🏮 Akabira Himatsuri

あかびら火まつり

Akabira, Hokkaido (ズリ山) · Every year on a Saturday and Sunday in mid-July

Summer festivalFood stalls

307 days to go
Rooms around Akabira, Hokkaido fill up while the festival is on.

The Akabira Fire Festival is held in summer in Akabira, Hokkaido, and is the city's largest summer event, having begun in 1972. It takes place at Zuri-yama, a symbol of Akabira's history as a coal mining town, and is organized by the Akabira Fire Festival Executive Committee. The festival's centerpiece, the "fire character burn," makes the character for "fire" appear on the slope of Zuri-yama, expressing the wish that "the light of the coal mines may be eternal." More than 100 red loincloth runners liven up the venue, and local food stalls plus 39 vendors from around Hokkaido set up shop, while stage performances such as bands, street performers, and dance acts are also held. On the final night, a fireworks display launches about 5,000 fireworks from five locations in time with music. A distinctive feature is the participatory program, including a rhythm performance in which attendees join in by twirling towels.