Takikawa Lantern Festival

This is a slightly old post as I wrote it before doing the photo challenge in March.
これは三月の写真チャレンジの前書いた。これから日本語でない。

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This year I was asked to volunteer for the Takikawa Lantern Festival. I decided to do it because it would also mean I could see a good friend for the first time since winter vacation.

I was asked to volunteer from 4-6. I thought I’d be helping people make lanterns. Instead, I got to make a couple and then the event started.

There was a pretty cool star set of lanterns.

The lanterns filled the main street leading to the station.

These ones happened to all match.

They also filled the gardens for a nearby temple.

Unfortunately, an accident or two would happen when you light a candle and stick it inside a paper bag.

Some were winter themed.

Here’s the temple - I struggled to get the white balance right with both the lanterns and the temple because the temperature of the light from the candles and the evening light are so different.

A few people taking a closer look at the lanterns.

A path led down the middle of the street at one end to draw people in.

Takikawa!

I’m not sure what made them decide to set some up high, but they weren’t any cool ones I could set as a foreground to the sea of lights behind them.

Daruma.

An incredibly intricate lantern.

Another one.

I told the friend I was walking with I could stop. And then I took several more, including this one.