17 incredible illuminations and light-ups in Tokyo

The 400m-long Keyakizaka Street next to the Roppongi Hills shopping centre is lighting up with 800,000 sparkling white and blue LEDs 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. 

Showa Kinen Park is the most beautiful in autumn, with the maple and ginkgo trees blushing in fiery red and yellow respectively. The ginkgo trees are the first to turn and you can see two boulevards of the golden yellow trees as soon as you enter the park’s Tachikawa gate. These trees are expected to turn full yellow in mid-November. The momiji and kaede trees, however, present their signature vermillion hues a bit later towards the end of November.

During this season, the park stays open after dark, with special light-ups taking place at the Gingko Tree Avenue (near the futsal and basketball courts) and the traditional Japanese Garden from 4.30pm until 8.30pm.

While you can enjoy the light-ups at Gingko Tree Avenue with just the park's regular admission fee (¥450, free for junior high school students and younger), you need an extra ticket to enter the Japanese Garden (advance ticket online ¥1,200, primary and junior high school students ¥600; same-day tickets sold at Komorebi House close to the Japanese Garden ¥1,300, ¥700).

Tickets to enter the Japanese Garden are now available to purchase online.

Note that the main entrance for this year's event is the Nishi-Tachikawa gate, a 2-minute walk away from Nishi-Tachikawa Station on the Ome Line. 

Until January 31, the district surrounding Tokyo Skytree Town and Asakusa is lighting up with ornate takeakari bamboo lanterns created by Chikaken, an company specialising in these unique traditional lanterns. Many of their takeakari bamboo light creations have been featured at some of Japan’s popular illuminations including Hana Akari at Yomiuri Land and even at selected Tokyo’s hotels.

The Sumida River Walk bridge connecting Tokyo Mizumachi and Sumida Park is especially pretty, as it features a special installation with Tokyo SkyTree in the background. There’s another installation at the Kitajukken riverside terrace running alongside Tokyo Mizumachi, where you'll find beautifully handcrafted takemari bamboo ornaments lining the 200-metre walkway from Makura Bridge to Genmori Bridge.

Ushijima Shrine is also lit up daily from 5pm to 10pm with bamboo lights as well as colourful takemari.

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 jaded illumination-fiend. As the name suggests, 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 you will be treated to beautifully lit attractions. 

In addition to the 180-metre-long, rainbow-lit Celebration Promenade and Crystal Passage, you’ll spot two gigantic sparkly Ferris wheels to mark the amusement park's 60th anniversary. The highlight, however, is the fountain show, with water illuminated in different colours and sprayed into the air to create stunning shapes. There are three kinds of show happening every 15 minutes from 5pm daily. Also look out for the fountain’s flames and lasers, which are synchronised to music.

The annual illuminations at Oi Racecourse (also known as Tokyo City Keiba) are returning for their sixth run, with the sprawling venue bathed in colourful lights every evening. You can enjoy elaborate light-up 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 twinkling blue lights leading you to the main attractions. Aside from the vivid light projections on the ground, you’ll also come across the Aurora Forest with glowing trees and laser-lit mists. This particular attraction puts on regular five-minute light shows synchronised to music. 

The Wa no Kirameki area, on the other hand, occupies the centre of the racecourse. Here, a colourful water fountain becomes the centre of an aurora light display synchronised to music. There's also an illuminated cherry blossom tunnel, a large trellis of artificial wisteria all decked out with pink and golden lights, plus 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.

This annual wintertime display at Yebisu Garden Place incorporates a Baccarat chandelier that's 5m tall and 3m wide, making it one of the largest in the world. Made of 250 light bulbs and 8,500 crystals, the chandelier emits a warm and elegant light. That’s not all, though. There are smaller displays in the Entrance Pavilion, Clock Plaza, Promenade, Center Plaza, Glass Square and on the 38th floor of Yebisu Garden Place Tower. In total, the event uses roughly 100,000 light bulbs. 

While you're there, check out the European-inspired Christmas Marche at Chateau Square and Clock Plaza. Here you'll find holiday trinkets and hearty soups as well as mulled wine and hot chocolate to warm you up on a cold evening.

The Christmas Marche is held daily from 5pm to 8pm (12noon-8pm on weekends) until December 25. Christmas Marche at Chateau Square opens on November 29.

Located next to Tokyo amusement park Yomiuri Land, the Hana Biyori garden is lighting up with a spectacular illumination display until April 6 2025. Follow the path lined with 500 takeakari bamboo lanterns and takemari (ball-like ornaments 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 into the garden. Awaiting here are more takeakari and takemari, in addition to a glowing 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, as well as an illuminated bamboo wall featuring cutout images of flowers, wind and water.

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

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 terrace will be glowing with around 100,000 lights.

Don’t miss the massive Odaiba signage lit up in blue for this occasion. It makes for a great photo spot, especially with the Rainbow Bridge in the background.

More importantly, you'll want to be here on December 7, 14, 21, 24 or 28 for the Odaiba Rainbow Fireworks at 7pm. Expect five minutes of fireworks in the sky, synced to a musical medley.

