When Are Japan's Winter Illuminations in 2026–27, and Which Ones Are Free?

2026–27 dates at a glance

• Osaka, Midosuji Illumination: 3 Nov – 31 Dec 2026, about 17:00 to 1:00, free

• Tokyo, Roppongi Hills Keyakizaka: 5 Nov – 25 Dec 2026, 17:00 to 22:00, free

• Tokyo, Marunouchi Illumination: 12 Nov 2026 – 14 Feb 2027, hours not yet announced, free

• Osaka, Hikari Renaissance (Nakanoshima): 11 – 25 Dec 2026, projection mapping 17:30 to 21:30, free

• Matsumoto Castle projection mapping: 12 Dec 2026 – 14 Feb 2027, 18:00 to 22:00

• Takayama, Hida no Sato winter light-up: 9 Jan – 28 Feb 2027, 17:30 to 20:30, ¥300 (listed by Gifu Prefecture's tourism site; see below)

• Kobe Luminarie: 29 Jan – 7 Feb 2027, hours not yet announced, free except the paid Meriken Park zone

• Kanazawa, Kenroku-en and Kanazawa Castle winter light-up: 6–10, 13, 20 and 27 Feb 2027 (planned), 18:00 to 21:00, free

Not yet announced as of 21 October 2026: Marunouchi's hours, Kobe Luminarie's hours and advance-ticket sales, the start of Kenroku-en's yukitsuri snow-rope work, and the dates of Matsumoto's ice sculpture festival.

Tokyo: Marunouchi and Roppongi Hills

Marunouchi Illumination (its 25th year) lights the street trees along about 1.2 km of Marunouchi Naka-dori, the avenue between Tokyo Station and Yurakucho, in champagne gold from 12 November 2026 to 14 February 2027. The organising committee (Chiyoda Ward, Mitsubishi Estate and the area management groups) has not yet published 2026 hours. Last season it was listed at roughly 16:00 to 23:00, running later in December; treat that as the old pattern, not this year's times.

Roppongi Hills runs its Keyakizaka Illumination from 5 November to 25 December 2026, 17:00 to 22:00: about 970,000 LEDs along roughly 400 m of Keyakizaka-dori, with Tokyo Tower at the end of the slope. Smaller displays at 66 Plaza (13 Nov – 27 Dec, to midnight) and Mohri Garden (13 Nov – 25 Dec, to 23:00) and the German-style Christmas market at Oyane Plaza (21 Nov – 25 Dec, 11:00 to 21:00) run alongside. Hours can change on crowded nights, and the first day may start later.

Both are public streets, so there is no ticket. Marunouchi is a few minutes' walk from Tokyo Station, which makes it an easy first or last evening if you arrive by Shinkansen.

Osaka and Kobe Luminarie

The Osaka Festival of Lights (Osaka Hikari no Kyoen) officially runs 3 November 2026 to 31 January 2027, but its two core programmes end in December. The Midosuji Illumination covers the main boulevard from Hanshin-mae to the Namba Nishiguchi junction, 3 November to 31 December, from about 17:00 to 1:00. On 23 November (a holiday) a lighting ceremony closes part of Midosuji to traffic from 17:00 to 19:00.

OSAKA Hikari Renaissance on Nakanoshima island is shorter: projection mapping on the Osaka City Central Public Hall runs 11 to 25 December, 17:30 to 21:30, a roughly 10-minute show every 12 minutes, while the City Hall facade and the 150 m tunnel of lit zelkova trees on Nakanoshima run 3 November to 31 December, 17:00 to 1:00. The Osaka Prefecture announcement lists no admission fee for any of these.

Kobe Luminarie, the illuminated arches first held in 1995 in memory of the Great Hanshin earthquake, returns for its 32nd edition from 29 January to 7 February 2027 at Meriken Park, Higashi-Yuenchi park and the former Foreign Settlement. Most of it is free to walk through, but entering the paid zone in Meriken Park needs a special viewing ticket: ¥500 on weekdays and ¥750 at weekends in advance, or ¥1,000 and ¥1,500 on the day (groups ¥400 and ¥600). The organiser says ticket sale details come out in autumn; as of 21 October 2026 they are not yet published, and neither are the 2027 hours. Last edition the lights ran from dusk to 21:30 and paid-zone tickets were sold in time slots between 17:30 and 21:30.

