Last week whilst in Kobe on Christmas Party business, we had the chance to see Kobe’s incredible Luminarie. They say that this is the last year they’ll be doing it …although they say that every year!

“Kobe Luminarie (神戸ルミナリエ, Kobe Luminarie?) is a light festival held in Kobe, Japan every December. It began in 1995 and commemorates the Great Hanshin earthquake of that year. They were donated by the Italian Government. The lights are kept up for about two weeks and only turned on for a few hours each evening. Each light is individually hand-painted. Major streets in the vicinity are closed to auto traffic during these hours to allow pedestrians to fill the streets and enjoy the lights.”

At times it felt a bit like being on the train to work…