Illuminations that light up the streets are all around town to hail in the coming Christmas season. Why not wrap yourself up in a warm coat to take a walk and enjoy the beautiful illuminations? This article introduces illumination spots in Tokyo that are highly recommended for dates!
1. Marunouchi Naka Dori
Marunouchi, which is accessible from JR Tokyo Station and Otemachi Station on the subway, is both a business district and an area where you can enjoy shopping and a beautiful townscape with cobblestone streets. The 200 trees that line Marunouchi Naka Dori, located at the center of Marunouchi, will be lit up with approximately 1 million LED lights again this year. The lights are a warm champagne gold color to suit the atmosphere of this sophisticated district. Once you've taken a walk along the tree-lined street to enjoy the lights, why not go for a tasty dinner at Marubiru (Marunouchi Building) or Marunouchi Brick Square? The illuminations on the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station, right by Naka Dori, comes especially recommended.
Schedule: November 8, 2018 (Sun) - February 17, 2019 (Sun)
*From November 15 (Thu) for Otemachi Naka Dori
2. Tokyo Midtown
Tokyo Midtown is an area where there are illuminations in various spots. One particular recommendation is Starlight Garden 2018, held on a grassy field that spans about 2,000 sq.m. The approximately 190,000 LED lights and 100 shining balloons adorn every corner of the space, so you will feel as if you are surrounded by stars. Stay for a while and you can be witness to them changing through four stages that depict the evolution of space, from the creation of the stars to them twinkling, exploding, and becoming stardust. This is a place where you can see a mystical scenery of shining stars and watch space unfold right in front of your eyes.
Schedule: November 13 (Tue) - December 25 (Tue)
3. Roppongi Hills
Right in front of Roppongi Hills is a hill covered with keyaki (Japanese zelkova trees), which is adorned with approximately 700,000 blue and white LED lights. Beyond the SNOW＆BLUE lights that look like snow is the Tokyo Tower lit up in orange! This is a place where you can enjoy an urban, sophisticated illumination.
The Christmas Market at Roppongi Hills, on the other hand, presents a traditional European Christmas scene. Why not warm yourself up with Glühwein made with red wine and spices, just like in Germany, while enjoying some German delicacies like juicy sausages?
Schedule: Keyakizaka Illumination: Early November - December 25 (Tue)
*2018 Christmas Market: November 23 (Fri, national holiday) - December 25 (Tue)
4. Omotesando
1.1km of the high-end shopping street of Omotesando that is lined with famous brand name boutiques is decorated with 900,000 champagne gold lights. The lights are in a convenient location between JR Harajuku Station and Omotesando Station. Omotesando Hills and Laforet Harajuku are along the street, so you can see the lights after shopping.
Schedule: November 29 (Thu) - December 25 (Tue)
5. Caretta Shiodome
The illumination at Caretta Shiodome is a must-see for Disney fans. Illuminations that represent the two Disney movies, "Frozen" and "Tangled", are presented alternately every other week. The Frozen illumination is a show that represents a world of ice to the famous tune of Let It Go, while the Tangled illumination offers a mystical scene painted by glowing lanterns used in the movie that are placed around a tree. Each has 250,000 LED lights recreating the world from the movie. In addition, the characters from the movie "Incredibles 2" appear at 5:00 pm every day as the lively and powerful opening act, accompanied by upbeat music.
Schedule: November 15, 2018 (Thu) - February 14, 2019 (Thu)
All of these locations are great to enjoy shopping and eating together with the illuminations. Pick one of these places to go out for a lovely day with that special someone!
*Please note that the information in this article is from the time of writing or publication and may differ from the latest information.
