December is a month filled with positive energy, love and excitement, and it’s also a great time of the year to visit Tokyo. The streets of the Japanese capital are packed with elaborate Christmas lights and illuminations, which shine with simplicity, naturalness, order and originality to become a fundamental part of the city’s identity. This and more makes Tokyo shine as an ideal destination to say goodbye to the last 12 months and see in the New Year.
The Yomiuri Land Jewellumination spectacular lighting show opened this year on October 24. This year marks the tenth anniversary, which is said to be the most brilliant event to date.
The annual winter illumination show at Yomiuri Land amusement park offers a magical contrast to the city and is now one of Tokyo’s star attractions at this time of year.
The Hikari no Saiten Festival of Lights is also impressive with light and beauty being the theme in the Adachi ward this year. From the end of November till the end of December, the streets between Takenotsuka Station and Motofuchie Park are illuminated with more than 200,000 gold bulbs to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere in this Tokyo district.
This type of lighting is a huge attraction for many couples. As Christmas is not traditionally a local holiday, many lovebirds see it as a second Valentine’s Day and a time to exchange gifts and profess their love for each other in the city’s public spaces.
Japanese New Year
Between December 28 and January 5, Japan celebrates its own winter holiday, the Japanese New Year (shogatsu or oshogatsu). Just like Western Christmas or New Year’s Eve, this is the time of year when families come together to have dinner at home.
Japanese people eat a selection of traditional dishes during the New Year celebrations called osechi-ryōri. These are easily recognisable by their special boxes which resemble bentō boxes, and each dish has a special meaning celebrating the New Year.
Each box has different levels and compartments containing a wide variety of delicacies such as kuromame (sweetened black soybeans) or fishcakes.
In the first days of the New Year, millions of people visit the Meiji Jingu Shrine to ring bells and pray to the gods for a prosperous year ahead.
Visitors can also enjoy the annual Oji Kitsune-no-Gyoretsu Fox parade, which is inspired by an old legend that tells how foxes would put on costumes and parade to the Oji Inari-Jinja Shrine.
Nowadays, however, participants dress up as foxes and walk through the streets carrying traditional chōchin lanterns.
