GMAN: Fireworks Shows (花火大会）

Greggman.com has a great post about the awesome fireworks shows, or はなびたいかい, that take place every year in Japan. He's got lots of great pictures depicting the whole experience, too.

From what he says, it sounds like they put American July 4th fireworks shows to shame, which is sad. I went to San Francisco's July 4th show and it was only 10-15 minutes. Anyways, it's another thing I'm looking forward to seeing sometime in Japan, being a bit of a pyromaniac, I mean, pyrotechnics fan, myself. Also, I think it's cool how people respect your spot if you put a tarp down early and then come back later. Now that's respect for your fellow man. In America, if you wanted the good spot, you would have to not only go there early, but camp out and stay there yourself the whole time.

Does anyone out there have a favorite show they attend every year? The one that Gregg attended was the Edogawa Hanabi Taikai. Also does anyone know about a hanabi taikai between September 7-23 in Kansai area? I'd love to see one when I visit.