As part of the ongoing Channel47 project, which uses the power of local resources and entertainment to share Japan and its local culture with the world, a new travel experience titled ‘DEEP EXPERIENCE THE INAKA -TENRYUKYO・IIDA CITY-’ is now on sale, taking visitors to Iida, Nagano Prefecture.

Iida City in Nagano Prefecture will be the location for the tour, with the city selected by the Japan Tourism Agency in 2024 for its ‘Project to Promote Expansion and Quality of Inbound Tourism by Providing Special Experiences for Visitors.’ The Minami Shinshu Tourism Bureau helped to create the tour for inbound travelers to experience the “real” Japanese countryside found in the Tenryu Gorge area of Iida City by funding farmhouse homestays in the area.

By creating a travel experience that takes advantage of the local resources of Tenryu Gorge in Iida City, we aim to promote sustainable tourism activities by communicating the charm of the region to people in both Japan and abroad, revitalizing local production, passing on traditional culture, and strengthening cooperation between local communities.

Art collective TeamLab has redesigned two exhibitions at Marina Bay Sands Singapore. The world’s first permanent exhibition from the creators, Future World: Where Art Meets Science, was opened in 2016 at the Museum of Art and Science. Guests can now enjoy three new works along with the Digital Light Canvas, a huge, interactive space inviting guests to share their own pieces of art.

Drawing Flight

Visitors can immerse themselves in these impressive new works while experiencing a complex, three-dimensional world. They can also create new worlds with others!

Future World

The Drawing Flight, part of the Amusement Park of the Future series, is based on the concept of co-creation, allowing visitors to not only draw an airplane that will fly but also allowing them to operate it from a pilot’s point of view using a tablet. Whether visitors draw a butterfly or a hawk, they’ll see the world from the perspective of each creature and enter a world constructed by the creature’s unique perceptions.

Aerial Climbing through a Flock of Colored Birds

In Aerial Climbing through a Flock of Colored Birds, guests are asked to perceive the world with their entire bodies. Visitors cross a space with sticks floating three-dimensionally in the air.

Autonomous Abstraction, Continuous Phenomena from the Universe to the Self

Autonomous Abstraction, Continuous Phenomena from the Universe to the Self offers a new and abstract concept. As people touch the dots, the rhythm of the dots flickers and their hue changes and disintegrates. The picture will then change dramatically, and despite these changes, the beauty remains.

Digital Light Canvas

Graffiti Nature – Red List Digital Light Canvas

Digital Light Canvas is a space consisting of a 15-meter-diameter circular link of light and a 20-meter-high cylinder of light made up of a collection of light dots.  Team Lab’s interactive artwork, which changes depending on how many people are around, is on permanent display.

Drawing Factory

By visiting the Digital Light Canvas area, guests can also enjoy the Drawing Factory, where they can turn their own drawings into pins, T-shirts, and other items!

Come fully experience this curious art exhibition!

© チームラボ

From December 10 until December 18, 2022, creative company NAKED will hold NAKED GARDEN ONE KYOTO at Ninna-ji! The event is part of a larger next-generation art project being held around Kyoto until Christmas Day.

This exhibition marks the first metaverse-centered event at Ninna-ji, and guests will be able to enjoy a virtual fashion show in collaboration with Jotaro Saito, a kimono designer from Kyoto. Participants will begin by creating their own avatar by snapping a photo of their face. After that, they will be able to choose a kimono by Saito to use as clothing for their avatar before taking to the runway with other visitors from all around Japan.

NAKED’s goal is to bring traditional Japanese kimono culture into the digital space, and the company believes that this is only the beginning. In the future, NAKED hopes to bring other artists into the metaverse as well.
 

NAKED Distanced Lanterns

NAKED Tsukubai

Five-Storied Pagoda Projection Mapping

DANDELION PROJECT

Virtual Fashion Show

Limited Edition Paper Goshuin

This year’s event also includes the DANDELION PROJECT, popular with art fans around the world. Created by Ryotaro Muramatsu, the art project has appeared in a number of towns and cities around the world, inviting participants to create flowers and send them around the globe digitally as a hope for peace. Visitors can use their smartphones to send dandelion fluff digitally to other participants around the world, sharing a wish for world peace. 