The 1.2-kilometre-long Marunouchi Naka-dori street, always one of the most popular Tokyo illumination spots, will have around 280 trees lit up with about 820 thousand low-energy, champagne-coloured LEDs 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 feature festive illuminations for a limited time. The terrace has plenty of seats surrounded by outdoor heaters.

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

Marunouchi Street Park, which comprises the areas along Marunouchi Naka-dori and Gyoko-dori streets, is illuminated with festive lights in the evening. Until December 25, the area in front of the Marunouchi Building will have glass huts serving meals, baked goods and hot beverages, as well as stalls offering Western antiques. In front of the Marunouchi Nichome Building, you’ll find plenty of benches to rest on while enjoying live music in the evening of December 9, 10, 16 and 23.

You’ll also want to check out the ice skating rink at Gyoko-dori. It has a stunning view of the beautiful Tokyo Station building. The rink is open from 11am to 10pm daily (last entry 9.30pm) until Christmas.

The illuminations take place daily from 11am to 10pm.

The annual Hibiya Magic Time Illumination is returning for its sixth run at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya. This year, the event boasts four 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 seven Christmas trees (on display until December 25) inspired by Disney's soon-to-be-released 'Moana 2'. Adorned with multicoloured LEDs, the Christmas trees will light up in sync with the movie's soundtrack.

Don’t miss the Park View Winter Garden on the sixth floor. Here you’ll find glittering rainbow-coloured lights on the grass lawn, which draws inspiration from Hibiya's flashy image as an entertainment district.

The illuminations take place daily from 4pm to 11pm.

The annual Shinjuku Minamillumi light-up is back this year for the 10th time, happening from November 15 to February 14. Six venues in the area will be participating in this illumination special, namely the JR Minami Shinjuku Building, JR Shinjuku Miraina Tower, Suica Penguin Plaza, Takashimaya Times Square, Shinjuku Maynds Tower, and Shinjuku Southern Terrace.

Suica Penguin Plaza, located in front of Shinjuku Station’s New South exit between the promenade and Takashimaya Times Square, is bathed in crystal blue lights. The plaza features an illuminated ‘welcome gate’, complete with two adorable penguin statues. You may recognise the penguin character from JR East’s Suica IC cards. 

Trees along the 46-metre-long promenade at Southern Terrace are also decorated with golden lights, and the path is even equipped with motion sensors that activate a special light show. Venture further and you’ll come across a red and golden Christmas tree (until December 25) set up on the second floor of Takashimaya Times Square, plus even more lights that illuminate the entire terrace.

The illuminations take place daily from 5pm to 12midnight until the end of November, and from 4.30pm between December and February.

Yokohama’s nighttime light-up spectacular brings sparkle to the waterfront from November through December. Focal points this year include a five-minute lights-and-sound extravaganza named Highlight of Yokohama, and a massive projection-mapping show in Yamashita Park and around the Osanbashi cruise terminal.

Dubbed Ao no Dokutsu, meaning blue cavern, this breathtaking illumination was a huge hit when it made its debut along the Meguro River back in 2014. The now annual event made a comeback in Shibuya a couple of years ago, where it will again bathe the tree-lined walkway leading to Yoyogi Park in a fantastical blue glow this holiday season until Christmas Day.

Stretched out for 900 metres along Koen-dori and Yoyogi Park's Keyaki event space, this fantastical illumination is made up of around 600,000 blue LEDs. The lights are also reflected off the ground to create an immersive experience.

The illuminations take place daily between 5pm and 10pm.

The Global Ring Theatre in Ikebukuro’s Nishiguchi Park is being illuminated with iridescent blue lights in winter. The roof is decked out with 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 that synchronises with the park’s fountain and the 3D video projected on the big screen. This show is on five times a day, happening once every hour starting at 4.30pm, each lasting for around five 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 in a sea of lights.

This is one of Tokyo’s glitziest illuminations, with many areas around Tokyo Dome City decked out with twinkling lights. To commemorate its 20th anniversary this winter, the event will feature a special design inspired by snow globes – or ‘snow domes’, as they are commonly called in Japanese.

Expect to see a huge 15-metre-tall tree adorned with over 250,000 multi-coloured LEDs at the Crystal Avenue Lawn Square. Be sure to hang around, as every 15 minutes, a dazzling light and bubble performance transforms the space into a magical, snow globe-like wonderland.

Over at the LaQua garden, you can pose for photos in a gigantic igloo-like snowflake dome. Once inside, you can operate a tablet to switch on the lights and take a picture. The Thunder Dolphin passage on the second floor of Laqua, on the other hand, will be lit up with illuminated orbs, shiny Christmas ornaments, snowflakes and shimmering mini LEDs.

Always one of Tokyo's most popular light-ups, the Omotesando Illumination is back this year with some 900,000 champagne-coloured LEDs 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 avant-garde Christmas tree (November 13 to December 25) made from 40,000 overlapping Fresnel glass lenses.