Japan Winter Illuminations 2026-2027: Dates, Hours and Prices

From late October to spring, Japanese parks, shopping districts and main streets string up lights, and some of them stay lit for six months. This guide covers twelve of the best-known, from Sapporo to Nagasaki, with the dates, hours and prices for the 2026-2027 season as of October 2026. Where the organiser has not announced this season yet, it says so and gives last season's dates instead.

There are two kinds. The city ones (Sapporo, Sendai, Marunouchi, Roppongi, Midosuji, Kobe) are on public streets and free to walk through, except a ticketed part of Kobe Luminarie in Meriken Park. The big ones in theme parks and flower parks charge entry, and they are where most of the light actually is. Prices change by period at several of them, so check the date you plan to go.

At a Glance

• Hokkaido and Tohoku: Sapporo White Illumination and the Sendai Pageant of Starlight
• Tokyo and around: Ashikaga Flower Park, Marunouchi, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown, Yomiuriland and Sagamiko Illumillion
• Central Japan and Kansai: Nabana no Sato, Midosuji Illumination and Kobe Luminarie
• Kyushu: Huis Ten Bosch
• All dates and prices in one table, then tips

Sapporo White Illumination, Hokkaido

Sapporo's light-up has run every winter since 1981, and 2026 is its 46th year. The main site is Odori Park, blocks 1 to 6, with more along Ekimae-dori, Minami-ichijo-dori and the plazas by Sapporo Station. Snow is usually on the ground by the second half of the run, which changes how it looks.

2026-2027: Odori Park from 20 November to 25 December 2026, lit 16:30 to 22:00, and until midnight from 23 to 25 December. Ekimae-dori stays lit until 11 February 2027; Minami-ichijo, the Kita 3-jo plaza and the station south exit plaza until 14 March 2027. New this season are a site at the old Hokkaido Government Office (Akarenga) and one in Nakajima Park, planned for early to late January 2027. Free. Nearest station: Odori.

Odori Park

Sendai Pageant of Starlight, Miyagi

The zelkova trees along Jozenji-dori, the avenue in the middle of Sendai, are wrapped in small orange lights for a few weeks in December. It reached its 40th edition in 2025, and part of the cost is met by donations collected on the street.

2026: 4 to 27 December 2026 (24 days), lit 18:00 to 21:00 Sunday to Thursday and 18:00 to 22:00 on Friday and Saturday. On Thursday 24 December it stays lit until 22:00. Free. Nearest station: Kotodai-koen on the Namboku subway line, about a minute's walk.

Ashikaga Flower Park, Tochigi

A flower park known for its wisteria in spring that turns into a light garden in winter. Much of the display copies the wisteria, with trellises hung with strings of light in the shape of the flowers.

2026-2027: 17 October 2026 to 14 February 2027, closed only on 31 December. Open 15:30 to 20:30 (21:00 on weekends and holidays), and from 7 November to 3 January until 21:00 on weekdays and 21:30 on weekends and holidays. The lights come on at about 16:30 to 17:00. Adults ¥1,500, children aged 4 to elementary school ¥800; the park says prices can change with the state of the flowers. Nearest station: Ashikaga Flower Park on the JR Ryomo Line, a short walk.

Ashikaga Flower Park

Marunouchi Illumination, Tokyo

The street trees along Naka-dori, the cobbled office street between Tokyo Station and Yurakucho, are lit in champagne gold. It is free, flat and right next to Tokyo Station, so it fits into an evening without planning.

2026-2027: not announced yet as of October 2026. Last season ran from 13 November 2025 to 15 February 2026, lit 16:00 to 23:00, and until midnight through December. Free. Nearest station: Tokyo.

Roppongi Hills Keyakizaka, Tokyo

Keyakizaka is the sloping street below Roppongi Hills, and its trees are lit for the Christmas season. The usual photo is from the top of the slope, with Tokyo Tower at the end of the street.

2026: 5 November to 25 December 2026, lit 17:00 to 22:00 (the first evening may start later). Last season the lights were extended into February; no extension has been announced for this season yet. Free. Nearest station: Roppongi.

Roppongi

Tokyo Midtown, Tokyo

Ten minutes' walk from Keyakizaka, Midtown lights the lawn of its garden and the path beside it. This season's garden show is a light show with soap bubbles, and an outdoor ice rink opens on 5 December.

2026-2027: the garden illumination runs from 26 November to 25 December 2026, 17:00 to 23:00, with bubble shows about every four minutes until 20 December. The light path along the garden stays lit until 23 February 2027, also 17:00 to 23:00. Free (a lounge on the lawn charges). Nearest station: Roppongi.

Yomiuriland Jewellumination, Tokyo

An amusement park in the hills of Inagi, on the western edge of Tokyo, with lights across the whole park, so you walk through them between rides. You pay entry, but you also get a park to walk around rather than one street.

2026-2027: 29 October 2026 to 4 April 2027, 138 days excluding closed days, with no illumination on weekdays from 1 to 12 March. Usually 16:00 to 20:30, varying with the period. Adult entry (18 to 64) is ¥1,800; rides cost extra. Nearest station: Keio-Yomiuriland, then the Sky Shuttle gondola up the hill.

Yomiuriland

Sagamiko Illumillion, Kanagawa

Held at the Sagamiko MORI MORI amusement park in the hills west of Tokyo, with about six million bulbs laid across a hillside. The lift up the slope is free from 16:00, and from the top you look back down over the lights.

