Tourists who have a sad image connecting the song and well-known toronagashi (ceremony in which paper lanterns that are believed to bear the souls of the deceased are floated down a river) are often said to be surprised to see with their own eyes boisterous parades of Shoronagashi of Nagasaki exclaiming that it is so different from the song.
しかし、その歌と一般的な灯篭流しの情景を結び付け悲愴なイメージを作り上げてしまった観光客が実際に長崎の精霊流しを目の当たりにしてあまりの賑やかさに「歌と違う！」と驚くこともしばしばあるらしい。