For 2023, the Lunar New Year (also known as the Spring Festival) starts from January 22 to February 5, and Yokohama’s Chinatown has put on quite a celebration. For the first time in three years, there will be a parade, as well as plenty of lion dances and performances.
The Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival is held on the 15th and final day of the Chinese Spring Festival, taking place in Yokohama’s Chukagai Chinatown at the Ma Zhu Miao, Shrine to the Goddess of the Sea, known as Masobyo in Japanese.
There will be a display of paper lanterns on which people’s hopes and dreams for the year ahead will be written and performances of lion dances.
History
The Lantern Festival has a variety of origin myths and a variety of customs depending on where it is held — in Hong Kong, apparently, it has been commercialized as something like Valentine’s day — but wherever it is, it marks the end of the Spring Festival. For more about the Hong Kong Festival, see our event post on the Spring Lantern Festival on our sister site Hong Kong Cheapo.
Organizers may cancel events, alter schedules, or change admission requirements without notice. Always check official sites before heading to an event.- 317 m from Motomachi-Chūkagai Station Minatomirai Line (MM6)
- 0.6 km from Ishikawachō Station Negishi Line (JK4)
- 0.7 km from Nihon-ōdōri Station Minatomirai Line (MM5)
