Experience the charm of Tokyo’s traditional downtown as the “Bamboo Lantern Festival” returns, transforming the waterfront with the warm, gentle glow of bamboo lights. Centered around Sumida River Walk and Kitajukken River Terrace, the festival offers enchanting winter evenings in a distinctly downtown Tokyo setting. Now in its fifth year, the event’s highlight is a vibrant waterfront display featuring bamboo lanterns and illuminated reflections dancing across the surface of the Kitajukken River. Visitors can also take part in a variety of activities, including hands-on bamboo lantern-making workshops.
Tobu Railway will host the "Bamboo Lantern Festival" from Saturday, November 7, 2026, through Sunday, January 31, 2027. Designed to bring warmth and vibrancy to the winter evenings around Tokyo Mizumachi and Sumida River Walk, the festival will feature a variety of events and installations illuminated by the inviting glow of bamboo lanterns.
The bamboo lantern illumination, which originated at Ushijima Shrine in 2022, has attracted considerable interest from visitors over the years and now returns for its fifth edition. A major new feature this year will be a light display illuminating the water along a section of the Kitajukken River, between Genmori Bridge and Koume Bridge. For the first time, the river itself will become an integral part of the festival's lighting design, complementing the traditional bamboo lantern installations and extending the illuminated landscape into the surrounding waterfront environment.
The overall direction of this year's illumination will be overseen by Kenji Mishiro of CHIKAKEN, a Kumamoto-based company specializing in the design and production of bamboo lantern displays throughout Japan. Tobu Railway will continue working with local businesses and community partners to create an inviting and lively atmosphere in the Asakusa and TOKYO SKYTREE TOWN areas during the winter season.
Event Period:
Saturday, November 7, 2026, through Sunday, January 31, 2027
Hours:
5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
All photographs were taken in 2025.
About TOBU Railway Co., Ltd.
TOBU Railway Co., Ltd. is a major Japanese corporate group comprising nearly 70 companies. The Tobu Railway network covers the longest operating distance among private railway operators in the Tokyo metropolitan area, providing access to numerous popular tourist destinations. These include Asakusa and TOKYO SKYTREE TOWN in Tokyo; Nikko and Kinugawa Onsen, renowned for their World Heritage sites and hot springs; the Tatebayashi and Ashikaga areas, celebrated for their seasonal flower displays; and Kawagoe and Tochigi City, where the atmosphere and traditions of the Edo period remain alive.
TOBU also operates an extensive portfolio of hotels, including The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko; Nikko Kanaya Hotel, Japan's oldest Western-style hotel; and, in Tokyo, AC Hotel by Marriott Tokyo Ginza and the family-friendly Tobu Hotel Asakusa, among others.
For more information: https://www.tobu.co.jp/en/sightseeing/recommend/tourism/
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