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 3 until November 27, fans of Hololive will want to visit Tokyo Tower! The iconic location will host a collaboration with several popular VTubers at RED° TOKYO TOWER, the largest esports park in Japan. Usada Pekora, Shirogane Noel, Shishiro Botan, and Sakamata Chloe will take part in the collab, and during the event, a special video will be shown on a giant 15-meter LED monitor inside the complex. A special food and drink menu will also offer up goodies based on the girls themselves, and fans will find original merchandise showing the talents in casino costumes and bathrobes. 

Visitors can play poker with special collaboration chips, and visitors to the RED° E-SAUNA UENO, which will be running concurrently, can snag original sauna hats and towels before relaxing in a private sauna room with life-size panels of the Hololive members. Tickets must be purchased in advance, so don’t miss out!

Digital art collective NAKED will hold a special Halloween projection mapping show at Tokyo Tower! The Tokyo Tower City Light Fantasia ~Halloween Party 2022~ event will run from September 16 until October 31 on the 2nd floor of the tower’s main deck. 

NAKED has collaborated with Tokyo Tower in the past to create shows inspired by the seasons. These incredible illuminations captivate audiences at night, and this fall, visitors will be captivated by autumn leaves dancing in the breeze along with silvergrass swaying and the sound of chirping insects. The scene will eventually change into something more spooky–a ghost will appear alongside witches, bats, and pumpkins! The main deck will be enveloped in Halloween colors perfect for a fall photoshoot!

Nissy (Takahiro Nishijima) has announced that his new song, I Need You, will be released digitally on July 7, 2022. The jacket cover has also been revealed.

This love song depicts how it feels to warmly live each day with the person you care about. It’s a relaxed mid-tempo number, a far cry from the cool sound heard on Nissy’s third album HOCUS POCUS 3.

In addition, Nissy will also be collaborating with Tokyo Tower’s popular summer event, the Milky Way Illumination. Approximately 21,000 LED bulbs found on the first floor of the main deck, a stunning 150 meters above Tokyo, will change color periodically to match the beat of the new song I Need You.

Along with the new track, Nissy will also be embarking on a five-dome tour, so keep an eye on his activities going forward!

ⓒTOKYO TOWER

Digital art collective NAKED has announced a new projection mapping show taking place at Tokyo Tower starting May 24! Welcome summer with the ‘Tokyo Tower City Light Fantasia ~Summer Landscape 2022~ event on the second floor of the 150-meter-high main deck of the classic landmark.

In 2019, the company introduced the ‘Tokyo Tower City Light Fantasia ~Cool Japanese Summer~ event, which has now been upgraded to a new version. Guests will now be treated to a colorful show highlighting the transition of the seasons in Japan from the rainy season to early summer to midsummer, filled with hydrangeas, sunflowers, and fireworks. Colorful flowers bloom in the rain giving way to a bright summer day complete with the sound of cicadas and bright white clouds in the sky. After the sun sets over the sunflower fields, fireworks light up the Tokyo sky.

The ‘Tokyo Tower City Light Fantasia’ nightscape event was planned, directed, and produced by NAKED, and began in 2014. By combining the night view from the observatory with projection mapping, guests can experience something one-of-a-kind.

Following the original launch of the event, it has traveled to towers and observatories around Japan including Abeno Harukas and the Nagoya TV Tower, playing off the particular characteristics of each locale.
 

This event isn’t the only thing going on at Tokyo Tower this summer. Guests can also enjoy the DANDELION PROJECT by NAKED and Ryotaro Muramatsu in the northwest section of the second floor of Tokyo Tower’s main deck. The project is based on the concept of world peace and harmony and was unveiled at Miyashita Park, Tokyo Tower, Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, and Nijo Castle in Kyoto in 2020. The networked art project invites guests to send their wishes for world peace on digital dandelion fluff to other locations where DANDELIONs are planted around the world, and these messages are delivered in real-time. 

Come enjoy this incredible night view while you can!

The world’s first store dedicated exclusively to ninjas will open inside Tokyo Tower in 2022.

It’s said that Japan’s top three tourist attractions are Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, and ninja–but the latter has no dedicated location for visitors to enjoy. This shop will specialize in ninjas, for ninjas, by ninjas!

Ninja Tokyo Pro Shop will open on the second floor of Tokyo Tower, still one of Tokyo’s most popular attractions. With 22 years of experience, the company running the shop offers ninja-specific goods, armor, sweets, and more.

Special Sanrio Characters are Back!

Sanrio Characters NINJA, an original brand first developed in 2016, will make a triumphant return! Original goods featuring new illustrations will be available at the store. The characters were first created to celebrate the Sanrio collaboration with the Ninja Cafe at NINJA KYOTO, but no new products in the series have been released since 2017.

The Ninja Tokyo Pro Shop will offer authentic armor that will satisfy not only domestic and international tourists but also ninja enthusiasts and cosplayers. Visitors can try on armor and enjoy a shuriken experience using the ‘Ninja Trainer’ as well! The store will include a large selection of original swords, bowls, and plenty of exclusive goods only available on site.

Be sure to visit in October 2022!

Nara-based tea ceremony brand Saron is serving up a tasty treat perfect for the warm weather! White shaved ice with dark matcha topping is now available until mid-September, and guests are invited to adjust the taste by altering the amount of tea added.

