A thousand red lanterns glowing like a thousand red suns hung in orderly rows above the throng of people who were flowing through China town in downtown Nagasaki. My elbows, knees, shoulders, and back touched a new person with every step as Ted, Yumiko, and I moved down the street. The three of us had driven from snow-dusted Oita-ken to Nagasaki early that morning to take part in the celebration of the Nagasaki Lantern Festival.
As always, a trip out of the inaka is a refreshing and exciting experience and I was happy to be surrounded by buildings and people. Of course being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people who put me in the constant state of “jostled” was a little unnerving. Thankfully Japanese people are well behaved in crowds and all the pressing and pushing was polite and mild mannered (except for that one kids who repeatedly hit me in the butt with his stuffed dragon).
Here are some photos to give you an idea of what my weekend in Nagasaki was like.
Nagasaki Port, historical gateway for foreign trade and contact
Yumiko and Ted, my traveling companions. Yumiko was the brains, Ted was the muscle, and I was the one who kept saying "Cool, look at that!"
Parade! Absolutely none of the marchers were smiling during this parade (no idea why everyone was so somber). But the crowd sure did love taking pictures!
Modernity and tradition standing side by side—typical dichotomy in present day Japan.
Roasted pig heads! I have no idea…not even Yumiko knew what this was all about.
Lanterns by night.
Lantern Dragons.
Lantern Dragons 2.
4 comments:
That dichotomy picture has to be one of the best I have ever seen of Japan. The glare from the building looks like something off a movie. Good times all around.
Pics look cool, glad u had fun, cant wait to check out Nagasaki.
Your pictures are awesome!
Great pix's! Enjoyed seeing all the colorful sights. Makes us want to come sooner. Still planning for May! Love - Mom & Dad
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