Last February, a new-to-Sasebo couple we're all now quite familiar with (read: the Hub and I), dreamed of going to Nagasaki to take part in some sort of lamp party but were thwarted by "come-with-us" friends who bailed on them the day of the planned trip. Heartbroken, but determined, they swore that in the next year, nothing would prevent them from finding that lamp shindig.
Fast forward a year, and Hub and I are now professionals at the travelling business, although we still like the handiness of letting other people plan things for us from time to time. Knowing that February was approaching, we stalked the employees watched carefully for the announcement and pounced as soon as we saw it: an overnight trip to the Nagasaki Lantern Festival. We knew, vaguely, that the celebration was in honor of the Chinese New Year, but otherwise, we were rather clueless as to what the fuss was all about (but were told multiple times to make sure we didn't miss it).
On a clear, and extremely cold, Sunday morning, we met the bus with a small suitcase of essentials, a messenger bag of snacks and electrical gadgets (the necessary mp3s, DS games, and camera), and grins for the two-hour trip to downtown Nagasaki. Our guide explained she'd be taking us to a garden dedicated to a famous shipbuilder and a rebuilt church; after exchanging quick glances, we explained we'd already visited those places (total lie, but forgive me for that little one) and asked if we could go straight to the festival itself. Our guide handed off our maps with her blessings and instructions for meeting up the next day. Excited, we stashed our luggage upstairs in our cute, European-esque room and dashed out onto the streets in search of Minato Park, said to be just a few minutes away.
Following a trail of pumpkin-shaped lanterns said to guide the route between park festivities, we came across the tail-end of the Emperor's Parade, with a float "borne" as if it were a rickshaw by painted characters and guarded by a fierce warrior. Cheering, we allowed ourselves to be swept by the enamoured crowd through a gate guarded by a regal phoenix and into Minato Park. Hailing as one of the two central locations for the festival, we found ourselves surrounded by lanterns of all shapes and sizes, not yet glowing in the daylight, and a stage where a group of beautiful Japanese ladies dressed in ceremonial fineries waltzed across to the introduction of their pageant-esque titles ("Ms. Saga!" "Ms. Okinawa!"). In the center of it all stood a mammoth lantern proudly displaying this year's astrological host: the Rat. A sign of new beginnings, I found it very apt for the start of a year where we have so many new adventures planned and blessings prayed for.
Squealing delightedly, we snapped pictures of dancing lions, flying koi, and gigantic, peaceful pandas, following our nose to a vendor who smilingly exchanged our yen for two steamed buns filled with fatty, shredded barbeque pork. We stopped, watching the parade of "festival ladies," and polished off our treats before continuing down the lantern-lined street.
As we moved closer to Chinatown, the air directly above us filled completely with more of the pumpkin lanterns, and our noses were treated to all manners of delicacies--steamed pork buns, mochi balls, roasted chestnuts, and a sweet bread braided and twisted into a thick rope and stacked into minature temples. We laughed and moved along, following our lantern guides across the bridge and around the corner until we crossed Tetsu-bashi Bridge and found our way into Cyuo (Central) Park. We paused to have our picture taken by a magnificent horse and another of a gorgeous koi before going to the stage and watching a magic show. Looking at our schedule, we ducked into a coffee shop to warm up and wait out the quickly approaching sunset. As the sunlight faded, we crossed the bridge again, and while waiting for the crossing light, we heard gongs and cheers behind us. Turning, a brightly-dressed stream of Japanese people flooded onto the bridge pushing large gongs, hoisting drums, and supporting two dragons whose bodies easily flowed 20 feet behind the heads. When the light turned green, we raced ahead, running to get to the Park before they did so we could see the dance. Though the pictures didn't turn out well that showed the dance movements, the red dragon, hosted entirely by a female troupe, stopped directly in front of us, almost as if inviting a snapshot. Following our cheer-leaders into a rousing chorus of chants meant to draw the dragons out of hiding, we shouted and danced as the night closed around and the cold grew sharper teeth. Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel so we could start the next morning again.
Seemingly before the rest of the group awoke, we were out the door in the morning, making our way into the local shopping arcade which served as another party path. Along the way, I got to indulge in my Pokemon fandom while the Hub and I took turns taking pictures with the characters from one of our favorite Japanese movies, Our Neighbor Totoro. We continued through, looking at the different shops and enjoying the area. We stopped so Hub could take a picture with his favorite gorilla lantern (yep--that's a lantern too), visited a pet store where we ooh-ed and aah-ed at the puppies, and then moved on to another section of the city. Where different lanterns displayed all of the Chinese astrological signs in order. I found my horse while Hub found the ram, and we found ourselves in a more historical side of Nagasaki with stone bridges crossing the stream where people once washed clothes and drew water in ancient times for the nearby line of temples. Stopping at one bridge, named Spectacles Bridge because of the shadow it throws across the water, a local man pointed the routes to find the 5 nearest holy Japanese temples peppered the landscape with 2 Chinese holy sites scattered in between. We bowed and thanked him, making the decision to visit those at a later time; our trip was quickly coming to a close, and we still needed to return to the hotel. Moving quickly down the now-familiar path, we took last looks at the lanterns, bought a few snacks and gifts along the way, and reboarded the bus headed for home until next year when the festival returns again with its new host, the Ox.
