{"id":6528,"date":"2016-04-09T14:54:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-09T05:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=6528"},"modified":"2020-07-30T15:01:37","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T06:01:37","slug":"mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the festival known as Mizu Akari, Kumamoto\u2019s downtown is transformed for two evenings during every mid-October. The name can be translated poetically as \u201cthe faint reflection of light upon water in the dark.\u201d\u00a0 Kumamoto is an appropriate point of celebration, as a city renowned as a \u201cwater capital\u201d for its remarkably pristine ground water and a history of a candle industry that dates back hundreds of years. This being the case, and the city sparing no expense, makes it as breathtaking of an experience as possible.\u00a0
\n\"Mizu<\/a>
\n<\/b>The castle district of downtown Kumamoto is covered by over 54,000 candles and over 3500 shoots of bamboo, eerily beautiful illuminated art for that lasts the weekend.\u00a0<\/strong>During this festival, Kumamoto Castle and the surrounding area are overrun with lanterns of all shapes and sizes. Constructed of paper and bamboo, the lanterns used are both traditional and modern in style, casting beautiful illuminations upon the downtown core. Throughout the moat, hundreds of\u00a0weighted lanterns are set afloat. The fields surrounding the castle are also lined with lanterns, giving the castle a looming, ethereal beauty. Within the castle, and the surrounding city blocks, there are more intricate lantern sculptures constructed from bamboo.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"people<\/a><\/p>\n

Kumamoto city engages upwards of 5000 volunteers annually. These countless hands are instructed by local craftsman to produce the lanterns, which are said to become more elaborate every year. In spite of being crowd-sourced in construction, these lanterns feature some remarkably intricate carvings, featuring complex patterns that cast light in beautiful and absolutely fascinating ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"local<\/a>
\nStretches of street are closed off for the event, allowing guests to meander and enjoy the illuminations freely. Within the castle grounds, there are several food stalls, many of which serve traditional Japanese festival foods such as yakisoba, yakitori, taiyaki, and takoyaki. Sweets and alcohol are also plenty, so whatever your vice, they will have an indulgence of some sort to compliment the lantern viewing.
\n\"food<\/a>
\nWithin the castle grounds and the adjacent Hanabata Park, you will also see thousands of smaller paper lanterns. These are created by local students of all ages and feature personalized designs and messages. Lining the camphor tree in Hanabata Park, there are several rungs where you may light a lantern of your own. Each contains a \u201cwish\u201d written on a paper charm and inserted along the length of cut bamboo, bamboo containing a candle afloat in water stored below.
\n\"thousands<\/a>\"lantenrs<\/a><\/b>
\nThough the lanterns change each year, onlookers need not fret of wastage. The lanterns are constructed from bamboo because it is quick to regrow, and abundant within the prefecture. After the celebration, you will see individual units of the lanterns\u00a0repurposed and used by local businesses, appearing in smaller installations in neighborhoods such as Suizenji. Those which are no longer usable are either composted or turned into charcoal.
\n<\/b>\"opening<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The opening ceremony begins when a flame is delivered from the nearby Mt. Aso, Kumamoto\u2019s resident volcano. In a manner akin to the olympic flame, it is carried over 50 km, shared by over 50 different runners, raring at 5:00 to mark the opening ceremonies and begin the festival. From here there are traditional Japanese performances such as dancing and taiko drumming.<\/p>\n

The festival is typically held on the second weekend of October from 17:00-22:00 on Saturday, and 16:30-21:00 on Sunday. Those who are fortunate enough to experience fall in Kumamoto will not want to miss this.<\/p>\n

Mizu Akari Festival 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dates: Undecided (Mid-October weekend)<\/p>\n

