Fussa Firefly Festival

Head out to Fussa, an outlying suburb one hour west of Tokyo, to see one of Japan’s classic summer sights: a field of fireflies.

What happens?

This is the 59th year of this hotaru festival, where 500 fireflies are released into Hotaru Park on the banks of the Tamagawa.

As well as the shiny little bugs, there are also street stalls and food kiosks, and also various stage performances featuring eisa taiko and yosakoi suran. The best time to see the fireflies themselves in full display is between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., but since the festival itself wraps up at 9 p.m., best get there early.

It gets crowded, and parking is hard to find, so take the train and stroll to the park to soak up that summer ambiance.