Toro Nagashi - Lantern Floating Ceremony

[Donna]

I'd like to know if anyone attended this event yesterday at Ala Moana Beach Park?

I was debating about going, but got scared off by nightmarish visions of hoardes of people and lack of parking.

More importantly, did anyone take some nice pictures of it?

[pzarquon]

http://www.lightfantastic.org/gallery/albums/200405/31lantern12.jpg (http://www.lightfantastic.org/gallery/search.php?searchstring=31lantern)

We went. It was awe inspiring. Like the last time we went, it seemed the chants and dancing were what brought on the occasional rush of rain. But we got in and out safely, and are thankful we braved the crowds (which were substantial) and iffy weather to experience it.

Click the above to see my collection of photos from the ceremony.

[Mocha]

What beautiful pictures. I went once when it was on the Ala Wai. It's sure popular...and the lanterns floating gently out to sea. Thanks for sharing your shots of the ceremony. :)

[dick]

The Ala Moana Park toro nagashi is quite the spectacle. A little too commercial for me (I went last year (and it yielded good photos, but I avoided it this year - thank god I didn't have to work it - FL Morris did a stellar job - http://starbulletin.com/2004/06/01/news/index6.html), I prefer the one in Haleiwa, or better yet, the one at Lahaina Jodo-In on Maui.

[aleno]

Thanks for showing the pictures. I enjoyed looking at them and wish I was there for the ceremony.

[dick]

Actually the Ala Moana ceremony is really nice (I hope my last post didn't come off as suggesting otherwise). I think the location has a lot to do with it, plus the church that puts it on does a really good job. I would recommend it at least once. It's just the mass of humanity that I have a hard time dealing with.

[pzarquon]

Pardon the gratuitious bump, but I thought I'd update this thread from 2004 with a link to Lantern Floating Hawaii (http://www.lanternfloatinghawaii.com/), the official site for the Magic Island toro nagashi ceremony (presented by Shinnyo-en Hawaii and the Na Lei Aloha Foundation), and to my toro nagashi video (http://www.lightfantastic.org/imr/extras/videoblog/archives/2006/05/toro_nagashi.html) as well as that of Vernon "808Talk" Brown (http://www.808talk.com/?p=82).

Donna's initial hesitation over the crowds has proven to be well-founded (this year we staked out our spot by 4 p.m., but were rewarded with a great view of everything), but despite the teeming hoards of both tourists and locals, we found the scene quite moving.

I'm sure a more intimate toro nagashi would allow for better reflection and remembrance, but sharing that stunning vision with thousands of people is special in its own way.