We sall be lucky enough to be in Tokyo on July 25th, for the Sumidagawa fireworks festival !

- Where is the best spot to see the fireworks?

- How long beforehand do we have to be there?

- Is it possible to "reserve" a spot by leaving a blanket or a towel on the ground, and come back 1 hour and 1/2 before the beginning?
I did this in Kobe for the big firework, and it worked ; but I am not sure it works in Tokyo, for such a big event.

If you see something else, please let me know !

Best regards from Paris

You underestimate the maginitude of the event :) There will be traffic restriction (not just cars, but pedestrians too) from 6:00 to 9:30, so you want to get to your viewing spot far, far before 6 o'clock. On the bridges across the river, there will be traffic controllers to keep you walking only in one direction, and you are not allowed to stop to watch...

http://sumidagawa-hanabi.com/road_map.html

On this map, where you see two red circles are where they shoot up the fireworks, and the areas colored orange are off limits from 16:30 - 21:30. The area marked by pink line is area with traffic restriction from 18:00 - 21:30. The areas shaded in with green, along the river for example, are parks and pedestrian walkways you can see fireworks from. Black arrows indicate the one-way direction where pedestrians are allowed to walk.

I know it will be big !

I was inteding to be on the spot at about 16:30...

But the question still remains : where? in the park on the west-side of the river, between the bridges?

Thanks

May i ask some questions as well?

1. For the winner of the firework display, how do they judge it? Do they get the viewers to vote or something?

2. Are there any food stores and apart from enjoying the view, what else can you do?

3. I heard that more Adults go there than children, is it because it's too late for the children?

4. Do people get to choose? Whether they choose a place around the bridge to sit down and enjoy it or walk along the bridge while watching it??

5. And what time does it usually start and end??

Thank you very much!