Tokae Lights Festival

As you have now figured out, Summer time in Japan is fullof festivals and things to see and do. So far, I have had the pleasure of attending a few festivals, big and small. This Tuesday I was fortunate enough to add another festival onto my list, Tokae Matsuri in Nara City. My friend, Yuko had told me about this festival months ago. She lives in Nara City and said it was her favorite event to go to. She said it was a festival of lanterns and that it was a little different than other festivals because there is no loud parade, fire works or huge display but just a quiet display of lanterns spread across the park. Upon doing some research, I found that this festival started in 1999 and was started to bring more people to Nara in the Summer. It is also said that traditional lanterns are suppose to help guide spirits of the deceased back to our world during Obon period. The lanterns are light for a little over a week. We went on the first night so there wasn't a huge crowd but there were still many people out. I was excited about this festival for a few reasons. First, I hadn't seen Yuko in a while since summer break started. Then I also like seeing any new festivals but I was really excited because Yuko lent me a yukata to wear!! I always see many girls dressed in yukatas during Summer festivals and always wanted to partake but just don't have one. Thankfully, Yuko had many yukatas to spare me one for the evening.

 

So after work on Tuesday evening, I made my way to Nara after work to meet up Yuko. I honestly hadn't seen any other Japanese living spaces except for mine so was even a bit thrilled to check out Yuko's place. Back home, "mansions" are large, extravagant houses but here, in Japan, "mansions" are actually apartments; more like condos I suppose. Yuko's place was really cute though and I envied her space and personal feel to her home. After admiring all her DIY decor, she help me get into a yukata that was originally her mothers. The process of putting on a yukata is a little complicated to start. It s a whole process of folding and tying, very specific. It was like fabric origami on your body. After getting the kimono and obi on, I took a look in the mirror and felt extra Japanese!! It was so cute and beautiful to wear and was happy I got the chance to have this simple experience. Once Yuko had put hers on, all by herself, she showed me some getas to see which one would fit. Geta is the traditional wooden sandal that many of you would associate with Japanese traditional shoes. Yuko had told me that it is actually cook to wear geta that is actually too small for your feet. I thought that was strange. Yuko is much smaller than me but luckily she had a pair that fit me jsut right. Unfortunately, geta slippers are not the most comfortable thing ever and the yukata is like wearing a long, narrow skirt so you couldn't walk with very wide steps. Wearing and walking in the whole outfit was a bit of a challenge but I think I did fine.

 

After we were fully ready to go, we walked to the station and took it to Nara park to check out the lanterns. Once we got there we saw many other girls in yukatas and locals and tourists alike coming to see the lights. I had been to Nara park before but never at night. When we came across the first lanterns it really added a sort of magical feel to the park. They were very simple, white and small with a simple candle inside. Walking around the park, there were lanterns everywhere. Sometimes the lanterns would be in a shape, either a heart or wave but sometimes it seemed more randomly places. One of my favorite displays were these large light structures with lanterns hanging off of them.

 

Along with lanterns, the park also had food vendors!! We stopped for a snack, something I honestly can't remember the name of, and ice cream after. I love ice cream! Yuko got a sake flavor and I got sakura flavor. Yum! We walked around the park checking out the lights and taking pictures for about an hour before we decided we were tired (mostly because geta is difficult to walk in for a long time). So we headed back to Yuko's place to change and relax a bit. She had told me the biggest day is always the last day. Luckily for me, I will actually be making it out to Nara again on those last days so stay tuned for that post!!

 

Tokae light festival was a lovely sight to see and I'm glad I had the pleasure of adding it to my Tuesday. Already my favorite month have been packed with fun things and if anyone remembers, I'll be hiking Mt. Fuji soon! I actually take a night bus to Tokyo this evening so the next post you should see should contain awesome pictures from the mountain. Wish me luck!!

xx

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