TOKYO –
Paid seating has turn into the norm at fireworks festivals throughout Japan, with all 15,000 reserved-seat tickets for the Sumida River Fireworks Festival in Tokyo already offered forward of the July 25 occasion.
The competition, one in every of Tokyo’s best-known summer time traditions, attracts almost 1 million guests every year and ranks among the many hottest fireworks shows within the nation.
Paid seating was launched on the competition 24 years in the past. While fireworks festivals had been as soon as generally related to spectators spreading sheets alongside riverbanks and watching freed from cost, they’re more and more changing into occasions the place guests pay for a extra snug viewing expertise.
According to Teikoku Databank, about 80% of fireworks festivals have launched paid seating.
Handheld fireworks are additionally changing into extra premium, reflecting broader modifications in one in every of Japan’s most acquainted types of summer time recreation.
Source: FNN