Held in a park a 5-minute walk from Ani-gō Station, the lantern floating ceremony is an event in which lanterns carrying the souls of the deceased and offerings are set adrift to send the souls—which have returned during Obon—back from the living world to the afterlife; hundreds of lanterns are set adrift on the clear stream.

In the Ani district, the Ani Buddhist Association and the Lantern Floating Support Association take the lead in organizing the lantern floating ceremony to coincide with the fireworks display. The lantern floating begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by the fireworks at 7:15 p.m.

The spectacle of the lanterns’ beautiful reflection on the water at night, combined with the powerful fireworks echoing through the mountain gorge, is truly magnificent.