Lately, Nara has been experiencing a major shaved ice boom. Inspired by Himuro Shrine, known for housing a guardian deity of ice, the city introduces plenty of created recipes for the summer treats each year. The tea ceremony brand Saron was founded by Nakagawa Masashichi Shouten, in business since the Edo period–so it’s safe to say that the company knows what they’re talking about!

Guests can enjoy shaved ice made from pure Yamato ice, which is frozen for 72 hours, gently shaved, and topped with Nara’s Kasiya sweet bean paste, shiratama, agar, and condensed milk that has been boiled for four hours. 

To finish off this luxurious dish, guests can add koicha, a thick matcha tea with concentrated flavor and incredible sweetness and depth. Polished twice as much as typical matcha, this is a taste you’ll never forget.

Why not come enjoy this traditional Japanese sweet this summer?

Creative company NAKED has started a new projection mapping show at Tokyo Tower! CITY LIGHT FANTASIA ~Eternal Lights in TOKYO~ encapsulates the style and feel of the Showa and Heisei eras and will be held on the second floor of the main deck until March 11, 2022. 

Since 2020, Japan has been experiencing a retro boom, bringing styles and trends from the Showa and Heisei eras back into the mainstream. This nostalgia has inspired creativity in people of all ages, and this projection mapping show is sure to bring people together, even in this difficult time in history.

This projection mapping shows the various types of lights that Tokyo Tower has seen over the past sixty years. From the warm glow of lights illuminating a quiet snowy town to the colorful neon signs of Tokyo’s downtown, this show is sure to conjure up plenty of memories of the past.

Two new tasty types of shaved ice are now on sale at Hotel Nikko Nara! The Shinkansen Shaved Ice will be available until November 30, 2021, at the Lobby Lounge Fountain on the hotel’s third floor. 

Shinkansen Shaved Ice – N700S

Sliced Mango, dried apricots, and almond jelly

Shinkansen Shaved Ice – Inspection Train

Caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, and dried apricots

This collaboration with JR Central Japan Railway is only available for a limited time, though Hotel Nikko Nara serves up tasty shaved ice year-round. This collaboration began on October 1 to celebrate the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen. These treats are created with nitrous oxide, which transforms the shaved ice into a mousse-like foam!

For those able to make it to Nara in time, which of these special sweets will you be trying? 

How would you like to enjoy a snowman-shaped Christmas cake and champagne while overlooking Tokyo Tower? The new Scoolove Christmas Accommodation Plan from the Prince Park Tower Tokyo is offering this incredibly festive experience from December 1 until December 26, 2021!

The TOKYO HONEY PROJECT, a product planning team made up exclusively of female hoteliers, has devised this romantic plan in the hopes of making Christmas magical and memorable again. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many couples haven’t had the chance to spend any special time together, so what better time than the holiday season? 

The word ‘Scoolove’ is a combination of ‘scoop’ and love,’ and while scooping up and enjoying this tasty snowman treat, the team hopes that couples will deepen their relationship and enjoy some much-needed quality time together. The head of the snowman is made from matcha ganache wrapped in kumquat cheesecake mousse, while the body is made of baked cheesecake accented with a raspberry jam. With these two competing flavors, every bite is sure to be interesting!

Western-style confectionary shop Chez Nakatsuka, which has three stores along Osaka prefecture’s Hankyu Senri Line, is opening a specialty shaved ice and Mont Blanc store on August 23. The shop is called ‘Yama to Koori,’ meaning ‘Mountains and Ice,’ the perfect description of these two summertime treats. 

The restaurant’s shaved ice is an arrangement of items available from Chez Nakatsuka’s hidden menu, made with richer syrup and new ingredients. It’s shaved at a surface temperature of as close to zero degrees as possible. The delicate Mont Blanc is made with carefully-selected Japanese chestnuts squeezed into a thin string shape to achieve the ultimate smooth texture. 

Raspberry and Italian Pistachio sauce/Two varieties of strawberry syrup and homemade condensed milk sauce/Uji Matcha green tea and homemade brown sugar Warabimochi

Kumamoto Japanese chestnut and Wasabon meringue

Each shaved ice and Mont Blanc are made by professional pastry chefs, and will be available year-round in limited quantities. Both are also available to eat at the restaurant or for takeout. 

Which treat would you order to help beat the heat? 

There’s no better way to combat a heat wave than enjoying a cool bowl of shaved ice! Natural hot spring resort Kobe Minato Onsen Ren, overlooking Kobe Port, is releasing a gorgeous new style of this popular summer treat. Called Fluffed Ice, it offers a slightly more sophisticated flavor, and serves as the perfect way to cool off for adults escaping the hustle and bustle of the sweltering city. 

Fluffed Ice, uniquely designed by a pastry chef: ¥900 each (Tax Included)

Setouchi Lemon

Fukuju (Nada’s Famous Sake)

Strawberry

Uji Green Tea and Hokkaido Azuki

By filtering the water and freezing it at a slower rate, the shaved ice is completely pure and free of any and all impurities. Visitors can enjoy four different flavors: Setouchi Lemon, a refreshing blend of acidity and white chocolate; Fujuku, which contains locally-sourced sake and sweet syrup; Strawberry, offering a mix of sweet and sour; and, finally, Uji Matcha and Hokkaido Azuki, elegantly mixing flavors from both northern and southern Japan. The syrup used is made from scratch, and was developed by the pâtissier of Le Pan Kobe Kitano, a bakery and sweets shop nearby.

During this incredibly hot summer, give this new Fluffed Ice a try!