Kobe Luminarie

Saturday night, a bunch of us went to Kobe for the annual Kobe Luminarie. It's a big light display commemorating the Hanshin earthquake of 1995. Thousands of people come to see it, it's on display for about 2 weeks. A network of streets are barricaded off and people are funneled through them like cattle, winding through the center of the city until you finally see, and then pass under, the big lighted arched. Crowds or people ind of swarm towards the lights, but they're pretty good about crowd control.  A lot of cops with bullhorns were standing around reminding people to move slowly and calmly. As you passed under the arches, music was playing, it sounded like hymns, something meant to commemorate the earthquake victims.

It was freezing cold yesterday. We drove to Himeji and then took the train to Kobe, and since the Luminarie is outside, we were all really bundled up. I was wearing my snow boots, leggings under jeans, a mock-turtleneck, long-sleeved shirt, light sweatshirt, wool sweater and winter coat, plus a scarf and earmuffs. 

Apparently this year is the last year they're doing the Luminarie. I guess because it's so expensive, and exists only on donations and, I assume, taxes, they can't afford to do it anymore. Which is too bad, it's a really nice tradition. 

After the Luminarie, we went and got a nice hot dinner to warm ourselves up, then headed home. It was a nice little trip, and it reminds me again of how lucky I am in my placement. We're so close to some great cities. Even though we don't have a real train station in Yamasaki, we're an hour from Himeji, and from there it's an easy train ride to Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto. Even Tokyo is only 3.5 hours from Himeji. 

My camera sucks in the dark, so I'm going to steal other people's pictures when they put them up. In the meantime, here are a few pictures I managed to take.

Kobe Luminarie