Photo by Lori
Lasting three weeks from late January into February, the Lantern Festival in Nagasaki celebrates the Chinese New Year in style. Thousands upon thousands of carefully crafted paper lanterns adorn the streets and shopping arcades during this time. There are eight hot spots where the visual smorgasbord is most delicious, the three most prominent being Chuo Park, Minato Park, and China Town (of course). With only one full night at the festival, I stayed solely in Chinatown and didn’t feel like I was missing a thing.
During the day there are various performances and celebrations that are apparently quite interesting, however I didn’t see these due to time constraints and interest in other areas of the city such the atomic bomb memorials and the legendary samurai Sakamoto Ryoma statue that overlooks the city.
From Lori
It was really fun to see the city transform when the sun went down. Although the lanterns were gorgeous in the daylight, they had a whole different energy when they were all aglow. I definitely felt a little giddy and child-like running from one cool lantern to the next.
The first picture, titled “Mounted Red Samurai Lantern”, is actually neither a samurai nor Japanese for that matter. It is the famed ancient Chinese general Guan Yu, who was well-known for his red face and beautiful beard. Sofukuji Temple in Nagasaki sells statues of Guan Yu, who is also considered as the Chinese God of War.