18 incredible illuminations and light-ups in Tokyo

The 400m-long Keyakizaka Street next to the Roppongi Hills shopping centre is going to be lit with 800,000 sparkling white and blue LED lights until Christmas Day. From the pedestrian bridge near the Roppongi Hills Arena, you'll get a stunning view of the trees covered in shimmering lights, with Tokyo Tower in the background, from 5pm to 11pm daily. 

While you’re in the area, make sure to drop by the Mohri Garden, a Japanese-style green space located between Roppongi Hills Mori Tower and the TV Asahi building, which will be illuminated with blue lights from November 6 to 18. There’s also a bouquet-inspired illumination at 66 Plaza to commemorate Roppongi Hills’s 20th anniversary, with 200,000 LED lights illuminating the surrounding trees.

The illuminations take place from November 6 to December 25.

This winter, the 1.5km-long street right outside the east exit of JR Yokohama Station turns into a sparkling wonderland. This illumination display uses 350,000 LEDs to bathe the area in warm blue and white light from 4pm to 11pm every day. The trees all get a lot more festive and the Hamamirai Walk pedestrian bridge becomes a beautifully lit walkway. This year, the lights will be powered by sustainable energy such as solar and wind power.

The illuminations take place from November 9 to February 11.

Taking centre stage at Yebisu Garden Place, this light display incorporates a Baccarat chandelier constructed in 1994. At five-metres-tall and three-metres-wide, this chandelier is one of the largest in the world and is adorned with 8,500 crystal pieces and 250 golden lights. The official lighting ceremony of the chandelier takes place on Saturday November 11 at 5pm. The event will feature a live music performance by Kona Rose with Budamunk. 

Happening concurrently until December 25 is a Christmas Market at the Clock Plaza. There are stalls selling festive goods and accessories, as well as a food truck by The Westin serving tomato and beet borscht and mulled wine from 5pm to 8pm on weekdays and from noon on weekends.

On weekends from Friday to Sunday in December, there’s even a public DJ session hosted by the Blue Note Place. Here you can order freshly prepared beignets with coffee at the BNP Stand takeout shop.

If you’re looking for the most OTT illumination in Tokyo, this is it. Yomiuri Land's annual winter light show will bedazzle even the most ardent illumination-fiend. As the name might suggest, jewels are the focus here: literally millions of colourful LEDs are set up throughout the vast theme park evoking sparkling gems. The park is split into ten areas where visitors can expect to be treated to beautifully lit attractions. 

In addition to the rainbow-lit, 180-metre-long Lover’s Promenade and Passage of Love tunnel, you’ll spot illuminations of the word ‘love’ in different languages. The highlight, however, is the fountain show, with illuminated water in different colours being sprayed into the air to create stunning shapes. There are three kinds of shows that happen every 15 minutes from 5pm daily. Look out for the fountain’s flames and lasers, which are synchronised to music.

While you’re there, make sure to check out the Japanese-style light-up event Hana Akari at nearby Hana Biyori garden.

The illuminations take place until April 9.

Head over to the seaside city of Yokohama for the Rose Garden of Light illumination, taking place at Osanbashi pier. The floral light show is supervised by Motoo Marumaru, a night view expert and illumination producer. The roses are lit up in various patterns and colours, adding to the beautiful nighttime scenery of Yokohama’s Minato Mirai area and Yamashita Park. Close to the Rose Garden of Light you’ll find another area that’s bathed in blue and white LEDs.

The illuminations take place until February 29.

Meguro's annual Minna no Illumi event has found a novel solution to the issue of massive energy consumption during Japan’s winter illuminations season. Resembling winter cherry blossoms, the pink LED used in the light-up are all powered by biodiesel electricity generated using waste oil collected from local homes and restaurants.

The eco-friendly lights illuminate a stretch of the 2.2km-long Meguro River near Osaki and Gotanda stations. You can catch this beautiful sight from 5pm to 10pm every day from November 10 2023 until January 8 2024.

