Sumida River Fireworks Display

Tokyo's dazzling fireworks display, Sumidagawa Hanabi Taikai, sees thousands of rockets spouting skywards along the Sumida River. The show includes a competition between rival firework companies, so expect state-of-the-art pyrotechnics. Street stalls keep crowds fuelled with hot sake and corn-on-the-cob.

The best viewing locations are the boats on the river, but places are limited. Most of the 900,000 spectators head for Asakusa's Sumida Park, which gets incredibly busy, but it is worth a bit of crowd barging for the amazing atmosphere.

Like green tea, Chinese characters and silk, fireworks first arrived in Japan from China. Since then, they have very much become part of the culture, with firework parties taking place up and down the country during summer.

The Japanese word for firework, hanabi, means fire-flower, and the short-lived beauty of a firework has much in common with that of the celebrated cherry blossom, so it's no surprise that the Japanese turn out in their droves to firework festivals. The Sumida Gawa event however, is the biggest and most spectacular in Tokyo, so it's well worth a look.