Once a year between around 14 and 23 of march there is a Festival of Light in Kyoto. This festival is celibrated by 7 shrines in Kyoto who combined create a 4.6 km walking route for one to enjoy. (see at the bottom of the page for the walking route that can be taken)
During my trip in 2008 I was lucky enough to be close to these shrines and at the right moment.
The 7 shrines are : Shoren-in Temple, Chion-in Temple, Yasaka Jinja shrine, Entoku-in Temple, Kodai-ji Temple and Kiyomizu-dera Temple
At this festival there is a broad range arrangement of light displaying.
To the lantern road and Kyo stone art, to the Kyomei bamboo you can see them all.
The temple I went to had 10 to 14 large flower arrangement display’s from the Kyoto Ikebana Association and the thousend Touro lights (cut bamboo with waxine lights in them) placed in Yoshimizu stream. I tried to make a few foto’s of this which you can see in the fotoalbum but I feel it doesn’t total convey the true sight of these hundreds of small lights in a stream.
Hanabutai (Flower Stage)
This stage offers visitors daily mini concerts, dancing, Koto music and cappella singing performances.
When having walked the lantern streets and the light display of the temple grounds this place is a perfect oppertunity to sit down, relax and enjoy the spectacle.
As you can see it started to rain very heavily and the temperature dropped considerably. Nevertheless, only a few people left and the rest stayed to watch this lively performance.
Light Exhibits
Some traditional Light Exhibits from the 6 universities and colleges in Kyoto
Below the map showing the route you can take to see it all.
localtimes
The Local Times 