They shimmer. They shine. They sparkle. They dance. They wink. And yeah, they blink.
I’m talking about lights. Lots of lights. Fantastic lights: Massive displays of holiday lights in downtown Tokyo and in area parks. Recently, we managed to see the displays in Roppongi downtown and at Showa Kinen park in Tachikawa but there were many others we could have chosen to visit. Some of the displays ended at Christmas but others will continue for several months into the New Year.
All of this light is a surprise to me. I didn’t have any idea that there would be spectacular public displays of light this time of year in Tokyo. It’s another wonderful surprise that I couldn’t have guessed Japan would have in store for us. We Americans on base did ourselves proud with some pretty flashy displays on our homes — for our own house we went for tasteful white roping paired with greenery — but the real show happened well outside our gates.
Christmas week, Wil, Liam and I enjoyed a beautiful display that stretched throughout the Roppongi neighborhood of Tokyo. Blue lights glittered on a plaza that included a shimmery waterfall curtain. Red and white lights took turns adorning the trees that lined a busy city avenue. A massive lacey Christmas tree glittered in shifting colors at Roppongi Hills. I especially loved gazing out at the Mori garden display from Roppongi Hills where the holiday lights were framed from above by the city lights.
Closer to our home, we spent an evening at Showa Kinen park. A portion of the park was transformed into a winter wonderland that wide-eyed children and their parents could stroll through. (Liam did more than stroll….the kid scampered with delight throughout the park.) Some of the displays were clearly Christmas-themed, showing trees and tree-like structures, but others were simply celebrations of light that may have made obvious sense to the Japanese visitors but left us somewhat confused. (A neon pink bunny standing in a field of multi-colored daisies?) No matter. Spending an evening walking through a maze created by Christmas lights, admiring glittering lights reflecting on a fountain and watching an entire field of light trees dance in time to music was a wonderful way to usher in our first Christmas in Japan.