Furutone River Floating Lantern Festival

250 of Japan's largest lanterns, as big as a tatami mattress cover Furutone River for approximately 1km (0.6 mile) in this dreamy event. It’s also called the Milky Way Landed on Earth. Held in early August.

The festival's origins date back to the early Showa period (around 1935). The merchant associations of Sugito Town and Miyashiro Town collaborated to organize an event called "Ryūtōkai," where creatively designed lanterns were floated on the Furutone River that flows between the two towns as a means of promoting their shops. After a period of hiatus, the festival was revived in its current form in 1990, spearheaded by the "Honmachi Showa-kai" of Sugito Town, with the goal of revitalizing the town.

All the lanterns are handcrafted by the townspeople, constructed without the use of nails, and often feature the names of the shops as part of their promotional efforts. In addition to mooring large lanterns, the festival is lively with performances of dance, folk songs, and shamisen music.

In recent years, it has been featured on TV, attracting many photographers and tourists. Yomiuri Newspaper’s book, “Must visit! 100 Japanese Scenic Treasures for 21st-Century Japan” spotlighted this festival.