Floating Lanterns in Peace Memorial Park

As the sun starts to set on the August 6 Peace Memorial Day, people make their way back to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the annual tourou nagashi lantern floating.

Here, they line up and write messages of peace on colorful paper lanterns and wait in long lines that wind around the park before they reach the steps that lead down to the Motoyasu River.

At the water’s edge, they release these beautiful lanterns hoping for peace, happiness, love, and friendship.

Early in the evening the lanterns flow toward the sea and later on, they change course and flow upriver.

It is a beautiful, peaceful end to a day paying respects to those who lost their lives while hoping for a better future.