Mikuni Fireworks Festival

The Mikuni Fireworks Festival is a fireworks display held every August at Mikuni Sunset Beach in Sakai, Fukui Prefecture. Set on a beautiful sandy beach facing the Sea of Japan, it is beloved as a summer tradition boasting one of the largest scales in the Hokuriku region, with fireworks launched from the sea coloring the night sky and the water's surface.

The festival's greatest distinction is the "underwater fireworks" launched from boats floating on the sea. The underwater fireworks, opening in semicircles on the sea's surface, draw hemispheres of light upon the night sea, and their dreamlike beauty captivates spectators. In addition, the large shells and star mines launched one after another against the backdrop of the Sea of Japan's horizon are known for powerful staging that fully harnesses the scale of the vast sea and night sky.

Mikuni has long flourished as one of the foremost port towns on the Sea of Japan, and is also famed as a tourist destination embracing scenic spots such as Oshima Island and the Tōjinbō cliffs. On a summer night, the spectacle of fireworks coloring the sea and sky blooming above the spectators who fill the sands of Mikuni Sunset Beach is magnificent. Combining the openness unique to seaborne fireworks with the dreamlike beauty of underwater fireworks, this fireworks display is cherished by many as a splendid event representative of summer on the Echizen coast.