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Gogoku Shrine, Fukuoka

Handpainted lanterns

The above images show the lantern festival at Gogoku Shrine in Fukuoka.  6,000 lanterns are displayed at the shrine during O-bon.  O-bon is an event that commemorates one's ancestors, the spirits are welcomed back to the family home.  Lanterns are displayed to help the spirits to return.

Traditional salt making factory, Itoshima

Filtering sea water

Traditional salt making process using bamboo to filter the sea water.

Kaiseki - Japanese haute cuisine

Forest vegetables

 Beautifully diplayed Japanese food.  Ceramics play an important part in the presentation of food.

Imari

Kiln in shop

Imari porcelain.  A picturesque pottery village in the mountains of Saga prefecture.


We are now home and fully rested after our fantastic adventure in Japan.  Every day was different and our senses bombarded.  It is interesting to see how the Japanese do things and to be immersed in their mono-culture but also to come back home and see our lives afresh.

We would like to thank our friends and their families for making us feel so welcome and for showing us around their home city.  Hopefully it won't be another 10 years before we return again. Domo arigato gozaimashita!