Fire Flowers: Hotels for Tokyo’s Sumida River Fireworks Festival

“Fireworks festivals are a big deal in Japan, and this is the country’s biggest and oldest, dating back to the mid-1700s. With roots in Edo-era ceremonies for famine victims, it also has something to offer history buffs – but most modern attendees come for the awesome spectacle. Try to get yourself onto a boat on the river for particularly choice views. Where to stay? Either take look through Expedia’s Tokyo hotels page or pick one of our five suggestions below…

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Richmond Hotel Premier Tokyo Oshiage
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With a handy restaurant and observation deck, the 634-metre Tokyo Skytree is one of the most coveted spots for firework watching. Demand for tickets to its viewing event is huge, far outstripping the number of tickets available – but if you do get lucky, you get a superb and relatively private vantage point. The spacious, modern Richmond Hotel Premier is very nearby, and from some rooms you’ll be able to see the Skytree from your window. The hotel is bang in the centre of the Sumida ward, and also close to Tokyo Skytree Town’s shopping and entertainment.

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Asakusa View Hotel
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It would be disappointing if the Asakusa View Hotel didn’t offer splendid views. But this fabulous establishment has terrific, far-reaching vistas in all directions. If you can, book a room on the Sky Tree View side for unobstructed views of the fireworks above the river, with the landmark Tokyo Skytree beyond. But if you can’t, never fear – the Shinjuku and Mount Fuji panorama in the other direction is spectacular, and Sumida Park, one of the best firework-watching spots, is just a short walk away.

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Dormy Inn Express
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The Dormy Inn Express may be low-key, but what it lacks in poshness it more than makes up for with its location. Staying right on the edge of Sumida Park, you can reserve your patch for the fireworks nice and early by putting down a blue plastic mat with your name on it – Japanese manners being what they are, nobody will disrupt your spot once you’ve claimed it. You’re then free to explore Asakusa or relax in your hotel’s bathhouse or restaurant.

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Via Inn Asakusa
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A couple of streets away from Sumida Park, Via Inn is in the perfect location for the festival, sight-seeing and yukata shopping. Yukata are colourful, cotton kimonos worn by pretty much everyone at the festival, male and female. They’re so popular that you might feel out of place wearing your regular clothes. From your casual, comfortable hotel, you can step out onto Nakamise Dori – a hugely popular souvenir-shopping street – to pick one up, and sample some street food snacks while you’re at it. You’re just a couple of minutes from the landmark Sensoji Temple too.

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Mandarin Oriental
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Tokyo’s towering skyscrapers are home to some of the city’s most luxurious hotels. For a thoroughly top-end River Sumida Fireworks Festival experience far above the crowds, book a Skytree-facing room at the Mandarin Oriental. It occupies floor 30 to 38 of the Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, and needless to say, the views are breathtaking. Whether you’re in one of the restaurants, the gorgeous spa, or your room, you’ll have a front-row seat, with fantastic food and drink on tap.

Have a look at our hotels in Tokyo page for more options.”