Nagasaki Lantern Festival: A Well-Lit Night

Katie Johnson
Feb 2, 2023
5 min read

Every Thursday, ITT sends out a weekly email with their tours. While these tours can be done cheaper outside of ITT, I have enjoyed their trips because they handle everything; I just have to worry about getting to the bust stop on base! Since living in Sasebo, I have done several ITT day trips including Bryan's birthday trip to i+land Nagasaki in 2021, a traditional Japanese tea ceremony with other spouses, Sumo Wrestling last Thanksgiving, and the African Safari in Beppu where Bryan and I fed legit lions and bears with tongs!

When I saw their overnight tour for the Nagasaki Lantern Festival, I figured this would be a great weekend getaway for Meg and I while the ship was gone. Plus, Meg and I did an ITT trip to the Saga Hot Air Balloon Festival (which was a little bit of a dud) so I figured this would redeem our ITT adventures together!

By the time we went to book, the Lantern Festival trip was full.

Nothing was going to stop us though, so Meg booked a hotel smack dab in the middle of the action! I found ITT's trip itinerary and planned our overnight outing to mimic theirs! Easy peasy! I'm getting good at this whole "Japan travel" thing!

ree — Here's the map of the Lantern Festival. Google Translate for the Win! Here we go!

Saturday, January 28, 2023

So Saturday morning we met up at my house, jumped in Nick's car (which I am car-sitting while the ship is underway) and we headed off for the festival! After a pit stop at Couch Pizza for a filling lunch of good 'ole NY-style pizza, we checked into our hotel and dropped off our bags before heading off to explore the festival!

The Nagasaki Lantern Festival takes place in Nagasaki's Chinatown in the middle of downtown Nagasaki. This festival features more than 15,000 lanterns and originally started as a simple Chinese New Year celebration, but has since expanded to fifteen full days of parades and performances at the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Since this festival was canceled for the last three years due to COVID, this year's festival was packed full of people and displays!

After walking around for a while, it was time to defrost a little with some mulled wine during one of the performances. Little did we know, this ¥300 cup of warmed cough syrup wouldn't satisfy our needs. After picking up a chu hai at a nearby 7/11, we continued our exploration until we stumbled upon the Emperor's Parade through the Ginza!

According to the website, the emperor's parade is based on the Qing Dynasty's New Year's Day celebration, where the emperor and empress go out together to celebrate the new year with the people. This parade consisted of 150 people decked out in traditional Chinese costumes carrying flags, lanterns, and even carriages with stand-in emperor and empress representatives!

Needing to kill some time while the sun set, Meg and I explored a few shops in Chinatown before finding Local, a hole-in-the-wall bar filled with craft beer! Together we sat and enjoyed a few drinks as we watched it begin to snow!

With the sun down, we headed back out to see everything a second time at night!

We started in the Ginza, where the Emperor's Parade had been just a few hours before, and noticed all these stunning lanterns! The elephant lanterns reminded me of Bryan and I's amazing time in Chiang Mai not even a month ago!!

I stopped in my tracks at the spotting of a Confederate flag hanging in the Ginza. Yep, my eyes do not deceive me- that's a true rebel flag in the middle of Nagasaki's main downtown shopping street. Not the decoration I would choose for an American-themed steakhouse, but when set beside the horseshoes, guns, and other Texas-themed regalia, I guess it makes some sense?

This is just one of those things that doesn't translate well in Japan, I guess!

With more chu hais in hand, we head towards the Confucius Temple to see some of the largest lanterns on display. Hey, we don't have to drive home tonight! This is the bonus of booking a hotel!

Of course, I make Meg snap my photo with the Shisa lanterns! I told y'all, my Okinawa dogs are seen everywhere and I still can't get over the fact that I own a set for my front porch!

As we continue exploring the many areas around Nagasaki's Chinatown, it begins to really snow! And this isn't the icy stuff we had earlier this month- no this was some REAL fluffy flakes! While it wasn't sticking, it was beautiful!

One last area to see at night and it was filled with more HUGE lanterns! Meg even found a Stego lantern in honor of Mike's call sign!

By 8pm, we were pretty hungry for dinner. As we made our way towards a restaurant hub, we passed a surprise "Dragon Dance," where 20 or so people carry a dragon lantern up and down the streets!

Finally: Food!

Craving a warm meal, I found a ramen restaurant with killer reviews and a line wrapping around the place. So I settled in line, while Meg rushed off for another chu hai pickup, which we enjoyed in the 30-minute line before finally making it inside to some warmth!

Now, I don't know if it's because we were so hungry or because of the fancy bibs they gave us, but I would argue that Ramen Hiiragi is the best ramen I have had in Japan!! Their pork ramen with extra garlic and pork SLAPPED.

Thank goodness they supplied us with the napkin bibs because I was sloshing broth all over the place as I slurped up the delicious noodles! Here's another place I will be bringing B when he comes home!

With full bellies, we made one last 7/11 run to pick up a final chu hai to enjoy in the room as we settled in for the night!

Looking back on this awesome overnight trip, I still can't believe how much we saw! Nagasaki's Lantern Festival is a must-see when stationed in Sasebo.

I'm so thankful to have a travel buddy while the ship is gone! Since Meg's arrival last April, she has been quick to dive in and explore with me! Having a fellow English speaker makes the explorations more fun and a little less intimidating to wing it all with! Plus, Meg's down-to-earth personality balances out my Type A planning so we make a great team!

I saved the best photos for the end: here are some of the day and night pictures of my favorite floats!