These illuminations at the Oi Racecourse – also known as Tokyo City Keiba – will be returning for the fifth year, with the venue bathed in colourful lights every evening. You can enjoy elaborate illuminations and projection mapping displays across two areas.

Upon entering the venue, you’ll find yourself in the ‘Twinkle’ area where you’ll walk through a long corridor lit up with appropriately twinkly blue lights that lead you to the main attractions. Aside from plentiful and vivid light projections on the ground, you’ll come across the ‘Aurora Forest’ with glowing trees that put on a six-minute show synchronising to music using light and shadows.

Enter the ‘Wa no Kirameki’ area, taking up the centre of the racecourse with a colourful water fountain where shows are synchronised to music, stunning aurora lights, an illuminated cherry blossom tunnel, and more. There’s also a large trellis of artificial wisteria illuminated with pink and golden lights, and an illumination recreating a typical Japanese rural landscape, complete with paddy fields and a stream.

What's more, with this event taking place at a racecourse, you can even pet and take photos with real horses.

The illuminations take place from November 11 to January 8. 

Sagamiko Resort Pleasure Forest has pulled out all the stops for its winter illumination show with a display featuring over six million LEDs. What’s more, this year there’s an entire area dedicated to Japan's beloved robot-cat, Doraemon.

You can hop on the park’s Rainbow Chairlift and sail over colourful stripes before arriving at the top of a hill to see a series of illumination art walls with the blue character and his friends. Walk further inside and you’ll come across a massive dome of Doraemon’s head, as well as a dome with other characters illuminated in colourful lights. Don’t miss the epic 360-degree illumination show where Doraemon-motif and laser lights synchronise to music for four minutes.

There are also plenty of Doraemon-themed meals and snacks you can munch on while you’re here. Order the Melody Hamburg Curry or the Doraemon Orchestra Plate for a proper meal, or a churro or cup of oshiruko (red bean porridge) for something sweet.

The illuminations take place from November 15 to February 14. 

The neighbourhood surrounding Toranomon Hills is getting light art installations for a limited time this winter. This event is held in partnership with the Light Art Collection, an outfit known for operating the annual Light Festival in Amsterdam. 

You’ll come across seven breath-taking installations created by artists, architects and product designers from around the world. Oval Park features bioluminescence lights scattered all over the grass lawn. Made to look like a field of fireflies, this stunning display is created by Studio Toer from the Netherlands.

Saio Park, on the other hand, has a tornado-like light installation made from a stack of rings, designed by UxU Studio in Taiwan. Make sure you stop by the Step Garden as well to see an installation of colourful butterflies floating among the greenery, created by Italian design studio Aether & Hemera.

The annual Hibiya Magic Time Illumination is returning for its fifth run at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya. This year, the event boasts three areas bathed in beautiful lights inspired by twinkling stars in the night sky.

Hibiya-Nakadori Street is decked out with captivating multi-coloured illuminations. Hibiya Step Square, meanwhile, features Christmas trees (until December 25) adorned with sparkly lights (Christmas trees until Dec 25) as well as light-ups that are synchronised to festive music. Don’t miss the Park View Garden on the sixth floor. Here you’ll find glittering white lights assembled to look like the Milky Way.

The illuminations take place from November 16 to Febuary 14.

The 1.2-kilometre-long Marunouchi Naka-dori street, always one of the most popular Tokyo illumination spots, will have around 360 trees lit up with about 1.2 million champagne-coloured, low-energy LED bulbs this year, making for an environmentally friendly and stylish display. If you’d rather stay cosy while admiring the lights, visit the newly renovated Marunouchi House, where the seventh-floor terrace will be lit up for a limited time. The terrace has plenty of seats surrounded by outdoor heaters.

To celebrate Christmas, Gyoko-dori between the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station will have more illuminations between November 28 to December 25.

The illuminations take place from November 16 to February 18.

