Japan Hanabi Festival 2016

Hanabi Kobe 2016 Snapshots

Summer is here in Japan and August is the peak of the hottest year in the Land of the Rising Sun. This is the also the start of different holiday, i mean long days of "yasumi", more than a week. And one of this is the Hanabi Festival or Fireworks Display Festival, where men and women in Japan wear their finest Yukata. Yukata is Japanese dress like Kimono usually worn in summer and partner with wooden sandals or slippers called geta. This is a memorable event annually where, in my experience, couple see wearing their yukata while watching fireworks.

Port of Kobe is the place where I experience my first Hanabi. 

Kobe Port Area

Umie Mall, Kobe

Mosaic, Kobe Port

It is called Minato Kobe Fireworks Festival in Hyogo Prefecture. It was amazing. People are coming in and set their place. I waited until it start for about 2 hours or when the port darks. It is usually start around 7:30pm for about an hour andi f you come late you cannot enter the place because police closed the gate where you can come closer in Mosaic (restaurants and souvenir shops) near port area. I advised come here earlier around 4pm so you can plan where is the best place to watch fireworks.

Japanese Hanabi are way of Japan culture to take away bad spirits during summer. Hanabi have different pattern depends on the place in Japan. I also enjoyed here is a flavored snowball called Kakigori to suppress heat feeling even at night. 

Kakigori Stall

Kakigori, Melon Flavored Snowball