The Seaport Carnival on Sunset Beach is famous for its spectacular fireworks.

After being postponed once to the weekend of Jul. 25th and 26th The Chatan Seaport Carnival finally became the victim of typhoon Halola that is expected to hit the island on that weekend, and was cancelled altogether.

The Chatan Seaport Carnival is the first of the summer’s major festivals on Okinawa, and the one that concentrates exclusively on activities on a beach, namely the Sunset Beach in Mihama, Chatan.

It features everything a beach party could possibly be; live music, fun in the water, and spectacular fireworks. This year’s Chatan Sea Port Carnival was scheduled for this weekend, but because of the approaching typhoon Chan-hon, it takes place on July 25th and 26th instead, and promises to be one of the highlights of the summer.

Admission to the festival is free. Fireworks cap the evening both days from 8 ~ 8:15 p.m. and traditionally provide some of the biggest bangs of any fireworks on the island. Some 1,300 pyrotechnics are blasted off from just off the beach each day.

Taking place on Chatan’s beautiful Sunset Beach this mid-summer festival has it all. The entertainment starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday and includes live stage performance by Kyogo Kawaguchi, a fashion show and hula performance, followed on Sunday starting at noon by a raft paddling race, Hatagashira performance, street dance performance, Chatan Promotion Lady pageant and, of course, Eisa.

Kayak rides and other water-related activities take place on the beach throughout both days.

Of course, typical Japanese festival street food is available from the stall set up on the beach, such as corn dogs, takoyaki fried octopus balls, yakisoba, yakitori, potatoes, corn on the cob, and various other fried foods. Plenty of cold beer and soft drinks are naturally also available.

According to organizers, on an average year about 72,000 people visit the festival, and that deserves a word of warning; traffic can be really jammed up, and should you choose to drive to the fireworks, it could take plenty of patience and time to get out, as everyone tries to leave at the same time. For those who stay or live close by, walking is the best option. It is also a good idea to get there early as the venue gets rather packed as the day proceeds. The available parking is mainly on the 1,500–car capacity parking lot located in front of the AEON Mihama store. Temporary additional parking lots will be available elsewhere in the Chatan area. The Sunset beach is at https://goo.gl/maps/psLCQ.

• 
• NO DATA