The Global Ring Theatre in Ikebukuro’s Nishiguchi Park is being illuminated with iridescent blue lights during the winter. The roof is decked out in lights made to look like icicles, and the surrounding trees are lit up with the same blue lights as well.

Don’t miss the Extreme Illumination Digital Program, a light show synchronising with the park’s fountain and 3D video projected on a big screen. This show is on five times a day, happening once every hour starting at 4.30pm, and lasts for around 10 minutes.

The park also has a designated photo spot featuring an adorable aquarium-inspired illumination with dolphins and fish that look like they are swimming among a sea of lights.

Located next to Tokyo amusement park Yomiuri Land, the Hana Biyori garden is lit up with a spectacular illumination display until February 25, 2024. Follow the path lined with 500 takeakari bamboo lanterns and takemari ( ball-like objects made from bamboo) and you’ll come to a historical gate that was transplanted from the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

Once inside, you’ll find a wall of illuminated Japanese umbrellas that look like colourful lanterns, leading you further inside the garden. Awaiting here are more takeakari and takemari, in addition to a lit up chozuya (basin with purified water) decked out with flowers. A new addition this year are the kiri-e (paper cutout) lanterns, which are placed around the garden’s East waterfall. 

To complete your visit, you can rent a Japanese umbrella and lantern to walk around and take photos with for just ¥200.

The illuminations take place until Febuary 25.

Always one of Tokyo's most popular light-up shows, the Omotesando Illumination is back this year with some 900,000 champagne-coloured LED lights illuminating the 1km-long street lined with zelkova trees between the Jingumae and Omotesando crossings. While you’re in the area, make sure to drop by Omotesando Hills for its stunning Christmas tree installation made from 3D-printed snowflakes (November 9 to December 25).

The illuminations take place from December 1 to 28.

Odaiba shopping mall Decks Tokyo Beach is celebrating the year-end holiday  season with an illumination display revolving around a 20 metre-tall tree. Furthermore, the entire third floor deck will be glowing with around 100,000 lights . Don’t miss the massive Odaiba signage lit up for this occasion – it makes a great photo spot, especially with the Rainbow Bridge in the background。

Make sure you’re here on December 23 for the Odaiba Rainbow Fireworks at 7pm. Expect five minutes of fireworks in the sky, synced to a musical medley.

The illuminations take place from November 15 to Febuary 14.

Not to be outdone by the Yokohama Milaight display taking over Yokohama Station’s east exit, shops around the west exit are putting on an illumination of their own. This year is the event’s 40th edition and it will feature a space-themed illumination displayed on massive LED screens on the side of the station building. Make sure to stick around for the light-and-sound show happening every six minutes.

The illuminations take place from November 15 to February 14. 

This is one of Tokyo’s glitziest illumination events, with many areas around Tokyo Dome City lit up. This year features illuminations produced by Shohei Osada from the Japanese comedy duo Chocolate Planet. The outdoor turf on the third floor of the Tokyo Dome Hotel will have illuminating spheres with faces on them, all looking at an elevated stage you can get up on. It’s meant to look like you’re performing in front of hundreds of people, gazing out over an expressive crowd of people.

At Meets Port Garden you’ll find a massive half moon installation with which you can have fun creating shadows by standing in front of it. Head over to Laqua Garden to see trees decked out in champagne gold lights and an unusual amount of washtubs hanging over you, making you feel like you’re on some crazy variety show. The Thunder Dolphin passage on the second floor of Laqua will be illuminated in iridescent light, featuring silhouettes of Japanese comedians you might recognise.

The illuminations take place from November 21 to February 29.

Retro Showa-themed theme park Seibuen will have champagne gold filament light bulbs glistening along its 150-metre-long shopping street. Every 20 minutes there will be a special show where you can enjoy watching lasers and smoke bubbles while listening to nostalgic Japanese tunes. The illumination is expected to be changed up during the festive season, so it’s worth visiting more than once.

The illuminations take place until April 7.