Nobori Yamakasa floats transform into lantern-adorned pyramids, each glowing with 309 lights to form a magical appearance under the evening sky. The Tobata Gion Festival was inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Property as one of the components of the 33 Yama, Hoko, Yatai, Float Festivals in Japan in November 2016. It is one of the three big summer festivals in Kitakyushu, along with the Kokura Gion Festival and the Kurosaki Gion Festival.