This year, the participatory art piece was installed in the main temple. Why not visit this stunning exhibition in Kyoto this winter? 

Creative company NAKED has announced TOKYO TOWER CITY LIGHT FANTASIA ~2022 Winter~, an event bringing some incredible projection mapping technology to the main deck of the legendary Tokyo landmark. The event will start on November 18 and will invite guests to enjoy an illuminated winter night from far above the city.

　*Concept Image

NAKED has created some unique night-viewing experiences at Tokyo Tower in the past, combining the already beautiful cityscape with some new and exciting graphics themed for each season. For winter 2022, butterflies will take to the chilly night sky one after another, creating a show like no other for its three-minute span. This also serves as a great photo opportunity!

Enjoy Tokyo as it begins to shine for the holiday season!

From November 11, 2022 until August 2023, Izu Granpal Park in Shizuoka Prefecture will host the 8th Izu Kogen Grand Illumination event!

The Izu Kogen Grand Illumination was ranked #1 in the Walker+National Illumination Ranking for six consecutive years and is beloved by visitors of all ages. This isn’t just a collection of pretty lights–the Grand Illumination also includes a number of hands-on experiences for everyone to enjoy.

In 2021, the event won first place in the Ninth Illumination Awards for the second year in a row. Known as Japan’s first ‘hands-on illumination experience,’ the park has continued to evolve year after year, adding more attractions and finding its unique style. These attractions include a zip line through the lights, Dinosaur Go-Karts, and more.

This year, the Flower Lantern Area and Sweets Lantern Area have been completely redesigned and upgraded to be even more three-dimensional and colorful. Come enjoy this incredible world of lights and have some fun with the whole family!

From November 17 until December 25, Tokyo Midtown will hold the popular Midtown Christmas event for 2022!

Adults and children are sure to love this massive Christmas event. Each year, a massive Christmas tree appears in Tokyo Midtown, but this year’s festivities will also throw some more unique pieces of art into the mix.

This year, visitors will see golden lights on the city’s trees, as well as a pop-up Christmas tree inspired by party poppers. Lights and music will join together to make guests feel as though they’ve walked into an outdoor theater, and the popular ice skating rink will once again be open for everyone to enjoy. Why not enjoy the Christmas season in Tokyo’s shimmering midtown?

Bubbles Fill the Air for a Limited Time at the Christmas Story Lights

A Massive Dome Filled with 300 Lights Invites Visitors to Celebrate the Season

Hands-on Experiences at the Party Popper Tree

From November 11 until December 25, 2022, Roppongi Hills Christmas will cover Tokyo in glittering lights once again. The Keyakizaka Lights, one of Tokyo’s most popular winter attractions, will also take place in 2022, with the 400-meter-long Keyakizaka street covered in over 800,000 blue and white LED lights.

For the first time in three years, the Mohri Garden will be covered in lights as well. The annual Christmas market will invite guests to experience an authentic German Christmas, and Christmas cakes and gourmet food unique to Roppongi Hills will be for sale. 

The Roppongi Hills Christmas event utilizes LED lights and has done so since the first event was held in 2003. Clean power will be used again this year, and the lights will be switched on from 5 PM until 11 PM each night. 

Japanese creative company NAKED will hold a Night Walk event at Zuiganji Temple in Matsushima, located near one of the top three most scenic spots in Japan. The event will run from October 29 until November 23, 2022.

The NAKED Night Walk was created to revitalize hot spring resorts and other tourist spots during the pandemic. This special event will bring the illuminated experience to Zuiganji Temple, one of the Tohoku Region’s most famous Zen temples. Guests will be invited to carry beautiful lanterns around the grounds, maintaining social distancing while enjoying the cool evening weather. These lanterns will cast one of three unique designs onto the ground below–a starry sky, a camellia flower, or a lotus. 

Guests can also enjoy NAKED’s Flower Fortune Telling, pulling unique paper flowers from a massive wall, with each holding a personalized fortune. These flowers can then be tied to a nearby tree to further spread NAKED’s art. You can also take home your flower as a souvenir!

The event will only run for a limited time. For more information including admission fees and hours, see the official website!

One of Japan’s best fireworks extravaganzas is headed to Singapore! Star Island Singapore Countdown Edition 2022-2023 will ring in the new year on December 31, 2022 at The Float on Marina Bay. 

