The first ever ‘Yakei’ summit has just been held in Kuala Lumpur to introduce the top yakei destination cities in Japan to be mesmerised by the marvel of yakei. But first, what exactly is yakei?
Yakei (夜景) can be translated as ‘beautiful night views’ or ‘illumination’ in Japanese. Although it is not new to the Japanese, it is an emerging trend where brilliant light instalments transform cities into a breathtaking visual phenomenon.
To fully admire Yakei in Japan, the weather must be ideal for walking around in outdoors to see the illuminated lights in the cities and mountaintops. Therefore, spring, autumn and winter are the best seasons for getting the best Yakei experience. Each season features different themes, ranging from historical-era time travels, the Garden of Illuminated Flowers, as well as the prehistoric Geo Illumination.
The 6 featured Yakei destinations in Japan for year 2018/2019 are listed as below:
Sapporo City
Sapporo is a city in the island of Hokkaido and the largest city in northern Hokkaido. You can see the illumintating lights in the city or from Mt. Moiwa. Sapporo TV Tower is also a popular spot. Besides catching the breathtaking Yakei, check out Sapporo Snow Festival in winter.
Nagasaki City
Located on a natural harbour in Kyushu, Nagasaki makes a good Yakei destination with reflecting lights on the waters, giving beautiful and peaceful ambience when viewed from afar at night.
Ashikaga Flower Park
About 80km from the metropolitan city of Tokyo, Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi Prefecture is popular for their largest collection of wisterias in the country. While the flowers are available for viewing across the seasons,visitors can now view more bright flowers across the night!
Enoshima, Fujisawa City
A lesser known small island in Kanagawa Prefecture made it into the list with their Yakei spot at Enoshima Sea Candle (also the Shonan Observatory Lighthouse). The tower has obeservation decks for public to see the shoreline and waters. Well, you can definitely spot this lighthouse from miles away now!
Oi Racecourse
Also popular as Tokyo City Keiba, this racecourse is initially used for horseracing but things have changed! Aside from having the largest flea market in Tokyo on every weekend, people will flock to this racecourse for a Yakei experience now!
Katsuyama City
Katsuyama is a city located in Fukui Prefecture. Nature activities like mountaineering, skiing and snowboarding are popular here.
For more information on Yakei, travellers can visit their official website.
Words by Jessy Wong
