Nagasaki Lantern Festival

Last weekend we went to Nagasaki to the Lantern Festival celebrating the Chinese New Year. We had a blast! The tour we joined left the base at 7am on Saturday and we made a few rest area stops along the way, arriving at Nagasaki Peace Park at roughly 1pm. We hung out there for a bit before going to the hotel where we were on our own until 3pm the following day for us to return to Iwakuni.

After settling in at the hotel, we set out to explore with our map of suggested areas to visit. We hit Chinatown and were just amazed at how many people were shuffling down the streets. It was CRAZY and at times almost overwhelming. Vendors were lined down the streets selling all sorts of yummy (and not so yummy) looking/smelling foods. We tried quite a few but loved loved loved the chicken on a stick. We caught the parade, and saw a few shows, and the kids were repeatedly petted and made over...some even asking to hold them. You'll see the pictures. The kids wore out fairly early so we went back to the hotel, and turned out to be a good thing as those that stayed out later were drenched.

Day two started early as the kids decided sleeping wasn't their biggest priority on this trip. We went down and had the continental breakfast at the hotel, then hung out for a little bit before checking out of the hotel and setting out again. As we were walking, we began chatting with another couple on our tour and ended up spending the whole day together and had a great time. We hit two different temples, went back to Chinatown for more chicken on a stick, took the kids to McDonald's and then to the park where there were more festivities including the Chinese Acrobats. There were dressed in Chinese clothes for the photo op, played at the playground, watched the show, and bought souvinirs.

Thankfully, both kids slept very well that night once we got home at nearly 10pm.