Access:\u00a0Around Kumamoto Castle.\u00a0 The castle is a 30-45 minute walk from JR Kumamoto station. Alternatively, pay 170 Yen and take the tram from JR Kumamoto station to Kumamotojo-mae stop.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n[cft format=0]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a local heritage of candle craft, thousands lend their hands for the lanterns lighting Kumamoto in a festival two autumn nights every year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":6530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pgc_meta":"","_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,26,2051,1415,23],"tags":[1309,2078,1305,1299],"class_list":{"0":"post-6528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-activities","8":"category-culture","9":"category-events","10":"category-kyushu","11":"category-sightseeing","12":"tag-art","13":"tag-autumn-festival","14":"tag-castle","15":"tag-kumamoto"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a local heritage of candle craft, thousands lend their hands for the lanterns lighting Kumamoto in a festival two autumn nights every year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a local heritage of candle craft, thousands lend their hands for the lanterns lighting Kumamoto in a festival two autumn nights every year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VOYAPON\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-09T05:54:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-30T06:01:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"805\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Liam Duffy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Liam Duffy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Liam Duffy\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/person\/61f7bbcd6241d9095816b1bf2b98843a\"},\"headline\":\"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-09T05:54:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-30T06:01:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/\"},\"wordCount\":609,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Art\",\"Autumn festival\",\"Castle\",\"Kumamoto Prefecture\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Activities\",\"Culture\",\"Events\",\"Kyushu\",\"Sightseeing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/\",\"name\":\"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-09T05:54:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-30T06:01:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"In a local heritage of candle craft, thousands lend their hands for the lanterns lighting Kumamoto in a festival two autumn nights every year.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":805,\"caption\":\"Festival, Kumamoto, lantern, light, castle, craftsman, heritage, craft, art\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/\",\"name\":\"VOYAPON\",\"description\":\"Japan Travel Visitors Guide\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Voyapon\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/10162038\/logo_voyapon.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/10162038\/logo_voyapon.jpg\",\"width\":1417,\"height\":1417,\"caption\":\"Voyapon\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/person\/61f7bbcd6241d9095816b1bf2b98843a\",\"name\":\"Liam Duffy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/11123430\/Liam-Duffy.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/11123430\/Liam-Duffy.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Liam Duffy\"},\"description\":\"Liam Duffy is a student and English teacher, living in Kumamoto City, Japan, originally from Toronto, Canada. He is a curator of secondhand sweaters, and the father of three beautiful houseplants. His goal is to explore as much of Kumamoto as possible, and to help make Kumamoto other Kyushu prefectures more accessible to international travellers. When he\u2019s not travelling or studying, chances are you can find him stooging around a local coffee shop, or binge-watching 1990s paranormal dramas on Netflix.\",\"sameAs\":[\"mariapenascal\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/author\/liam\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival","description":"In a local heritage of candle craft, thousands lend their hands for the lanterns lighting Kumamoto in a festival two autumn nights every year.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival","og_description":"In a local heritage of candle craft, thousands lend their hands for the lanterns lighting Kumamoto in a festival two autumn nights every year.","og_url":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/","og_site_name":"VOYAPON","article_published_time":"2016-04-09T05:54:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-07-30T06:01:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":805,"url":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Liam Duffy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Liam Duffy","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/"},"author":{"name":"Liam Duffy","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/person\/61f7bbcd6241d9095816b1bf2b98843a"},"headline":"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival","datePublished":"2016-04-09T05:54:41+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-30T06:01:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/"},"wordCount":609,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg","keywords":["Art","Autumn festival","Castle","Kumamoto Prefecture"],"articleSection":["Activities","Culture","Events","Kyushu","Sightseeing"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/","url":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/","name":"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg","datePublished":"2016-04-09T05:54:41+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-30T06:01:37+00:00","description":"In a local heritage of candle craft, thousands lend their hands for the lanterns lighting Kumamoto in a festival two autumn nights every year.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2450.jpg","width":2048,"height":805,"caption":"Festival, Kumamoto, lantern, light, castle, craftsman, heritage, craft, art"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/mizu-akari-kumamoto-autumn-lantern-festival\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mizu Akari: A Heritage of Light at Kumamoto\u2019s Autumn Lantern Festival"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/","name":"VOYAPON","description":"Japan Travel Visitors Guide","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#organization","name":"Voyapon","url":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/10162038\/logo_voyapon.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/10162038\/logo_voyapon.jpg","width":1417,"height":1417,"caption":"Voyapon"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/person\/61f7bbcd6241d9095816b1bf2b98843a","name":"Liam Duffy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/11123430\/Liam-Duffy.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/11123430\/Liam-Duffy.jpeg","caption":"Liam Duffy"},"description":"Liam Duffy is a student and English teacher, living in Kumamoto City, Japan, originally from Toronto, Canada. He is a curator of secondhand sweaters, and the father of three beautiful houseplants. His goal is to explore as much of Kumamoto as possible, and to help make Kumamoto other Kyushu prefectures more accessible to international travellers. When he\u2019s not travelling or studying, chances are you can find him stooging around a local coffee shop, or binge-watching 1990s paranormal dramas on Netflix.","sameAs":["mariapenascal"],"url":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/author\/liam\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6528"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}