Tsukimi; The Moon Festival

Around mid autumn, between September and October traditionally, is Tsukimi, the moon viewing festival. People go out on the night of the full moon, have a picnic and go moon gazing. Traditionally drinking plum wine and eating special treats, like tsukimi-dango. This year I was unable to do the Tsukimi festival on the actual date but I have done some moon gazing these past couple weeks, and I can see why this is still a popular event in Japan. The moon above Japan around this time of year is simply beautiful. Almost every night there is a rainbow halo around the moon. With a subtle orange to blue leading into the night's sky. Especially following the intense heat of the summer, having a night of cool air is most appreciated.

I traveled to Itako for a Moon Festival event, but unfortunately I ultimately was not able to find the venue. While searching I found the Choonji temple. It was very mysterious in the rain.