Hokkaido formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectures. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city. Sources

Toro nagashi is a Japanese ceremony in which participants float paper lanterns down a river; toro is traditionally another word for lantern, while nagashi means "cruise, flow". This is primarily done on the last evening of the Bon Festival festival based on the belief that this guides the spirits of the departed back to the other world.

The ceremony may be done on some other days of the year for other reasons such as to commemorate those lost in the bombing of Hiroshima and those who died on Japan Airlines Flight 123; or in other areas of the world, such as Hawaii, to commemorate the end of World War II. The Bon Festival takes place on the thirteenth to sixteenth of August or July, depending on the calendar you go by. The white lanterns are for those who have died in the past year. Sources

About 400,000 Shibazakura plants of eight varieties bloom from April to May on the slope of the Hitsujiyama Hill at the foot of Chichibu’s symbolic Mt. Buko, creating an elegant carpet of pink, purple and white. Sources