A festival for thanking one’s ancestors and fallen soldiers. See walls of carefully painted lanterns, all 6,000 of which are donated by worshippers. Enjoy a Japanese flute performance, kaguramai (Shinto dance), gospel singing and more. Buy bric-a-brac and yummy food at the Night Market (15:00~21:00)!
• 8/13 (Sat.) ~ 8/16 (Tue.)
• Lights on: 18:30~21:00
• Free
• Gokoku Jinja Shrine
• 1-1-1 Ropponmatsu, Chuo-ku
• 092-741-2555
• http://fukuoka-gokoku.jp/mitama.html
Originally published in Fukuoka Now Magazine (fn212, Aug. 2016)