The Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival kicked off on Saturday evening in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. The event in the city of Nihonmatsu is said to be one of Japan's three major lantern festivals.

The autumn event, which features thousands of paper lanterns, dates back to the mid-17th century. It is designated as an important intangible folk cultural asset by the prefecture.

On the first night, seven large floats called Taikodai, each decorated with 300 lanterns, paraded through the streets of what used to be a castle town. The 10-meter-tall floats proceeded with music played by traditional Japanese flutes and drums.

Visitors took photos and chanted together with people pulling the floats.

A man in his 30s from Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, said he was impressed by the scale of the floats and enjoyed the excitement of the procession.

The festival continues through Monday. As many as 200,000 visitors are expected during the 3-day event.