used. During congestion, visitors were guided to disperse among the various stations.

Surrounding Area

The venue, Ohori Park, is a vast park of about 400,000 square meters located in the center of Fukuoka City, most of which is occupied by a large oval-shaped pond. It was originally created by developing the inlet of Hakata Bay that served as the outer moat of Fukuoka Castle, and it opened in 1929. The park has a walking path that encircles the pond and a wild bird forest, and it is known as one of the leading water-landscape parks in Fukuoka, where the flowers and scenery of the four seasons can be enjoyed.

Immediately to the east of Ohori Park lies Maizuru Park, which was developed on the site of the Fukuoka Castle ruins, a designated historic site. Fukuoka Castle was built by Kuroda Nagamasa, the first lord of the Chikuzen Fukuoka domain, and the pond of Ohori Park is a remnant of its outer moat. The castle ruins and stone walls remain, and the area is also cherished as a spot famous for cherry blossoms.

In this way, the area around the venue is a place for strolling where one can feel rich nature and history even outside the time of the fireworks festival, making it an area worth visiting when traveling to Fukuoka.

Related Information

• Name: Nishinippon Ohori Fireworks Festival
• Location: Ohori Park, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
• Period: August 1 each year (1949 to 2018, ended)
• Number of fireworks: approximately 6,000
• Attendance: about 450,000 (about 430,000 in 2018)
• Organizer: the Nishinippon Shimbun newspaper company
• Venue feature: a water-landscape park developed on the site of the Fukuoka Castle outer moat (opened 1929)

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