Kiyomizu Shrine — Floating Lantern Festival on the River

Kiyomizu-jinja in Saga City hosts the Saga Lantern Festival (Saga-no-Nishi) in mid-August — a tradition where paper lanterns are floated on the Kase River in the Buddhist obon tradition. Unlike the famous Nagasaki Lantern Festival (which uses Chinese-style hanging lanterns in winter), Saga's floating lanterns create a river of light that moves with the current for 2km. The ceremony is entirely local — no commercial booths, no tourist signage — and attended primarily by residents honoring their ancestors.