
52nd Agano River Gozareya Fireworks - About 6,000 impressive fireworks are launched
Gozareya, the Agano River fireworks event held on August 25, 2026 (7:50–9:00 p.m.) at the upper reach of Matsuhama Bridge in Kita Ward, Niigata City, takes its name from the local dialect for 'please come'. The 2026 edition, themed 'Arata — changing in order to keep what matters', opens with colorful star mines and continues with 2-shaku shells, dedication fireworks and five design fireworks chosen from about 1,000 children's summer-themed submissions. A free livestream on the official YouTube channel is also planned.
The name says it all: 'gozareya' is the local way of saying 'come on over', and every year the event draws crowds from across and beyond Niigata to the Agano River banks. The 2026 program opens on star mines, then moves through 2-shaku shells, celebration fireworks and the five winning designs picked from roughly 1,000 elementary-school submissions on the theme of summer. For those who cannot attend, the official YouTube channel plans a free livestream. The venue is a 30-minute walk from JR Shinzaki Station with no parking on site — the Niigata Airport IC is about 10 minutes away by car, but there is nowhere to park near the site, so riverbank routes are best left to pedestrians.