Sumidagawa Paper Lantern Floating

The Sumidagawa paper lantern floating (灯篭流し, tōrō-nagashi) festival began in 1946 to pay respects and mourn those who lost their lives in the air raids and fires during the war. After a hiatus due to riverbank construction, the tradition was revived in 2005 to foster community spirit. Today, the event attracts many people to the banks of the Sumida River and is popular not just with Japanese but with foreign visitors, too. The visual spectacle of hundreds of glowing lanterns against the backdrop of the Tokyo Skytree makes it a significant cultural and photographic event in the Asakusa area.

Many, of course, come just to watch the lanterns floating in the evening on the river, but you can also purchase and set free a lantern of your own for a fee. The area for registration is at the Tokyo Cruise Asakusa Pier. Registration is open from 2:00 PM and ends when they have run out of lanterns.

Modern environmental regulations dictate that the lanterns are no longer permitted to drift out to sea; instead, they are systematically collected by recovery boats positioned downstream near the Kototoi Bridge. The floating ceremony typically commences at 6:30 PM, but the highest visual density occurs around 7:30 PM once the sky is fully dark. For those capturing the scene, the extreme contrast between the illuminated paper and the dark water often necessitates manual exposure settings to ensure the handwritten prayers remain legible. Because the Sumida River Walk becomes a major pedestrian bottleneck, securing a spot on the lower Shinsui Terrace at least an hour before the floating begins is recommended for an unobstructed view.