2026-2027: 14 November 2026 to 9 May 2027. Open every day until 3 January, then closed on some Wednesdays and Thursdays, and from 5 April weekends and holidays only. Usually 16:00 to 21:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing. Adult entry ¥2,000 to ¥2,400 depending on the period, children and seniors ¥1,300 to ¥1,700; a night pass with rides is ¥3,000 to ¥3,400. Nearest station: Sagamiko on the JR Chuo Line, then about 8 minutes by bus.

Sagamiko MORI MORI

Nabana no Sato, Mie

A flower park in Kuwana, near Nagoya, best known for its tunnel of light, a long arched walkway covered in small warm bulbs. Each season also has a large themed display on the main field; this season's theme area is a "wild paradise".

2026-2027: 17 October 2026 to 31 May 2027, closed for two days in early January (the park's own pages give both 6 and 7 January and 7 and 8 January, so check before going). The lights come on around sunset and stay on until closing, which varies by period. Tickets bought in advance at a convenience store cost ¥2,500 until 20 November, ¥3,000 from 21 November to 28 February, and ¥2,500 from 1 March, and ¥200 more at the gate except from March. Each ticket includes a ¥1,000 voucher for food and shops in the park and entry to the begonia garden. On 23 to 25 December the park opens from 15:00 with dated tickets only, sold in advance; the price had not been set as of October 2026. Under elementary school age is free. Nearest station: Kintetsu Nagashima, then about 10 minutes on the direct bus.

Nabana no Sato

Midosuji Illumination (Osaka Festival of Lights), Osaka

Two events under one name. The Midosuji Illumination lights the ginkgo trees along Midosuji, Osaka's main north to south avenue, from Umeda down to Namba. OSAKA Hikari Renaissance is the Nakanoshima part: lights on the front of Osaka City Hall, a lit riverside promenade, and for two weeks in December a projection on the old Central Public Hall.

2026: the Midosuji Illumination runs from 3 November to 31 December 2026, from about 17:00 to 1:00 the next morning, between the Hanshin-mae and Namba Nishiguchi intersections. In Nakanoshima, the City Hall front and the promenade are lit on the same dates, 17:00 to 1:00. The projection mapping on the Central Public Hall runs from 11 to 25 December, 17:30 to 21:30, with a market near Naniwabashi Station from 16:00 to 22:00. Free. Nearest stations: Yodoyabashi for City Hall and Midosuji, Naniwabashi for the Public Hall.

Nakanoshima

Kobe Luminarie, Hyogo

Kobe Luminarie was first lit in December 1995 to mourn the victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that January. The works are tall structures of light that visitors walk through and around. Since 2024 it has been held in late January, the month of the earthquake, across three sites in central Kobe.

2027: 29 January to 7 February 2027, lit from dusk to 21:30, at Higashi Yuenchi park, the former Foreign Settlement and Meriken Park. The first two are free. The main works at Meriken Park need a timed ticket: ¥500 on weekdays and ¥750 on weekends bought in advance, or ¥1,000 and ¥1,500 on the day. Nearest stations: Sannomiya (10 minutes' walk to Higashi Yuenchi), Kyukyoryuchi-Daimarumae (3 minutes to the Settlement) and Minato Motomachi (8 minutes to Meriken Park).

Kobe Luminarie

Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki

A theme park built as a Dutch town, with canals, brick streets and a palace. This season the old Kingdom of Light has been reworked into "The Starlight Million", which scatters small star-like lights over the windows, cobbles and trees of the town.

2026-2027: 6 November 2026 to 25 February 2027. The park has not published separate lighting times; the lights are on after dark until the park closes, and closing time varies by day. It is inside the park, so you need a park ticket: the adult 1DAY Passport is from ¥7,600, and the After 3 Passport (entry from 15:00) from ¥5,900, more on certain dates. On 14 November the park holds a fireworks festival and expects crowds. Nearest station: Huis Ten Bosch on the JR Omura Line.

Huis Ten Bosch

Dates and prices at a glance

As of October 2026. Adult prices; "free" means a public street or park with no ticket.

Tips

Go on a weekday, and not between 23 and 25 December. Christmas Eve is a date night in Japan, and the city light-ups and theme parks are at their busiest on those three days and on December weekends. At Nabana no Sato you cannot even get in on those days without a dated ticket bought in advance. A weekday in November or January is the easy time.

Arrive at dusk. The first half hour after the lights come on, while the sky is still blue, is when photos come out best and the crowds have not built up yet. Sapporo and Ashikaga light up from about 16:30.

Dress for standing still. You spend an hour or two walking slowly or waiting, often in a park on a hill or next to water. Sapporo is usually below freezing after dark in December, and Sagamiko and Yomiuriland are noticeably colder than central Tokyo. Bring gloves and something warm for your feet.

Read what the ticket includes. Nabana no Sato's ticket includes a ¥1,000 voucher, so the real cost is lower than it looks. At Yomiuriland and Sagamiko, entry alone shows you the lights and rides are extra, so decide before you buy whether you want an evening pass with rides. At Huis Ten Bosch, the After 3 Passport is the cheaper way in if you are only there for the lights.

Pair the free city ones. Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown are a ten minute walk apart, and Marunouchi is a few stops away, so one evening covers all three. In Osaka, Midosuji is lit until 1:00, so you can walk it after dinner from Umeda towards Namba and turn off at Nakanoshima.