
The 39th Kurohone Summer Festival — Watch 1,000 fireworks launch from the festival venue
The 39th Kurohone Summer Festival closes with about 1,000 fireworks over the riverbank near Kurohone Sports Park in northern Kiryu, Gunma, on August 16, 2026, from 19:30 to 20:00. The valley town expects around 3,500 visitors — and Mizunuma Station on the Watarase Keikoku Railway sits a single minute's walk from the venue, with a special Kiryu-bound train timed to the finale.
This is a community festival at true valley scale: small, local, and run by the neighborhood itself, with the fireworks as its brightest half hour. The dark mountain sky and close launch site give the roughly 1,000 shells an immediacy that big-city shows trade away, and the expected crowd of about 3,500 keeps the riverside friendly rather than packed. The railway is the smart move — Mizunuma Station is a 1-minute walk from the venue, and a special Kiryu-bound train runs after the finale, so the evening needs no car at all. Drivers have a free 150-space lot, but congestion is expected and the advice is to come early; the drive runs about 40 minutes via Route 122 from Isesaki IC. No food stalls are scheduled, so bring dinner and drinks, confirm the return train time, and let the valley echo handle the atmosphere.