Photo/Illutration The Kobe Luminarie when it was last held in the city’s Chuo Ward in December 2019 (Takaharu Yagi)

KOBE--Kobe’s annual festival of light that transforms the downtown area into a dazzling night spectacle will be held for the first time since 2019, but in January and not December, organizers announced.

The Kobe Luminarie had been canceled for three straight years due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

It is now set to be held Jan. 19-28.

Organizers said they are planning to set up a new venue at a seaside park to host events using cutting-edge technology, part of which will be offered for a fee.

The city’s winter tradition began in 1995 to remember the more than 6,000 victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake and pray for recovery in the affected areas.

The organizers decided to change the date and other details of the festival to seek a more sustainable way to hold the event in and after 2025, when it marks the 30th anniversary of the earthquake.

Prior to pandemic, it was held in December. But that clashed the year-end peak shopping season, which prompted complaints from shops and shoppers due to traffic restrictions put in place for the festival.

In light of the festival’s theme of mourning and aspiring for recovery and rebirth, the organizers will hold the event after Jan. 17, the anniversary of the 1995 disaster.

A 270-meter-long illumination called the “corridor of lights” will be reduced in distance and height.

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