Kobe city (神戸市） has been adorned with colorful illuminations, drawing crowds of visitors.
According to NHK News, the annual Kobe Luminarie festival (神戸ルミナリエ), featuring 200,000 light bulbs, opened on Dec.3 in the city that was devastated by the Great Hanshin Earthquake (阪神大震災）in 1995.The event was started that year to pray for the victims and Kobe’s reconstruction.The lights were donated by the Italian Government and the installation itself is produced by Valerio Festi and Hirokazu Imaoka.
Lights are kept up for about two weeks and turned on for a few hours each evening. Each light is individually hand-painted. One venue at the festival features displays of art objects using multicolored lights. Exhibits this year are based on the theme “embracing light.”
Organizers estimate that the 12-day event through December 14th will draw 4 million visitors. Major streets in the vicinity are closed to auto traffic during these hours to allow pedestrians to fill the streets and enjoy the lights.
This year, corporate sponsorship of the festival is down due to the economic slowdown. Organizers are soliciting donations from visitors to keep the event going.
Map:Kobe Luminarie festival
View Kobe illuminations in a larger map