Kobe Luminaries

Last Friday, Audrey had a seminar to go to in Kobe, so I snuck out of work a bit early so that I could meet her there. Every December there is a light festival held in Kobe. It began in 1995 and commemorates the Great Hanshin Earthquake of that year. Legend has it that the lights were donated by the Italian Government to help cheer up the people of Kobe after the horrific disaster. The lights are kept up for about two weeks and only turned on for a few hours each evening. It is a huge attraction and many major streets in the vicinity are closed to auto traffic during these hours to allow the multitudes of people fill the streets and enjoy the lights. Before heading for Kobe I tried to get directions to the light display. In true Japanese fashion they would say " just follow the crowd." The Christmas holiday here in Japan is not so much one of spending time with family, but rather with your boyfriend or girlfriend, which left the streets filled with teenage lovers. So as we headed out of the station we did exactly what we were told... we followed the crowd. There were barricades set up all over town and there were police officers with megaphones shouting at the top of their lungs. Now this is one of those times where it was a blessing and a curse not to understand a word that they were saying. So as we "followed the crowd" Audrey and I were trying to decide if we should eat first or look at the lights first. Long story short, we decided that we were pretty hungry and that we should find some food before we embarked on this journey through the lights. Well by this time we had been "following the crowd for about 5 minutes and somehow had been herded in between some gates with no way out. We thought about jumping a fence, but thought better of that since we didn't really want to feel the wrath of a Japanese police officer, and Audrey's fence jumping days have come and gone. So rather than trying to back track through the masses we just kept on going, expecting to find an opening so we could go find some food. Well 30 minutes later we had no opening, nor were we moving. We were stuck! Once we started moving again we realized that it was well worth the wait. The lights were magnificent. It was so nice to just hold hands and enjoy the sights as we strolled down a beautifully lit street. At the end of the street there was a court yard filled with more lights. Then, much to our surprise we stumbled upon a whole line of street vendors. We were so hungry we would have settled for pretty much anything by this time. We both decided that we wanted okonomiyaki and after surveying the 100's of vendors we decided on the type we wanted. Man was it good. Audrey has some kind of sonar for crepes, so once we finished dinner we headed strait for the crepe stand. This was probably the most unhealthy meal that he have eaten in the 4 months that we have been here... but you wont hear me complaining! After desert it was off to the main shopping area where we did some window shopping and Audrey got some more warm socks. All in all it was a great evening. Japan always has something new and exciting to offer and we feel so blessed to have so many new experiences in our short time here.

Our view when we walked around the corner
Halfway through the street of lights
Lovers in Japan
The display at the end of the street
A little taste of home:)