← All videos

The Fireworks Start at Seven. That Riverbank Was Claimed at Noon.

To say claiming a spot in advance in Japanese, say 場所取り (basho-tori).

You arrive ten minutes early to a Japanese fireworks festival. Every good spot is already blue plastic.

basho-tori claiming a spot in advance

Intermediate cultural-explainer #learnjapanese #japantravel #japanesesummer #hanabi #japanesephrases

In this video

  1. 花火は夜七時から。でも、いい場所はお昼には埋まります。 hanabi wa yoru shichiji kara. demo, ii basho wa ohiru ni wa umarimasu. The fireworks start at seven at night. But the good spots are taken by midday.
  2. 朝からシートを敷いて待つことを、「場所取り」と言います。 asa kara shiito o shiite matsu koto o, bashotori to iimasu. Laying out a sheet from the morning and waiting is called 場所取り.
  3. レジャーシートとテープで、自分の場所を確保します。 rejaa shiito to teepu de, jibun no basho o kakuho shimasu. With a picnic sheet and tape, people secure their own spot.
  4. でも最近は、「場所取り禁止」の花火大会も増えています。 demo saikin wa, bashotori kinshi no hanabi taikai mo fuete imasu. But lately, more fireworks festivals ban it.
  5. 有料席は早く売り切れるので、行く前に確認してください。 yuuryouseki wa hayaku urikireru node, iku mae ni kakunin shite kudasai. Paid seats sell out early, so check before you go.

Kanji in this phrase

場所取り
ばしょとり
花火大会
はなびたいかい
有料席
ゆうりょうせき
七時
しちじ
敷いて
しいて

Why this phrase

場所取り is the summer ritual of laying a plastic sheet on the riverbank hours before a fireworks festival to hold the ground. It is also quietly disappearing: several 2026 festivals posted 場所取り禁止 notices and pushed viewers into paid seating that sells out weeks ahead. Anyone walking up at ten to seven this August needs to know both halves of that.

More phrases like this

Browse the full phrase-video catalog →

Get the free phrasebook

15 essential phrases for your trip — romaji included, zero studying.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.