The 15th annual Itoman Peace Illumination took place at the Itoman Tourist Farm in
Mabuni, Itoman.This year’s theme was "the prayer of light to connect people".
This is one of Okinawa’s most popular winter events, drawing some 50,000 visitors each year. The venue, located in Itoman City, which experienced a fierce ground battle at the end of World War II, is beautifully decorated with 1.3 million lights, representing the approximate population of Okinawa, and carrying the people’s hopes for peace.
A special event called Starlight Wink, in which all the lights at the venue go out for one minute, is held every evening at 20:00. There are only 400 parking spaces available at the Itoman Wine Farm. When the parking lot is full, visitors may park at the Peace Memorial Park. A free shuttle service is provided between the Peace Memorial Park and Itoman Wine Farm during the event.
Place: Itoman Wine Farm (Itoman City)
Admission: 250 yen for persons aged 16 and over, free for children under 16.
For more information: Tel: 098-840-8135 (Business and Tourism Division, Itoman City Hall)
Now that the basic event premise is set, let me briefly tell you of our experience at this illumination. We were directed to a parking spot by security with glow sticks and then walked to the ticket tent. We had to pass through all of the festival food and games in order to get to the actual illumination.
The illumination itself was in two main sections. I'm calling them the circus tent and the castle area. Everything that wasn't light viewing cost extra... which was disappointing but it is what it is.
The circus tent was composed of lights hung in a tent-like structure with rides off to one side . One could also pet or ride a horse in this section.The castle area had a blow-up castle in the middle and lights hanging all around. A small animal train took riders around the castle periodically for a small fee. O wanted to go in the castle and ride the train but we only had enough extra yen for one since she needed to be accompanied. She chose the train (1000 yen for 2) and we rode in the monkey car. She had so much fun. Each car had two steering wheels for riders to pretend they were driving. We turned and cried wee the whole way around the castle... Unless she was petting the monkey and yelling at daddy to look at her, lol.
Blow up structures were found throughout the illumination that people posed for family pictures in front of. You could also walk through a small conservatory building that was decorated with lights and had a mini-market for foods, crafts and trinkets inside.
Overall we really enjoyed the illumination and it was nice to be able to just let O run around as she pleased. I think she was a little obsessed with the shark though. :D
We also paired this trip with a visit to the Peace Prayer Park Memorial Museum and a short walk around the grounds. I think this made the trip even more worth the drive down there and filled out the evening nicely. (And we got fantastic soba from a very sweet, little old man who runs a shop right next to the parking lot before going to the illumination. Yum!)
