Minato Kobe Fireworks Festival
海上花火大会
Minato Kobe Fireworks Festival is a fireworks festival held in Hyogo. Date: The predecessor ran on the first or second Saturday of August until 2019; the successor ran 19-23 October 2026 with firing at 18:30-18:50. Total shells: about 10,000. Attendance: 268,400人. No. Not published
Event essentials
Headline stats
- Total Shells
- 10,000
- Duration
- 60 min
- Nights
- 1 night(s)
- Attendance
- 268,400人
- Largest Shell
- No shell size is given for the predecessor; the official site of the successor states that shell sizes were increased for 2026
- Founding Year
- 1971, per the Japanese Wikipedia infobox (first edition)
Signature Sequences
- 01Firing begins at 19:30 (before 2019)
- 0210,000 shells over the water from the Shin piers to the south of Meriken Park
- 03The show ends at 20:30
- 04An urban marine fireworks display fired over Kobe Harbour
- 05Several viewing areas including paid corporate seating on Shin Pier 2, the Shin piers 1-4, Hyogo Wharf, the Port Island parks, Meriken Park and Kobe Harbourland
- 06Free shuttle bus and shuttle boat services on the day
- 07The successor event Minato HANABI runs five days of music fireworks with laser production
- 08A typical attendance of 107,000 for the successor event (2025 season result)
Venue & Access
- Time Window
- The predecessor fired 19:30-20:30; the successor Minato HANABI fires 18:30-18:50 for about 20 minutes
- Venue
- Kobe Harbour from the Shin piers to the water south of Meriken Park, Chuo Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo
- Address
- Kobe Harbour, Chuo Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo - from the Shin piers to the water south of Meriken Park
- Venue Size
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Venue Floor Type
- Open water from the Shin piers to the south of Meriken Park, plus quays, parks and promenades
- Gates Open
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Paid-Seat Holder Entry
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Spectator Capacity
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Production Company
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Sponsor
- The Minato Kobe fireworks committee, renamed the Kobe Bright Night committee in 2023; supporters are Kobe City, the Kobe Port Promotion Association, the Kobe Shimbun, the Kobe Chamber of Commerce, the Kobe Maritime Public Relations Association, Sun Television and Radio Kansai
Access
From major cities
- From Tokyo
- About 2 h 40 min by Shinkansen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka, then JR, Hanshin, Hankyu or subway into central Kobe
- From Osaka
- About 30 min from Osaka Station to Kobe Station on JR or Hanshin, or from Osaka-Umeda to Kobe-Sannomiya on Hankyu; the venue is reached on foot or by port shuttle bus from Kobe Station
- From Sendai
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Nearest Station
- JR and Hanshin Motomachi Station (about 10 min on foot), Minatomotomachi subway station (about 5 min), and the Portliner Minatojima and Boeki Center stations
- Nearest Shinkansen
- Shin-Osaka Station (JR Shin-Osaka), from which central Kobe is reached by JR, Hanshin, Hankyu or subway
- Local Transit
- JR Sannomiya, Motomachi and Kobe, Hanshin and Hankyu Kosoku-Kobe, subway Sannomiya and Minatomotomachi, and the Portliner; private cars are caught by the traffic control
- Parking
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Parking Reservation
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Lodging Strategy
- Hotel supply around Sannomiya and Kobe Station is limited; with traffic control and scarce parking, walking distance becomes the deciding factor
- English Access
- An open harbour promenade with a sea breeze; traffic control surrounds the venue and bilingual signage is limited
- Cash Required
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Best Arrival
- From late afternoon on the day of the predecessor, when the rail operators added extra trains and the Portliner ran at one-minute headways at shortest
- Peak Crowd
- The 60-minute firing itself and the moments just before the gates open; ticket-gate restrictions are in force and the paid corporate seating on Shin Pier 2 is a concentration point
Tickets
- Seat Type
- Corporate-sponsored seats (price unpublished) and the all-reserved viewing seats of the successor event
- Price Range
- The predecessor had paid corporate seating only on Shin Pier 2, with no price published; the successor charged JPY 2,200 per reserved seat in 2026
- Seat Count
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass) seats
- Sellout History
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Reservation
- Paid seats for the successor event are sold through the official site and are fully reserved
- Day-Of Ticket
- Paid seats for the successor event are on sale through the official site; the fireworks database records all seats as reserved
Weather Policy
- Rain
- The successor event Minato HANABI is held in rain and cancelled in stormy weather, per the 2026 fireworks database
- Decision Time
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Postponement
- The successor event Minato HANABI is held in rain and cancelled in stormy weather per the 2026 fireworks database; no postponement date is published
- Wind Threshold
- Not confirmed in the sources checked (2026-10-20 pass)
- Typical Risks
- Held in rain and cancelled in stormy weather under the successor event rule; because the firing is offshore it is sensitive to wind, and there is no postponement provision
- Weather Cancellation History
- Cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic; the sources checked record no other cancellations