#SummerInJapan: What About Fireworks In Atami Sun Beach? | 熱海海上花火大会

Summer? Of course, beach, festivals, and fireworks!
But what if you can watch fireworks in the beach and see its reflection in the water..?

Ever since I had a stopover in Atami, I have always wanted to go back and explore the place. During the train ride, I saw a glimpse of the beach so I really wanted to go. I cannot exit from the train station that time so I added it to my list of places to go. It took me 4 years to finally exit from the train station and really explore a bit of the town.

Atami is a 2-hour train ride from where I live in Tokyo and I decided to go there on a Friday afternoon. I took a half day leave at work just to go to this town because at night they will have the spectacular fireworks show.

The Grand Fireworks Festival in Atami (熱海海上花火大会) is one of the best firework festivals in Japan. They are famous for their finale, dubbed as the Niagara Falls. Just thinking about fireworks with the ocean view makes me so excited! Aren't you curious and excited? 😊

Festivals and fireworks have been suspended during the pandemic so this year, it's like the restart. I went there all alone because my friends were still working and my partner doesn't even want to travel. 😅 It doesn't bother me to go alone because I can be free! I can go at my own pace and can go wherever I want.

There are so many hotels surrounding the Atami Sun Beach, where all the fun is. I wanted to stay there for a night but when I checked the prices, it's really so high, as expected. The guests in the hotels have a really great view of the fireworks.

When I arrived at the Sun Beach, it was not so hot. The cool breeze and the little waves welcomed me. Few people were enjoying, playing around but there were no more people swimming. I think the beach is closed for swimming, I mean it's opened but people are advised not to swim anymore because it might be dangerous or something.

I was wearing sneakers so I don't know how cold the water is and how nice the sand is but for sure, it is! I'm kinda envious they can feel the water but I'm here for a different mission, I must not be distracted by this feeling. 😂

This view's really the view I would want to see everyday. It's so calm.

You can see the Atami Castle in the upper right and I bet they also have special seats for people wanting to watch the fireworks display.

6PM and there were a lot of people already in the other side of the Sun Beach. They have spots already where they would be viewing the fireworks.

Couples, friends, families - you'll see many groups here.

This was where I came from. Looking at it, the beach is not as wide as Onjuku Beach in Chiba but it's still peaceful and calm. At least in Atami Sun Beach, there won't be sand mixed in your food when the wind blows. 😂

I was back on the road to look for the festival food and other entertainment. I'm pretty sure they have - this is a fireworks festival after all.

And yep, I found it. There were a lot of people trying to buy the festival food. I didn't want to wait that long so I decided not to buy and just starve.

Funny thing is, the other stalls were on the other side of the road. You still needed to cross the street.

I tried to walk further and look for a restaurant or a convenience store nearby. I'd just buy food there and not the festival food.

Then, I found another area where they're selling festival food!

I found a stall selling shells named さざえ in Japanese (read as sazae) and I don't know its English name so I googled it. It says Turban Shell. Are you familiar with it?

There was a mascot playing with the kids and it's so cute I had to take a photo and video of it!

There's a small stage where a girl group was performing when I arrived there. To be honest, I don't know them but their songs are really fun. The audience were mostly ojisans 😂 (no translation because I don't want to reveal it)

Since I already bought my food and drink, it's time to look for a place to stay.

There were a lot of people in the beach. Where should I camp?!

I finally settled near the rocks but I had to move a little after a while because the waves had reached me. 😂

The fireworks started past 8PM. It went on for 20-25 minutes and was so beautiful! I got teary eyed looking at it.

I took a lot of shots so hopefully I choose and share only a few of my favorite ones.

Everytime a firework was set off, some group of men would shout something like a battle cry.

Light filled the sky as the finale was about to start.

From here on, these are my top favorites. I really like how my phone captured these cool shots.

I said I'll only share a few but I have a lot of favorites I can't decide which to give up.

After the fireworks show, half of the people went home while others stayed in the beach, playing with the water, having their own little hanabi (花火 meaning fireworks) - the typical things you would see in animes.

It started drizzling and I forgot to bring umbrella so I was wet walking back to the station. It's refreshing though and I was not that cold. My enjoyment was taking over I couldn't feel the cold.

My summer is almost complete! I already went to the beach and experienced the lantern festival and now, I got to witness the fireworks!

Last off my list is the Bon Odori, a dance festival! Stay tuned!