Although the legend is of Chinese origin, the festival is celebrated in a uniquely Japanese fashion. Bamboo branches are decorated with narrow strips of colored paper on which children inscribe their wishes, such as being able to do better at school.

In midsummer, kids enjoy handheld fireworks in the backyard or nearby park with their families. Large firework displays are also held throughout Japan, with brilliant colors illuminating the nighttime sky.

From August 13 to 16 the nation observes the Bon Festival, one of the biggest events of the year, when one communes with ancestral spirits who return to the land of the living. Offerings of fruit or sweets are made to the family altar to welcome the ancestors back home.