We went to go see the Echigo-Tsumari Snow Fireworks / Gift for Frozen Village 2019 on March 2, 2019, which was a special firework show that can only be seen during winter.
The place we went to was Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture where snowfall accumulates on average two to three meters every year during the winter season. The area is known as a heavy snowfall region.
Since 2000, Tokamachi City has held the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field, which is one of the largest contemporary art festivals in the world and held triennially. This project is based on the concept of “humans are part of nature.”
From January 19 through March 24, 2019, Echigo-Tsumari Art Field 2019 Winter SNOWART program was held and the program of Echigo-Tsumari Snow Fireworks / Gift for Frozen Village 2019 was one of the programs that we looked forward to.
This fireworks show was held inside the artwork of “Gift for Frozen Village 2019,” which was a glowing flower field over a snowy field produced by artist Kyota Takanashi.
The artwork was made at a ski resort and the wide snowy field was covered with colorful lights, making the light spread through the field.
Not only looking at the artwork, we were able to be part of it.
At the venue, a small LED light was handed out to people and…
Many people buried the LED light inside the snow creating a glowing flower field. We felt like we were creating a beautiful artwork together!
Even though it was dark, about 20,000 colorful LED lights made the sky bright with the reflection of the white snow.
There were a number of food stalls that sold delicious local foods and yukimizake, which is “snow-viewing sake” to warm up for the long night. We wished we had some hot sake while we waited for the show.
Finally, the firework show started from 7 p.m. and immediately the venue was enveloped with music and bright light from the fireworks.
There were different styles of fireworks launched with good timing to synchronize with the American Pop music medley.
The snow field colored with the LED lights at our feet also reflected the color of the fireworks, changing the snow field colorfully, such as with a yellow hue, pink hue, and so on.
The finale of about 10 minutes of the firework show filled the venue with great excitement. The innumerable fireworks hit the sky all at once and the whole venue brightened like daytime, making the whole audience applaud and cheer spontaneously.
This firework show was the most magical and highly artistic show that we had seen in our entire lives.
Our way of seeing “snow” has also changed dramatically.
Now we see snow as the brightest light in the cold and dark of winter.
Next year’s event information
Period: Early March 2020 (to be scheduled)
*You cannot attend the venue with your own car.
| Address | Tamagawa, Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture, 949-8556 |
| Access | Free shuttle bus service (to be scheduled) [If you arrive by train] Please take shuttle bus from Tokamachi Station West Exit [If you arrive by car] Please take shuttle bus from the nearby parking lot. |
| URL | https://niigata-kankou.or.jp/event/12395 |
