Hiroshima Hondori & Chuo-dori Tanabata Festival

As an early-summer tradition, the downtown arcades of Hiroshima, including Hondori, Chuo-dori, Nagarekawa and Kinzagai, are decorated with colorful Tanabata ornaments, streamers and bamboo. The lavish streamers hanging from the arcade ceilings are a spectacle, and visitors can write wishes on tanzaku strips. It is a long-loved seasonal event in the heart of a city that rebuilt after the war. Decorations typically go up in early July.