Livin' the McDream: Festival of 10,000 Lights at Seiryuji Temple (Aomori Big Buddha)

Each year many Japanese people observe a Buddhist tradition of Obon in which they honor the spirits of their ancestors. It's believed that during Obon the spirits of ancestors return to Earth to visit relatives, families gather together and many travel to their hometowns. Lanterns are hung to guide the spirits to and from their homes, graves are visited and offerings are made at temples. Some regions of Japan observe Obon in mid-July and other observe it during mid-August. Obon is not an official Japanese holiday, however it is the busiest travel time in Japan as most people are given or take leave from work.

Some temples, such as the Seiryuji Temple in Aomori have a Festival of 10,000 Lights during Obon when they have services for the dead and and display lanterns.

Keenan and I visited Seiryuji Temple, also known as the Aomori Big Buddha during the Festival of 10,000 Lights. I believe they actually have somewhere around 3,000 lights. Aomori is just over an hour long drive from Misawa. Going there we took the non-toll route which takes a little bit longer. We did not have problems with bugs while we were there, but I heard other nights the bugs were terrible. Be prepared. We also expected rain, but that held off as well and we were able to walk around the temple grounds peacefully. It was really beautiful and uncrowded...there were only about 15 other people the night we went.

GPS coordinates: 40.821214, 140.815347
http://showa-daibutu.com/