This past weekend Shino and I went to Nagoya, about a 4-hour train ride away from Kurobe, to see the winter illumination at なばなの里 (“Nabana no Sato,” or “The Town of Nabana (which is some flower that I don’t know the name of in English)”). It’s one of the biggest and most famous displays of Christmas lights in the country and it’s really quite impressive. There were some spectacular displays, but the mainstay of the place is their “Aurora Borealis,” an effect created by colored light shining upon sprays of mist at the end of a huge field of lights. You can see the “Aurora” in some of the pictures above, But those are just a sample of what we saw there, and you can see more in this flickrset. You can also get the full hi-res images there if you want.
It was a great trip. My only real complaint is that it was incredibly crowded, but for good reason, I suppose. I especially liked that they didn’t bombard us with Christmas music there, as such places are often wont to do. Instead it was nice, subtle, somewhat wintry ambient music.
I have some nice videos, too, but I still need to compile them, so that will come later (hopefully tomorrow).
About Me
My name is Lawrence Denes.After spending 5 years studying Japanese language, culture, literature, and history in St. Louis and Kyoto, I now live in Japan, in a town that most Japanese people have never even heard of, lost amid the rice fields and vending machines.
Please feel free to ask me anything, or send me an email.
