lights
Ashikaga’s Flower Park transforms into a fantastical fairytale world that you can step inside for the next few months.
Little known fact makes this Japanese neighbourhood a great place to go for a romantic date.
TeamLab’s Tea Time in the Soy Sauce Storehouse brings a whole new meaning to the term “tea light”.
Forget Area 51, the Scramble Crossing is where all the action’s at!
Bathe in the warm glow of owning something recycled, and a light bulb, with these magic cardboard lamps.
Let’s begin with a bit of linguistic trivia: How many of you know that Japanese has an expression for the area of exposed skin between the top of knee-high socks and the hemline of a skirt? No, this is not a joke, people–the actual term is 絶対領域 (zettai ryouiki), which literally means “absolute territory,” but I’m sure some of you already knew that.
If you didn’t, now is as good a time as ever to add that phrase to your mental lexicon, with LED light-emitting skirts about to enter the world of fashion and all!
Tokyo may be trying to take the throne of “City of Lights” from Paris and we’ve seen some dazzling lights in Mie Prefecture, but inKansai, nothing says holiday spirit better than “Kobe Luminarie.” The light display is entering another year of brilliance, as it was originally a display to honor the victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, pray for the revival of the city, and reintroduce tourism into the region.
In an effort to save energy after the Tohoku Disaster in 2011, Kobe Luminarie changed their lightbulbs to LED lights. Smart move, right? You would think people would be happy with the economically and environmentally savvy improvement, but apparently the results were a little more sparkling than they’d hoped, in the bad way.
We appreciate that while many of you are interested in Japan and Japanese culture, not all of you are able to visit the Land of the Rising Sun quite so easily. But Christmas is a great time of year here in Tokyo, what with all the lights, decorations and hand-holding couples, so in order to share the various seasonal sights with you we took the liberty of putting together a little slideshow.
Join us after the jump for a photo tour of Tokyo’s best Christmas illuminations!
During this time of the year, a lot of cities like to bring out elaborate light decorations to warm up their otherwise ice cold streets. Whether it’s for Christmas, New Year’s or just the heck of it, as the days grow darker the streets tend to go brighter.
So what about cities that are already known for their abundance of colorful lights? Do they to amp it up even more for the end of the year? Our reporter FelixSayaka went to Hong Kongto find out, a city that is said to have one of the most stunning skylines in the world. She came back with this handy list of places you should check out if in Hong Kong during the holiday season, or if you’re just into pretty pictures.
MOST POPULAR
Now
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
Beautiful Sailor Moon manhole cover coasters being given out for free by Tokyo tourist center
Arrest proves a common Japanese saying about apologies and police
Is the new Shinkansen Train Desk ticket worth it?
The oldest tunnel in Japan is believed to be haunted, and strange things happen when we go there
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
Japan spending survey shows one region really likes to drink
Tokyo’s most famous arcade announces price increase, fans don’t seem to mind at all
Weekly
- McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
- Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
We try out “Chan Ramen”, an underground type of ramen popular in the ramen community
Starbucks reopens at Shibuya Scramble Crossing with new look and design concept
Beautiful new Final Fantasy T-shirt collection on the way from Uniqlo【Photos】
Foreign English teachers in Japan pick their favorite Japanese-language phrases【Survey】- Is the new Shinkansen Train Desk ticket worth it?
- More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
There’s a park inside Japan where you can also see Japan inside the park
Japanese convenience store packs a whole bento into an onigiri rice ball
Monthly
- McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
Japan’s bone-breaking and record-breaking roller coaster is permanently shutting down
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Foreign passenger shoves conductor on one of the last full runs for Japan’s Thunderbird train
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Kyoto bans tourists from geisha alleys in Gion, with fines for those who don’t follow rules
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour Totoro
Domino’s Japan now sells…pizza ears?
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty
Yearly
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Studio Ghibli’s new desktop Howl’s Moving Castle will take your stationery on an adventure
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Is the new Shinkansen Train Desk ticket worth it?
The oldest tunnel in Japan is believed to be haunted, and strange things happen when we go there
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
Japan spending survey shows one region really likes to drink
Tokyo’s most famous arcade announces price increase, fans don’t seem to mind at all
Starbucks reopens at Shibuya Scramble Crossing with new look and design concept
What makes this new Japanese convenience store chain better than 7-Eleven?
What happens to Cup Noodle Mystery Meat when you cook it in a rice cooker?
Japan super budget dining – What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen at 7-Eleven?
Ghibli Park unveils new real-life Howl’s Moving Castle!
Why is “Akihabara” shortened to “Akiba?” The historical reason may surprise you
Here are Japan’s most-sung karaoke songs in 2022 from karaoke system Joysound
Tokyo’s super-secret-location sushi restaurant has a stand-up sister shop that’s open to all
-
