Gion Festival: Furusato Motegi Summer Festival ~Fireworks for Everyone, Delivering Smiles (^_^)~

Summary

The Gion Festival Homura Motegi Summer Festival in Motegi, Tochigi, runs for two days around the Gion rites of the Yakumo and Ontake shrines. On the opening night, Saturday, July 25, 2026 from 19:30, about 5,000 shells launch over the town center. Fireworks go up from Shiroyama Park on the hillside, visible from much of the town below, while mikoshi and parade floats circle the streets — some floats built in the mid-1800s and protected as town cultural properties for their openwork dragons and phoenixes.

Overview

The summer highlight of Motegi begins as mikoshi and floats set off through town, and on the first night the fireworks fill the sky. Because the shells rise from the hillside, wide swaths of the city center share the view, and the venue sits only a 1-minute walk from Mooka Railway Motegi Station, keeping transfers short for rail travelers. Food stalls line the streets through the festival, and among the floats are town-designated cultural properties carved with dragons and phoenixes — worth seeing in daylight as well as under the fireworks. Free parking covers 400 cars, but the run from Motegi IC takes about 45 minutes, so plan the arrival time accordingly.

Details

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