August 15, 1999. The Lotus Festival. Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture. The Lotus Festival took place from July through mid-August. The lotus flowers in full bloom can be seen in the outer moat of Takada Park. During the festival, these flowers are lit up. The municipality has taken the lead in this event since 1982. The outer moat is 16 hectare and is full of lotus flowers. It looks like a picture screen. It has come to be called the best lotus in the East since a lotus researcher, Dr. Ichiro Ohga, saw the flowers in the outer moat of the Takada Park and named it so. The lotuses are especially beautiful this year. So are the blooming flowers.

	The outer moat full of lotus flowers. There is a red bridge in the middle of the moat that you can cross and see the lotus up close.		Dark pink flowers. Many flowers bloomed in August.
	A picture from the center of the red bridge in the moat. You can take in a view of the lotus together with Mt. Nanyo and Mt. Myoko. It is a lovely sight.		These are the fruit of the lotus. They are found in the holes of the plant. I ate them when I was a child. It is sweet but I wouldn't say that it is tasty.