day 73 - Illuminations at yebisu

 On November 23rd Kento took me to Ebisu to see the Yebisu Christmas illuminations.

It was my first time going to Ebisu and I was really looking forward to seeing some the illuminations so I was pretty excited.

The walk from the station platform to the exit is pretty long so there were actually a few of those kind of runways that you find at airports. I always love these runways because when you walk at a normal pace you go so much faster and this always makes me feel like some kind of superhuman (albeit a rather lame one!) 

The illuminations were really pretty. The first thing you could see was a building covered with Christmas lights and trees.

Then there was a giant Christmas tree. It really was huge! What I really loved about these decorations was the colours. For me, they were the perfect christmas colours: red, gold and warm tones fairy lights set on the green of the Christmas tree. Compared to the cold blue and harsh red of the Roppongi illuminations, Ebisu's definitely made me feel more as if Christmas was on it's way. 

In Japan christmas is done much differently and so it was really hard to grasp that Christmas was around the corner. In England there is always a big run up to Christmas so there is always a special feel to everything in the weeks preceding the big day. Although there are also lots of special Christmas decorations and products released in Japan well before Christmas Day, it just doesn't have the right feel to it, I know this left a lot of the exchange students feeling homesick! But for me Ebisu's illumination really captured some of the essence of Christmas for me so I am really glad Kento took me here.

The illuminations are often prime spots for dates and Ebisu's illuminations was no exception! The lights and decorations were so pretty and with the night setting it definitely had a romantic feel to it. There were lots of couples that had come to enjoy the twinkling lights.

After the huge Christmas tree there was a red carpet walkway lined on both sides with trees adorned with fairy lights. It was quite the spectacle, in fact I have to say that the Japanese illuminations are much more elaborate than the decorations back home! After going down the walkway you could look back up to see the big Christmas tree with the pretty walkway beneath it.

That wasn't all because there was also a large building who's grounds were also nicely decorated and a huge chandelier housed in a massive glass structure that you could see. 

We sat in the grounds of the busing for a while and took in the scenery.

It was such a gorgeous place and I was so happy that Kento took me to see it as I really enjoyed it. The decorations were perfect for Christmas and it was just what I needed as I was missing the feel of Christmas from back home. It was a perfect night!