On our last day in Tokyo, there was a colourful programme. The Icho Namiki is a ginkgo avenue that is still glowing in a magnificent yellow, even though many ginkgo trees have already lost almost all their leaves.
After that, we visited the Yebisu Garden Christmas Marché. However, the supposedly posh Christmas market consisted of just three stalls selling gift items. Next to a Christmas tree, there is also what is said to be the largest Baccarat chandelier in the world. The clock tower at Yebisu Garden Place rounded off the experience. On the hour, its musical clock depicts an Oktoberfest parade.
We would have loved to visit a very special Christmas market in Hibiya Park. It is modelled on the market in Dresden, its 14-metre-high Christmas pyramid was even imported from there. Unfortunately, the market doesn’t open its doors until the 14th of December, by which time we’ll already be back home.
Taking the Yamanote line, notorious for its packed trains during rush hour, we finally headed to two illuminations. The Shibuya Blue Cave Illumination features a light animation from trees decorated with 600,000 LEDs. The Minna no Illumi is more subtle, but no less worth seeing. Here, trees along a riverbank are decorated with pink and yellow LEDs.
Tomorrow we are travelling to the Narita district and will have a look around there for another day.
