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“NAKED meets Nijo-jo Castle 2025 — Kangetsu: A Magical Autumn Illumination in Kyoto”
In the historic city of Kyoto, illumination events brighten the nights from autumn into winter. Among them, one of the most anticipated is “NAKED meets Nijo-jo Castle 2025 — Kangetsu,” a spectacular nighttime experience set against the backdrop of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Nijo-jo Castle. This popular event invites visitors into a dreamlike world where digital light art blends seamlessly with the castle’s grand architecture.
The event is produced by NAKED, INC., a creative studio known worldwide for immersive art installations and spatial design. Inspired by the elegant moon-viewing culture once cherished at Nijo-jo Castle during the Edo period, the team brings this tradition into the present through projection mapping, illuminations, and cutting-edge digital art.
Nijo-jo Castle has long been a place where nobles gathered to admire the moon while enjoying tea ceremonies, waka poetry, Noh performances, and ikebana. Carrying on this legacy, the gardens and buildings are transformed with light and sound, creating an atmospheric scene perfect for an autumn night.
One of the highlights is a special collaboration with the Ikenobo school of ikebana, inspired by the “Tatebana” style beloved by Emperor Go-Mizunoo. In the Daidokoro-mae Garden, visitors can enjoy a unique installation that fuses Ikenobo arrangements with NAKED’s artistic technology, forming a serene space that harmonizes moonlight and flowers. Inside the Honmaru Palace, the event features “Kangetsu Noh,” a digital reinterpretation of the classic Noh play “Tohru,” performed by Haruhisa Kawamura of the Kanze school. The ethereal beauty of Noh and the glow of digital art combine to create a stage experience found nowhere else.
The popular “NAKED Hanamikuji” (500 yen), widely shared on social media, also returns. Visitors choose an artificial flower in their favorite color or shape, which reveals a fortune message that reflects their current state of mind. The flower can be tied to a tree as part of a participatory art installation or taken home as a keepsake.
For a magical illumination experience that lights up Kyoto’s autumn nights, Nijo-jo Castle offers an unforgettable journey into beauty, history, and art.
| Hours | October 31 (Fri) – December 7 (Sun), 2025 18:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00) Please note: Last entry to the Honmaru area is at 21:15. |
| Address | 541 Nijōjō-chō, Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture (Nijō-dōri Horikawa-nishi-iru) |
| Access | • Hotel Tavinos Kyoto: Walk to Kiyomizu-Gojo Station on the Keihan Main Line. Take the Keihan Line to Sanjo Station, then walk to Sanjo Keihan Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tozai Line and transfer. Take the subway to Nijojo-mae Station. The venue is about a 2-min. walk from the station. • Hotel Gracery Kyoto Sanjo: Walk about 5 min. to Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tozai Line. Take the subway to Nijojo-mae Station. The venue is about a 2-min. walk from the station. |
| URL | https://event.naked.works/nijojo/autumn/en/ |
Base of this trip
Hotel Tavinos Kyoto
3-min walk from Shimizu-Gojo station on the Keihan line／7-min walk from Gojo Station on the Karasuma line／10-min walk from Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Kyoto line
Hotel Gracery Kyoto Sanjo
5-min walk from Kyotoshiyakushomae station on the Tozai line
