It was
still daylight as we rode to Takikawa and we could see the mountains and some
nice scenery along the way.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Takikawa Lantern Festival 2015
We
enjoyed this festival last year so we decided to attend this year. The festival lasts only three hours and is in
a town with train service only about every 90 minutes so careful planning was needed
to go and come back. The 55 minute train
ride was on a quaint little older type train. We
noticed fans on the ceiling, so there probably isn’t air conditioning in the
summer. There was also an advertisement
for the new bullet train in Hakodate.
As soon
as we got off the train, we could see the paper bag lanterns that are filled
with snow and candles. There wasn’t as
much snow in Takikawa this year, but the festival went on just the same. We
arrived just in time for the opening speeches.
After the speeches, everyone at the opening ceremony received lighters
to start lighting the lanterns.
Not
everyone seemed to know it’s winter and not every lantern survived.
Ted
took many more photos than I did, but I managed to take quite a few. It's really amazing to see all of these lanterns!
Is each paper lantern a wish for the year to come? I love the "Get a Boyfriend" lol
ReplyDeleteThe colourful paper bags are attractive even in daylight!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful ceremony :) At New Years we lit paper lanterns and watched them float off into the night sky...all the kids got to write a wish down :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting festival! I love how they set them up in shapes, it must've been beautiful at night.
ReplyDelete