STAR ISLAND is a futuristic fireworks show that blends traditional fireworks with cutting-edge technology such as 3D sound, laser lighting, and unique performances in a spectacular location. The first overseas presentation was launched in Singapore in 2018, and the second in 2019 drew 20,000 people. The show was also brought to Saudi Arabia in September 2019. 

This year’s event, the third to be held in Singapore, is expected to draw 22,000 visitors. Sponsored by JCB, the only international credit card brand from Japan, and Sanrio, a prequel show will run from December 25 until December 30 at the Marina Bay Sands event plaza near the venue. This is totally free to attend, so why not come check it out?

The third phase of the popular illumination event at the English Garden Rosa & Berry Tawada will be held from October 8, 2022 until February 12, 2023! One of the largest light-up events in the Kansai region, this year’s theme is ‘Evolutionary Lights!’ 

Let Time Pass in The Golden Forest

Visitors will be welcomed into a glorious forest of golden lights as they arrive in the main area. 

The clock tower rises in the center, and the spectacular production begins at the start of nightfall when the tower itself begins to glow and 100 trees are enveloped in golden light.

The White and Silver Garden of the Fairies

The area has undergone a major transformation, from the warm European-inspired colors of last year’s event to a mysterious silvery-white color scheme. Visitors can also enjoy the popular light-up experience Miraculous Blue Roses and the Seven-Colored Prayer Tree.

※Details: Lights and effects are triggered in response to the sound of bells rung by visitors and special pedals stepped on as they explore the event.

Shaun the Sheep Area

A special Christmas display inspired by the new Shaun the Sheep movie, releasing in December 2022, will be on display.

*Images of the special display will be available in mid-September.

​SHAUN THE SHEEP AND SHAUN’S IMAGE ARE ™ AARDMAN ANIMATIONS LTD. 2022

Galactic Express Milky Way

The Milky Way is said to be a magnificent shade of blue. The Milky Way Galaxy Railroad, which requires a separate fee, runs through the area, inviting guests to explore a sea of stars. Why not take a trip through this glittering world of lights while taking some incredible photos?

Why not visit this incredible sea of lights this winter?

From November 12, 2022, until April 2, 2023, visitors to Lake Sagami Pleasure Forest in Kanagawa Prefecture will be able to enjoy an incredible light-up event featuring Sumikko Gurashi characters! The outdoor resort is only an hour from Tokyo and won’t disappoint.

A World First! Illuminated Sumikko Gurashi Area

Visitors can enjoy riding the 250-meter-long Rainbow Lift for an aerial walk above the millions of lights. The adorable Sumikko Gurashi characters will be waiting for guests in a special themed area.

Goods Featuring Original Illustrations Available–with a Collab Menu!

The event will also offer goods decorated with newly-drawn art inspired by the Lake Sagami lights, with Sumikko and her friends enjoying the show. Along with merchandise, guests will also be invited to sample collaboration food and drinks at the park’s restaurant Wild Dining. Each dish will also come with a bonus!

Come enjoy these incredible lights along with everyone’s favorite Sumikko characters! With 6 million lights on display, this is one of the largest in the Kanto area. More details will be coming soon, so keep an eye out!

From September 17 until September 19, the TOKYO LIGHTS 2022 International Projection Mapping Competition will be held at Meiji Jingu! This will be the second such event and will bring together some of the most impressive and technologically advanced light displays from around the world to wow audiences.

The main event will be the 1-minute Projection Mapping Competition, in which competitors from around the world will project their art onto the historic Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery. In the Festival of Light area, a barrage of unique light shows will take visitors on a journey through a wonderful world of light and sound.

Image from Last Year’s Event

The 19 Finalists

Light Shows at TOKYO LIGHTS 2021

The competition portion will feature a collection of short, one-minute projection mapping presentations. The theme chosen for 2022 is LIFE: Existence, living, and humanity.

19 finalists were chosen from 241 entries and 55 countries. Those unable to attend will be able to watch the event streamed on YouTube. The finalists for 2022 include Iran, Croatia, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Ukraine, two entries from Bulgaria and Thailand, five entries from China, and three entries from Japan. Don’t miss the awards ceremony on the final day!