Tokyo Hotaru Matsuri 2013

I just went to Tokyo Hotaru Matsuri 2013 yesterday, and the view was amazing! 

Matsuri means festival and Hotaru means firefly! it is an annual event held in Sumida river which is near to Asakusa!, if you are not familiar about Asakusa, you might heard of the famous temple there name Sensoji temple, it is one of the biggest temple in Tokyo!

This is the picture that I took from the center of the bridge! there are 100, 000 of floating LEDs are released on that day for the festival! 

The LEDs are manufactured by Panasonics to resemble the firefly that flies through the Sumida river in older days! because of rapid development in Tokyo, it is rare scene to see firefly flying through it! thus, Panasonics has decided to bring back the beauty scene back! 

The LEDs light are shown below, it is powered with a AA battery! it has a high intensity blue LED and it has diffuser to spread the light. Below the light, it has 2 screws which allows electricity conduction when it touches the water!, it only glows when it touches the water else it wont!

and another interesting point, is the design of the light shape, do notice that at the bottom is flat and at the top is rounded, this allows the light to float upwardly regardless on how it orients itself on the water! it is due to the buoyancy of the light! brilliant engineering by Panasonics for providing this modern firefly!

So, on that day about 7pm, we are given the light and to throw it to the river! It is kinda interesting, it is like the modern Chap Goh Mei instead of throwing oranges we throw "fake" firefly!

Besides, the people constantly throwing the light, the organiser did release thousands of the lights! this makes a spectacular view and it lights up the river! Here is the video on how it looks like! 

Now, I will share about the travel tips for this festival! I have to queue up for 1 hour just to get the ticket and 1 hour to get in! There are thousands of people and it is so congested on that day!

Here is the official website for the festival:
http://tokyo-hotaru.jp/

You have 2 options to see the festival either you pay or you see it for free!
a) if you choose to pay for the entrance fee which costs 1000 yen for different zone
> they will give you the light and you can throw it to the river, once you have thrown it you are asked to leave the area because behind you there are so many people queuing up for it! Remember to choose the zone, which has the view of the Skytree!
> to get the ticket, you have 2 options to buy it online or to get it on that day! if you get it on that day it will cost you 1200 yen and you need to queue up for 1 hour!

b) you can see it for free! just get there early in the morning along the Sumida river (near the Asahi buidling), find a spot that you love and camp there! you got to enjoy it for free! but, you just dont get to throw the light that all!

Here is the gallery of pictures of the festival!