Walking around Tokyo at the end of the year: a moment of intertwining lighting, blessings and unforgettable scenery
The end of the year in Tokyo is always lit up with lights and festive atmosphere, exuding a unique warm charm. Busy people shuttle among them, intertwining unforgettable scenes in their own charming ways.
Roppongi’s dreamy Christmas lights
Roppongi transforms into a wonderland of light every winter. When night falls, the streets are filled with shining lights, like a river of stars flowing. The most iconic one is the Christmas lights in Roppongi Hills. The blue and white lights are as gentle as ice and snow, as if bringing people into a fairy tale world. Here, whether you are a couple, a family or a traveler, you can find your own shining corner, adding a touch of romance to the busy life at the end of the year.
Every year, Roppongi’s Christmas light-up always attracts tourists from all over the world.
Golden ginkgo and maple leaves at the end of autumn
Although winter has entered Tokyo at the end of the year, the temperature of about 10 degrees makes people really feel the cold climate. But in some corners, the remaining traces of autumn can still be captured. Like the bright golden ginkgo trees on the streets of Shinjuku, the ginkgo trees are swaying in the cold wind, and the ground is covered with golden leaves, as if spreading a romantic carpet. The Mori Garden, hidden behind the Roppongi Department Store, has small bridges, flowing water, and the red of the maple leaves are still bright, and it looks seclusion-like and quiet with the surrounding buildings. These attractions provide a natural beauty that is different from city lights, making people feel a little warm in the cold winter.
At the end of autumn, golden ginkgo leaves or fiery red maple leaves kick off winter.
Fox Parade at Oji Inari Shrine
Away from the bustle of the city center, Oji Inari Shrine is famous for its fox parade. Compared with fireworks or concerts in other countries, New Year's Eve in Japan is a quiet time spent with people close to you. This traditional local New Year's Eve ceremony also showcases the solemn and interesting customs of different places. Participants, wearing fox masks or fox makeup and traditional kimonos, slowly walked towards Inari Shrine after counting down to the New Year. During the parade, the sound of drums added excitement to the night in the quiet residential alleys, all the way to Inari Shrine, bringing a joyful atmosphere to the new year. The activities here make people deeply feel the power of traditional culture, bringing peace and hope.
Starting with a giant fox mask, it is a traditional New Year's Eve event at the Oji Inari Shrine's fox parade.
Crowds of people praying at Sensoji Temple on New Year's Day
As one of the most famous temples in Tokyo, Sensoji Temple becomes even more popular at the end of the year. Thousands of tourists and local residents gather here to participate in the New Year's Eve blessing ceremony. On New Year's Day, people devoutly pray for happiness and health in the new year amidst the thick incense. Here and now, you can deeply feel people's expectations for the future, and how this expectation is continued through tradition.
Additionally, shops and vendors around the temple offer a wide variety of Japanese street food and snacks. On New Year's Day, a day when almost all businesses are closed, the area around Sensoji Temple becomes a great opportunity to taste local snacks.
On New Year's Day, Sensoji Temple is filled with people coming to pray for the New Year.
teamLab Planets exhibition with interplay of light and shadow
If traditional culture is part of Tokyo at the end of the year, then the combination of trendy technology and art is another indispensable experience. In the teamLab Planets exhibition hall, lighting, images and space design are perfectly integrated to create a different five-sense exhibition experience.
From the beginning of the exhibition, visitors are required to walk barefoot through a section of warm running water, and then enter a dreamy exhibition area with flashing lights. The shining light makes people feel like they are immersed in the Milky Way. In the next exhibition area, there are water projections that look like walking in the water and watching fish swimming around, and there are also people lying on the ground looking up at the sky where meteors are flying by. These designs bring people an unforgettable immersive experience from touch, hearing to smell.
TeamLab Planets uses projection, lighting, flowing water, mirror reflection, etc. to create a rich and gorgeous immersive exhibition experience.
Strolling through the streets of Tokyo, from the shining lights of Roppongi to the traditional blessings at Hachioji Inari Shrine, from the crowds at Sensoji Temple to the light and shadow wonders of teamLab Planets, these scenery all show the diverse charm of Tokyo at the end of the year. This is a journey about culture, lights and urban scenery, with stories at every step, adding more evocative moments to Tokyo at the end of the year.
Written, edited and photographed by: Anna Shih