#ikoma

🏮 Finally, the Lantern Festival – Legs Be Damned

Ever since moving to Kobe in July, I’ve been waiting for this: the Ikoma Autumn Equinox Lantern Festival (生駒秋分万灯会). I actually stumbled across it on a random Google search, thought “that looks magical,” and instantly made it a bucket-list item.

The festival takes place at Hozanji Temple in Ikoma, Nara – about an hour by train from Kobe – and is held every year around the autumn equinox. The idea is to give thanks for the harvest, remember ancestors, and generally light up the place with thousands of lanterns. The Japanese do seasonal traditions so beautifully, and this one is no exception.

The atmosphere when I arrived was fantastic – buzzing with people, kids running about, couples taking selfies, everyone waiting for the lanterns to flicker to life. And then… the stairs. Oh my god, the stairs. I knew there’d be a few, but I wasn’t prepared for thousands. My legs were still destroyed from Sunday’s Mt Maya hike, and honestly, just lowering myself onto a loo had been an Olympic event that morning. A wheelchair would’ve been handy, but no – instead, I endured step after step after step.

But no pain, no gain, right?

And what a gain. Thousands of lanterns glowing up the stone steps and scattered across the temple grounds. Some were simple, others were stunningly detailed – dragons, anime characters, animals, even a few cheeky yokai. Many looked like they’d been designed by children, which made them all the more charming. The whole place glowed in this soft golden light, and for a moment you could almost forget how sweaty and broken your thighs felt.

It was magical. My legs may never forgive me, but my heart was very happy.

(Done in stream in the WT server heheh)