Sumida River Fireworks

The display is launched from two separate sites along the Sumida, a short distance apart, running at the same time on slightly different programmes. The first site traditionally includes a competition section in which pyrotechnic companies show new work, and it is generally the more interesting of the two if you care about the fireworks themselves rather than the volume.

Around twenty thousand shells go up over roughly ninety minutes, which is a rate that does not let up. The signature Japanese form is the warimono, the perfectly spherical burst that looks identical from every angle – a technically difficult thing that Japanese makers have specialised in for centuries, and the reason Japanese fireworks are distinctive rather than merely large.

Tokyo Skytree stands behind the river, which gives the best-known composition of the evening and also explains why every accessible vantage point on that side is occupied by mid-afternoon.

The honest position first: the good free spots on the riverbank are taken by early afternoon, and large sections of the bank are closed off or made one-way for crowd control from late afternoon. If you turn up at 18:30 expecting to find a space on the water, you will spend the evening in a slow-moving crowd looking at other people’s heads.

Commit early. Take a position on the riverbank in the early afternoon with food, water and something to sit on, and treat the wait as part of the day. This is what most Japanese groups do and it is by far the best experience.

Or go further out. The shells burst high enough to be visible from a considerable distance. Parks, bridges and open ground well back from the official area give you a view with a fraction of the crush, and you can leave when you want.

Or pay. Restaurants, hotels and cruise operators sell viewing packages, expensively and early. They are not a rip-off – what you are buying is a seat and a toilet – but book months ahead.

Leaving is the hard part. Asakusa and Oshiage stations are subject to entry restrictions immediately after the display and the queues run for a long time. Either leave fifteen minutes before the end, or walk twenty or thirty minutes to a station outside the controlled area and board there.

It will be hot and humid. Late July in Tokyo runs into the mid-thirties with high humidity, and standing in a crowd for six hours in that is a genuine health consideration. Carry more water than you think, and note that the convenience stores in the area sell out.

Yukata – the light cotton summer kimono – is what a large proportion of the crowd wears, and visitors are welcome to. Rental shops in Asakusa do it for a modest sum; check the return deadline, because a shop closing at 18:00 is useless for a display that starts at 19:05.

Weather calls are made close to the day and announced by the organisers; heavy rain or high wind can postpone or cancel. Check on the morning rather than assuming.

The other date that fills this district is Sanja Matsuri in May. Both are free, both are worth planning for, and Skytree sells nothing on fireworks night that is better than a patch of riverbank.