Lake Biwa Great Fireworks Festival
びわ湖大花火大会
Early August 2027
Otsu, Shiga
The dates for this event have not been confirmed yet. They are an estimate from the event’s own pattern, and this page is updated as soon as the organiser announces the real ones — check the official site for the latest. Last held 6 August 2026.
The Lake Biwa Great Fireworks are fired from barges moored off Otsu Port, on the southern tip of the largest lake in Japan, and the setting gives them a quality that river festivals cannot match: the shells burst over open water and are reflected in the still surface of the lake, with the hills of the far shore behind them. The display runs for an hour, from 19:30 to 20:30, on a weekday evening around 8 August, with the exact date set each year.
Otsu is ten minutes from Kyoto Station by JR, and the port is a short walk from Otsu or Hamaotsu stations, so the festival works as an evening excursion from a Kyoto stay. That convenience is also why it is crowded. In recent years the organisers have fenced off much of the free lakeside in favour of paid seating, so if you want a clear view of the water you should buy a ticket in advance. The alternative is a lake-facing room in one of the Hamaotsu hotels, which sell out as soon as the date is announced.
Expect a humid summer evening, heavy queues at the stations afterwards, and a display that puts its emphasis on colour and reflection rather than raw size. There is no parade and no festival beyond the fireworks themselves and the food stalls along the shore.