A little while back I posted some pictures I took during the fire fly season in Japan (see the picture below and some other here).

One balmy summer evening, around the same time, I made my way to a local town for a night time firefly cruise along the river. It was pretty magical, in a Disney kind of a way- gently drifting through the darkness, intermittently lit by bobbing green fairy lights. Unfortunately, darkness and the movement of the boat made pictures impossible. I had to settle for these shots of festival lanterns, lanterns that frequently pop up around towns in Japan, a prelude to an upcoming festivity or event. I couldn’t decided between black and white or colour so I thought I would put it to the vote.