Handheld fireworks. From classics to popular novelty fireworks!
When it comes to summer fun, it’s all about fireworks.
Going out to a big fireworks show is great, but if you want something easy to enjoy with friends and family, handheld fireworks are perfect!
These days, many fireworks have fun surprises, like changing colors midway.
In this article, we’ll introduce various types of handheld fireworks, so if you want to enjoy them or learn about the different kinds, be sure to use this as a reference.
Even kids experiencing fireworks for the first time will want to try if the fireworks are exciting and fun.
Let’s make the most of handheld fireworks this summer!
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Handheld fireworks. From classics to popular novelty fireworks! (11–20)
Hanabi Spinner
This is a slightly unusual handheld firework that combines a typical gold sparkler with spinning silver sparks! At first glance, it looks like the ordinary sparkler with a paper handle you’d find in any fireworks set.
Right after ignition, you can enjoy sparks just like a regular sparkler, but partway through, an igniter for a spinning firework pops out! Using the flame from the sparkler that was burning first, the spinning firework starts to burn! It’s a popular product that won first place in the “Other” category of the 2018 Toy Fireworks Contest!
5-color-changing lantern
As its name suggests, the “5-Color-Changing Lantern” is a handheld firework that lets you enjoy five successive color changes.
Its shape is just like a handheld lantern: the flame-emitting part and the handle aren’t integrated, so you don’t get that typical handheld-firework fear of the flame creeping toward your hand.
The colors change in the order of red, green, yellow, blue, and white.
Each time, the flame settles down before the next color ignites, so you get that little surge of excitement with each new start.
No matter which color it switches to, the intensity doesn’t drop off until the end, so you can fully enjoy each color of the display!
Omikuji Fireworks
These are fortune-telling fireworks that reveal your luck by their color! The set includes one of each of four types.
If the firework sparkles gold, it’s great luck; silver means good luck; green means a little luck; and red means bad luck.
You won’t know the color until you light it, so you can enjoy the excitement of finding out which one you’ll get! You can also have fun competing with friends or family to see who gets which fortune while enjoying the fireworks together.
They’re fun not only when you light them, but even before you do!
The Artisan Japan
With its cool, understated name, “The Artisan Japan,” this firework stands out for its unique burn.
Instead of a steady glow, it crackles and flashes repeatedly like a strobe light, erupting with a dramatic intensity that’s downright startling.
What’s more, this effect keeps repeating for about 60 seconds—quite a long time for a firework—so you can enjoy it at length.
The brightness of the flashing never fades right up to the very end.
Highly recommended if you want the thrill and excitement of something a little different!
Red Pepper Spicy
The handheld firework with the strikingly spicy-sounding name “Red Pepper Spicy.” Just like its name, it produces a hot-looking red flame with crackling sparks scattering around it.
At the very moment you light it, only a single jet of flame appears, but after a few seconds, the flaming section splits into two! That rare transformation really gets your heart racing.
Toward the end, the flame’s color shifts from red to yellow before fading out.
With one stick you can enjoy a variety of changes in form and color, making it a firework you’ll want to light again and again.
Angel’s wings
This handheld firework has two sparklers joined at the tip, so when you light it, the sparks cross and flow in a V-shape, creating a design like angel wings! There’s only one lighting point, so you don’t have to worry about “only one of the two lighting.” The burn time is about 30 seconds, and both sides finish almost simultaneously.
Its unique shape makes it perfect for sharing on social media like Instagram! We especially recommend it for students and working professionals aiming for a “V-shaped recovery” in their studies or work—give it a try!
Japan’s longest spark
An astonishing burn time of about 230 seconds! This is Japan’s longest-lasting handheld firework.
While typical fireworks burn for 30 seconds—60 seconds at most—this one boasts more than double the duration! Many people have probably thought, “I wish the spark lasted longer” every time they use handheld fireworks.
This firework grants that wish—it’s a super firework! The spark shape is a rounded, sparkler-like burst, like an enlarged senko-hanabi.
It also produces very little smoke, so it’s fine even if you’re sensitive to it.
Be sure to experience Japan’s number-one firework!
Dragon Hand Cannon
If you want to play with a handheld firework as dynamic as a skyrocket, we recommend this “Ryū Tetsutsu.” Like the handheld tube fireworks often seen at festivals in Aichi and Shizuoka, you can enjoy a burst of powerful flames the moment you light it.
The flames reach a height of about 3 meters and shoot out within a radius of about 1 meter, delivering excitement on par with aerial fireworks.
It’s a handheld firework you can enjoy both by holding it yourself and by watching from nearby.
pictorial fireworks
A handheld firework shaped like a pistol that makes you feel like a sniper! There’s a pistol illustration attached to the tip of the sparkler stick.
And of course, you light it at the muzzle! You can enjoy bright red sparks and crackling sounds, just like muzzle flash when firing.
It’s also reassuring that the sparks aren’t too large.
It’s reportedly very popular with boys, so if you’re preparing it for kids to play with, be sure to have enough for everyone to avoid squabbles.
Higashi’s Sparklers: Nagate Botan
These are sparklers in a familiar shape for everyone who enjoys fireworks.
Sparklers originated in Kansai and were made with straw, but when they spread to the Kanto region—where rice cultivation was less common and papermaking was thriving—they began to be made with paper instead of straw.
They later became the standard type of sparkler nationwide.
Compared to the “Western sparklers (Subote Botan),” they are characterized by a longer burn time.
They are weak against wind, and strong gusts can make the sparks fall, so it’s best to play with them on windless days or in places with a windbreak.
In conclusion
Compared to the past, there are a lot more types of handheld fireworks now, and just looking at them is fun. Handheld fireworks are often sold in sets, but you can buy them individually too. They’re only a few hundred yen each, so they’re easy to try. If any fireworks catch your eye, be sure to give them a try this summer!