Mar 10, 2015 - 1 min read

Exploring Nagasaki's Shinchi Chinatown

Delicious aromatic steam wafting through the streets

By Masayoshi Hirose

Community writer

Translated by Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

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Aromatic clouds wafting up from steamers! (Photo: Masayoshi Hirose)

Lantern lights reflected on Doza River in the rain (Photo: Masayoshi Hirose)

Lanterns and colorful umbrellas (Photo: Masayoshi Hirose)

Shinchi Bridge, which connects the city with Chinatown, is bustling with people admiring giant monuments of light (Photo: Masayoshi Hirose)

Mysterious blurry lights in the rain! (Photo: Masayoshi Hirose)

Cross Shinchi Bridge to reach Genbu Gate (Photo: Masayoshi Hirose)

I kept looking up at lanterns until my neck hurt! (Photo: Masayoshi Hirose)

Nagasaki Lantern Festival was held on 21st February 2015. If you go to Minato-koen Park, the main venue of the festival, you will see innumerable lanterns hanging over Shinchi Chinatown. From the entrance of each restaurant, delicious and alluring aromas were wafting into the streets. I pushed into the crowds and tried to locate the source of the aroma, but was swept along by the river of people. Finally, I bought a Chinese dumpling that materialized from a cloud of hot steam. It warmed my body as I walked along looking up at the endless rows of bright lanterns.