I will have a few hours of free time in Tokyo next week.

I want to see a light show. It has to be in the city.

Ones like Tama Center Illumination or the Yomiuriland Jewellumation are just too far away for the time I have available.

Is the Tokyo Mega Illumination at the racetrack in Chiyoda any good?
or would the Tokyo Dome Winter Illumination be better? The one near Shibuya train station?.

Any other suggestion would be welcome.

Here are some guides for Tokyo lighting.

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2303.html

https://savvytokyo.com/savvys-guide-tokyos-best-winter-illuminations/

Midtown , Roppongi Hills , Ebisu Garden Place and Omotaesando are all pleasant. If the weather is cooperative you can do all 4 easily.

Hi,

I also liked the illuminated trees around Shinjuku station ( southern terrace) and Tokyo Dome city.

Marunouchi was also good and the Caretta shiodome ( also with music from Disney in 2019) but the Shiodome does not look like it is on this year

Regards

TBS

My one-day visit to Tokyo ended with a visit to Mega Illumini at the Oi Racetrack.

It was a laser show with lights. A 1,000 yen entrance fee. No train station nearby. Tachiaigawa Station is about a 20-minute walk or about a 1,000 yen taxi ride. (Oikebajo-Mae Monorail Station is fairly close but not connected to any network)

It wasn't worth the effort. The show was pretty.... but if you are looking for lights, this isn't the place. If you are looking for music and laser show, this place is okay.

Felt bad, no people. Pretty empty.

Next time, I think I would rather just wander the streets where there are lots of lights.

https://www.tokyomegaillumi.jp/

I usually find these light shows in Japan to be deeply disappointing and a waste of time, I don't know what the attraction really is. You got lucky it wasn't crowded, disappointing and crowded is even worse than disappointing and sparsely attended. If you want truly miserable when it comes to illumination shows, this one takes the cake: https://www.marunouchi.com/lp/brightchristmas2021/ But the Japanese seem to love them, whatever.

As an aside, the Oikeibajo station is on the Haneda Monorail, which isn't "not connected to any network." The Monorail terminates at Hamamatsu-cho, a major JR node, and there is an Oedo line station below Hamamatsu-cho station.

Agreed. I went to the Tokyo Midtown illumination several years ago and it was bright but all one color. Same with this year's illumination at HuisTen Bosch in Sasebo, all a boring ,monochrome, usually blue or white, with no Xmas colors like red and green. The creative and colorful Xmas light displays at many people's homes in the US are usually much more interesting.

Hi,

I liked the lights at Tokyo Mega illumi at Oi racecourse last year ( the laser and water fountain show was a bit poor though) -it was quiet. This year on the website it says the weekends could be busy.
Pre covid I liked tokyo midtown ( the garden lights had occasional mist blown through it) and the buildings surrounding Marunouchi ( 2 of them had star wars related christmas trees)

I will be spending a week in Tokyo in early December ( aim to sightsee round gardens in the morning, then back to the hotel to relax in the pool then go out to see the lights in the evening ( avoiding the metro rush hour if possible)- if the weather is poor then will visit muesums or maybe odaiba

Planning on going to see
Minato Mirai and Red brick warehouses in Yokohama ( 1 night at the Hilton Yokohama)
Caretta Shiodome ( close to the Conrad tokyo where I will be for 5 nights)
Marunouchi /Kitte building/Tokyo Midtown Hibiya
Tokyo Dome City
Shinjuku central park/ JR station south terrace
Omotesando Hills
Tokyo Midtown
Roppongi Hills
Tokyo Disneyland ( 40th anniversary year & christmas)

Maybe make a visit to Shibuya and miyashita park or if anything else catches my eye , will make a detour
From what I can see the Oi racecourse illuminations are dark between 4&8 Dec.

Regards

TBS

A word of caution on illuminations at horse racing tracks. I used to live near one outside Tokyo and they are frequented by a rather unsavory group of people who sometimes pick fights with people. It may be less of a problem at night when there's no racing but frankly, I'd stick to the non-race track illuminations, which unfortunately tend to be a boring monochrome, usually blue or white with no Christmassy colors like red or green at all.

The spectral ghost of Christmas Past appears when you take three hours to shuffle forward 30 metres in Marunouchi and say Millenario three times.

My family's favorite holiday atmosphere spot in Tokyo is Ebisu Garden Place, where they put up a massive Baccarat chandelier outdoors every holiday season, and where the Westin lobby has a very well-decorated tree with a miniature train diorama around it. They used to have a full-on Christmas market in the plaza, but it seems that it's been downsized to a few food trucks, serving mulled wine etc. Roppongi Hills still has a pretty legit Christmas market which is usually worth a visit.

We also always try to hit the Marble Lounge holiday buffet at the Hilton in Shinjuku, both for the atmosphere and for the massive array of food.

Hi,

Thanks. I was there last November at night ( have posted some photos on the Japan photography thread) and did not see or feel any issues affecting my safety.

Regards

TBS

You just gave me PTSD of the one (and only) time I went to one of these stupid light shows.

Just quick heads up on visiting the Ometesondo area (we had dinner nearby) -- we were there this past weekend and we have NEVER seen it so busy -- way worse than pre-COVID times... Just be prepared to take extra time to get around the area -- the streets were gridlocked as were most of the sidewalks -- the tourists and teens are back in full force!

Hi

Thanks for the heads up . Will be in tokyo sunday to thursday so might be quieter with less weekend crowds.

Regards

Tbs