Obon Festival. Honoring ancestors.

Obon (お盆) is an annual Buddhist holiday for commemorating ancestors's spirits. It is believed that each year during the 7th lunar week which falls in the late summer/beginning of fall, our loved ones return to this world in order to visit their relatives.

Traditionally, people celebrate by hanging lanterns in front of houses to guide their ancestors' spirits, bon odori dances are performed, graves are visited and food offerings are made at house altars and temples. At the end of Obon week, floating lanterns are put into rivers, lakes and seas to be the beacon of light to the spirits as they travel back into their world.

In Sasebo, we went down to Albuquerque Bridge and got to witness a very respectful line lowering the lanterns into the water. The whole experience was extremely smooth. You pay 1000 yen which is under $10, you go under the tent where the supplies are provided to write your message and even add some color and then you can choose to release your own lanterns or let the people in suits do it for you.

The food during festivals in Japan is on point however you can also venture to restaurants as many of them are open for business. On our way we got to witness the parade on our main road. Now it gets loud as people use fire crackers. The part that amazed me the most that at the end of each group there is a person with a trash bag who picks all the leftovers from the group. A well functioning, respectful and touching holiday to say the least.