Kobe is about 20 to 30 minutes from Osaka by train, so Luminarie works as an evening trip from an Osaka base.

Kanazawa, Takayama and Matsumoto

Kanazawa: the winter edition of the Kanazawa Castle and Kenroku-en Four Seasons light-up is planned for 6–10, 13, 20 and 27 February 2027, 18:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:45), with free entry to both the castle park and Kenroku-en during the lighting, according to Ishikawa Prefecture's tourism site. Both close from 17:00 to 18:00 to set up, and nights can be cancelled for bad weather or icy paths. The draw is the yukitsuri, the cone-shaped rope frames that protect the pines from snow. The 2026 work notice is not yet out; last year the gardeners started on 1 November 2025 at 9:00 with the Karasaki pine and planned to finish by mid-December, so the ropes are up all winter.

Takayama: Gifu Prefecture's official tourism site lists the Hida no Sato winter light-up for 9 January to 28 February 2027, 17:30 to 20:30, at ¥300 for adults and ¥100 for children. Hida no Sato (Hida Folk Village) is the open-air museum of thatched farmhouses on the edge of town. As of 21 October 2026 the village's own site still shows last season (10 January to 28 February 2026, every day of the period), so confirm before you build a trip around a specific night.

Matsumoto: the city's organising committee has set the Matsumoto Castle projection mapping for 12 December 2026 to 14 February 2027, 18:00 to 22:00, in the castle park. Last season (13 December 2025 to 15 February 2026) it was free and needed no booking. The castle's ice sculpture festival has not yet announced 2027 dates; in recent years it has run on the last weekend of January (23–25 January in 2026).

We came through Matsumoto, Takayama and Kanazawa in late March 2023. Our 10-day Japan itinerary runs Tokyo, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kyoto and Osaka, and the Kanazawa guide covers Kenroku-en and the castle by day.

Best nights to go, crowds and costs

• Weekdays beat weekends everywhere, and at Kobe Luminarie the paid zone is half price on weekdays (¥500 vs ¥750 in advance).

• Avoid 24 and 25 December in Tokyo if you dislike crowds: Christmas Eve is a date night in Japan and Roppongi and Marunouchi are at their busiest.

• Arrive just after lighting starts. Most displays switch on between 17:00 and 18:00, and the first hour is usually calmer than 19:00 to 21:00.

• Kenroku-en's best run is 6 to 10 February, the only consecutive nights; the rest are single Saturdays. Snow is common in Kanazawa in February but never guaranteed.

• Budget: apart from Kobe's paid zone and Hida no Sato's ¥300, every event here is free to see. The real costs are hotels near Christmas and in Kobe during Luminarie, which fill early.

Fitting the illuminations into a winter trip

Mid-November to Christmas: the easiest window. Tokyo (Marunouchi and Roppongi) and Osaka (Midosuji and Nakanoshima) all overlap from 12 November to 25 December, and from 12 December you can add Matsumoto's projection mapping on the way between the two.

Late January to mid-February: the most events at once. Kobe Luminarie (29 Jan – 7 Feb), Kenroku-en (from 6 Feb), Hida no Sato (from 9 Jan), Matsumoto (to 14 Feb) and Marunouchi (to 14 Feb) all overlap around 6 and 7 February 2027. A route of Tokyo, Matsumoto, Takayama, Kanazawa and Osaka/Kobe catches all of them; Osaka's Midosuji lights will be gone by then.

In the Japanese Alps, mountain roads and buses between Matsumoto, Takayama and Kanazawa can be disrupted by snow, so keep a spare day and check winter timetables. If winter doesn't fit your dates, our 2027 cherry blossom forecast covers the spring version of the same route.

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