Lantern Floating Ceremony

Hiroshima’s annual Peace Memorial Day concludes with the poignant and beautiful August 6 floating ceremony on the Motoyasu River.

Every year on the evening of August 6, thousands of people make their way to the banks of the Motoyasu River that runs below the Atomic Bomb Dome, along the edge of the Peace Memorial Park. Here, they set colorful paper lanterns bearing personal appeals for peace and to, once more, commemorate those who lost their lives in the bombing, many of whom took their final painful breaths before succumbing to their injuries in this stretch of water.

Everyone is welcome, and encouraged, to take part. There is a 1000 yen charge to cover costs, and all you have to do is line up for your paper, add your message, and then line up again (this part can take a while) to make your way down to the riverside, where volunteers will help you wrap the paper around a wooden frame and light the lantern. Then, you can step down to the water and set it afloat with the 10,000 or so others.

You can buy the paper to wrap around your lantern from early in the morning until 8:30 pm. The lantern floating begins on the bank of the Motoyasu River, opposite the A-bomb Dome Memorial, from 6 pm after a 30-minute ceremony. Lanterns can be floated on the river until 9 pm.

Receiving and creating your lantern wrapper can usually be done quite quickly, but you should be prepared to wait in a long line to reach the embankment from where you can set it afloat. Understandably, people on the embankment take some time to reflect and also to take photographs, but the line does move relatively quickly. We recommend having a fan to keep you cool while waiting, especially on still nights

If you are unable to attend the lantern floating in the evening, or feel the wait might be too long, volunteers are happy to float your lantern on your behalf. Just let the staff at the reception desk know.

A word for those with young children
Displays describing the aftermath of the A-bombing, which include some graphic images, along the path along which you line up to float your lanterns.

The official Hiroshima lantern floating is organized by Chushinren.