Daimonji Festival with Arashiyama Floating Lanterns (Limited to 16 August)

Daimoji Gozan Okuribi is a famous bonfire festival that attracts tens of thousands of visitors, both Japanese and foreigners, every year. Due to its strong visual impact, it has recently become an image signifying Kyoto's summer.

Fires are set in succession on Mount Daimonji, Matsugasaki Nishiyama and Higashiyama mountains and Mt. Hidari-Daimonjiyama at Kinkakuji Okitayama, forming Japanese characters such as "dai" (meaning large).

A common interpretation of this festival is that the fire set is seen as ritual to see of the ancestors' souls after commemorating the welcoming of them.

The Toro-nagashi (floating lantern) festival is takes place on Hirosawa pond at 7pm on the same day. Lanterns of different colors are carried to the center of the pond by boats and floated from the boats. The lanterns then slowly scatter over the water, creating a breathtaking sight to behold!