The Ōmagari Fireworks Festival, held annually in August in Daisen City, Akita Prefecture, is known as one of Japan's top three fireworks festivals. Since 1910, this festival's most distinctive feature is that it's a "competitive event" where fireworks artisans from across the country showcase their skills. The artisans display works full of creativity and ingenuity. With its high artistic value and powerful displays, it has become a popular event attracting many tourists from both within Japan and overseas.
In 2025, we at Holiday Travel began selling tickets for the Ōmagari Fireworks Festival for the first time. Today, we spoke with Watanabe from our reservation and arrangement team about the preparation process, the event day experience, and our outlook for next year.
What Are "Ōmagari Fireworks Festival Reserved Seating Tickets" That We Sold for the First Time This Year?
Thank you for your time today! First, could you give us a brief introduction about yourself?
I handle inbound reservation responses, tour material arrangements, and product registration at Holiday Travel. Previously, I worked at a major travel company for over ten years, where I was involved in various operations including bus tour planning and arrangements, JR procedures, and serving as on-site staff at events nationwide.
Your extensive experience in the travel industry is reassuring! Today, we'd like to learn more about Ōmagari Fireworks Festival tickets in detail!
I'm pleased to help you with that.
To start, could you explain what "Ōmagari Fireworks Festival reserved seating tickets" are?
Similar to Gion Festival and Nebuta Festival, these are tickets that allow you to watch the fireworks from designated reserved seats. There are various types including pipe chairs and areas where you sit on blue sheets. This time, we sold tickets for pipe chair seating.
I see. By the way, this was your first year selling Ōmagari Fireworks Festival tickets, right?
That's right. We started this year.
What inspired you to start selling these tickets?
Actually, the success of our Gion Festival tickets was the catalyst. In 2023, Gion Festival was very popular with our inbound customers, so we thought other festivals might sell well too.
I see!
So we gradually expanded to Nebuta Festival and Yosakoi Festival. Then we thought, "Maybe we could do events other than festivals?" and that's when we turned our attention to fireworks festivals.
Among fireworks festivals, why did you choose Ōmagari?
Because it's a famous fireworks festival and there seemed to be demand from overseas customers. We also considered Nagaoka Fireworks in Niigata, but there were restrictions on inbound group purchases. Ōmagari allowed purchases regardless of whether customers were domestic or international, so we decided to give it a try.
More Than Just "Sending Tickets" — A New Format of Group Guidance
How is selling Ōmagari tickets different from other festivals?
It's completely different. The tickets are for reserved seating at the fireworks festival, but groups need to enter together. And for group entry, there was a requirement that the travel agency had to guide customers to the venue.
So unlike Nebuta or Gion Festival, you can't just send tickets?
That's right. For Gion and Nebuta Festival, we mail tickets to customers individually, but that wasn't allowed for Ōmagari. So we had all customers meet at Ōmagari Station and had a guide escort them to the reserved seating area.
That must have been challenging! The preparation must have been different from other ticket sales, right?
Yes. We had to arrange guides, prepare materials, provide detailed instructions to customers, create photo-illustrated meeting point explanations... There were many more preparation points than other festival tickets, and we proceeded through trial and error.
Handling tickets for the first time must be quite demanding in terms of preparation. How were the ticket sales?
They sold better than expected. We initially sold a limited number of tickets, but they sold out quickly, so we procured and sold additional tickets.
Thoughtful Touches and Flexible On-Site Responses
Since this was your first time selling these tickets, I imagine the preparation was quite challenging. What were some of the key points you focused on?
We set the meeting time quite early. To prepare for the expected crowds on the day, we allowed plenty of time for transit.
Indeed, it seems like many people would be visiting Akita for the first time.
Exactly. That's why we provided detailed instructions about the meeting point and routes using illustrated maps.
I see. How did things go on the actual day?
Due to Shinkansen ticket issues, there were two groups of customers who couldn't make it to the meeting time.
Yes, those situations do happen.
Those customers met the guide at a different location, and we created a chat group with Holiday Travel, the guide, and the customers to coordinate.
So flexible responses were necessary.
That's right. On the day, our guide was really flexible in handling various situations. After the event, they provided detailed feedback, which was extremely valuable for next year.
Feedback from the guide is invaluable. What kind of feedback did you receive?
Things like allowing more time for preliminary scouting, that restaurants around the station are crowded in the early afternoon, and that while there are many food stalls at the venue, there aren't many shaded areas to sit. There was a lot of information that you can only know by being there on the day, and it will be very helpful going forward.
That on-the-ground information is invaluable. Next year, you'll be able to prepare based on this information and provide even more detailed guidance to customers.
Exactly. We received so much information that you can't know without going to the venue, and I'm really grateful. I think we'll be able to handle things much more smoothly next year.
Looking Toward Next Year: Aiming for Further Expansion
You're planning to sell Ōmagari tickets again next year, right? Do you have any plans?
First, we want to increase the number of tickets sold so we can provide opportunities for more customers to watch the Ōmagari fireworks.
With this year's track record, you can say that with confidence.
Also, since Akita is far away, we'd like to create hotel packages that combine tickets with accommodation.
That's a great idea!
Also, securing guides who are familiar with the area. I think there will be many irregular situations on the day, so having even one guide with local knowledge would be very reassuring.
Final Thoughts
Listening to your story today, I really got a sense of how challenging this first attempt was.
It really was our first time and we were feeling our way through it, but being able to help customers enjoy this traditional Japanese summer event made it worthwhile.
It sounds like next year will be even better.
Yes. We received a lot of feedback from our guides, so we're using this year's experience to prepare to provide even more comprehensive service. We want to make it so that anyone interested in the Ōmagari Fireworks Festival can attend with peace of mind.
I hope you can provide tickets to even more customers next year! Thank you so much for your time today!
At Holiday Travel, we provide a complete service from Ōmagari Fireworks Festival ticket arrangements to guided escort, so you can enjoy the experience with peace of mind. Please feel free to contact us for details.
