Fireworks - The Walking Tour

It was my own fault. No-one else to blame. Everyone I asked about the Sumida River fireworks warned me against it. People who I relay this story to tell me that they heard bad things too.

The problem with this annual fireworks display of 22,000 explosions is that it is always overcrowded - about 1,000,000 people turn up. This wouldn't be a problem if they let you sit on the river bank (the area around Asakusa, the Edo Museum, and the flaming gold turd) but it's all closed off to "VIPs".

The closest you can get are a few streets back, where thousands of people line the roads (which are closed off to traffic) with blankets and picnics. So we joined the masses although there was that gutting feeling where you're sitting behind buildings, wondering if the fireworks will go high enough to be seen. There was also a walking tour along some bridges during the proceedings so you can see them explode along the river. That sounded to me like one of the dumbest ideas in history. What happened to the simple but effective Bournemouthian fireworks on a beach?



Soon enough, the demonstration began and, as expected, the corner of some of the higher fireworks were visible. Overall, it was pointless staying. Not even two minutes in, groups started packing up their belongings and began leaving. We followed suit, because, what was the point? I knew it was going to be a pretty useless excursion but I still wanted to say I'd experienced it. So we headed home.

But every main road was blocked off because of this 'sensible' walking tour. So I found a way around a barrier and we pushed our way through the crowd.

However, on the other side, the crowd suddenly stopped, with police holding everyone back. We'd pushed our way to the front of "Group 6" of the walking tour. About 100 metres ahead were group 5; 1000 or so people being shuffled forward over the main bridge.


There was nowhere to go, so when the police started shouting (in Japanese, of course) "slowly, slowly" and one turned a sign around from red to green, we began to move. The whole thing was absurd and I couldn't help laughing. The police also acknowledged this and some chuckled. Which started citizens off as well. Every few steps, we were instructed to stop. At one point, we stopped under a raised highway, which meant we couldn't see anything.

Over the bridge, our view was hindered by the bridge support. The situation made me feel like an immigrant trying to escape a war torn country - huddled together in a group with smoke covering us, and explosions going off all around. Forget the fireworks.

Not one of the finer organised events in Japan, but it has made for a surreal memory. And it was a chance for Keiko to wear her Yukata.




Oh, and sorry about the lack of actual fireworks photos - I didnt actually see any of the 22,000 long enough to take even one!