Kihoku Lantern Festival | Kihoku
Celebration
The Kihoku Lantern Festival, held annually in Kihoku Town, Mie Prefecture, at Nagashima Port, is a major summer event renowned for its spectacular giant lanterns and fireworks over the sea. These giant lanterns, exceeding 35 meters in length, have different themes each year and are sometimes referred to as "Sea Sleepers" due to their awe-inspiring presence as they slowly move across the water. Smaller box-shaped lanterns, made by local kindergarten, elementary, and junior high school students, are arranged around the festival grounds. Amidst the warm atmosphere created by the entire town, approximately 3,000 fireworks illuminate the night sky and sea. The "Rainbow Peacock" fireworks, named after the festival, utilize the unique topography of the Nagashima Port fjord coastline to create a spectacular horizontal display resembling a peacock spreading its tail feathers. The "Thousand-Layer Rainbow Peacock" fireworks display features thousands of colorful fireworks blooming like rainbows, a fleeting spectacle that can only be witnessed here, and their reflection on the sea is breathtaking.